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COUNT CAMILLO CAVOUR. 
 
History of Italy 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA 
 
 PRESENT DAY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 ' BY RKV. H. H. FAIRALL,D.D 
 
 /:r^N?.V OF COVo^ 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 WALDEN AND STO^A^E. 
 
 1882. 
 
.F\6 
 
 1/ 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, 
 
 BY H. H. FAIR ALL, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 ^^nt 1, 
 
 PAGAN DARKNESS DISPELLED. 
 
 CENTURY I-Vff. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DAWN IN ITALY. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Early Tribes — Various Titles — Pagan Worsliip — Its Degrading Influence — The 
 Christian Church in Rome — Paul in the Eternal City — The Cruel Reign of 
 Nero — The Martyrdom of Paul — The Prosperity of Italy under the Adminis- 
 trations of Vespasian and Titus — The Christians persecuted in the Reign of 
 Domitian — The Benevolent and Tolerant Nerva, 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ^ PAGAN DARKNESS DISAPPEARING. 
 
 Italy Peaceful and Prosperous during the Administrations of Trajan, Hadrian, and 
 Antoninus — The Persecution of Christians permitted by Marcus Aurelius — The 
 Emperor impressed by a Remarkable Circumstance — The Corrupt Reign of 
 Commodus — Pertinax deposed and muidered — Septimius Severus on the 
 Throne — The Rapid Progress of Christianity in Italy-^Paganism declining — 
 The Testimony of the Martyrs, 16 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 THE LIGHT SHINING IN ITALY. 
 
 The Short Reign of Heliogabalus — The Benevolent Alexander Severus — The Con- 
 dition of Italy under Maximinus, Gordian, Philip, and Decius — Paganism 
 endeavoring to exterminate the Italian Christians — The Unimportant Adminis- 
 trations of Gallus, ^milianus, Valerian, and Claudius — The Brilliant Reign of 
 Aurelian — Tacitus assumes the Imperial Purple — He is followed by Probus, 
 Cams, Carinus, and Numerianus — The Reign of Diocletian inaugurates a New 
 Period — The Authority of the Government strengthened — Christianity rapidly 
 advancing in Italy — The Church in the Catacombs, 23 
 
 • CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGANISM OVERTHROWN IN ITALY. 
 
 Diocletian issues a Persecuting Edict against the Christians — He and Maximian 
 abdicate — Galerius and Constantius rule Italy — Constantine defeats Maxentius, 
 
 V 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 and becomes Empei-or — The Luminous Cross and the Conversion of Co^istantine — 
 Christianity becomes the National Religion — The Religious Devotion of Con- 
 stantine — The Bishop of Rome — Disgraceful Contentions — The Italian Church 
 gradually l)ecoming Forma], Superstitious, and CorrujDt — The Practice of Monk- 
 ery — Ecclesiastical Councils — The Doctrines of the Church — Translation of 
 Relics — The Power and Wealth of the Clergy, 29 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AMBROSE — THE WALDENSES. 
 
 The Independence of the Diocese of Milan — The Birth of Ambrose — His Education 
 and Promotion — Elected Bishop of Milan — The Conversion of Augustine — The 
 Evangelical Views of Ambrose — His Writings and Musical Compositions — The 
 Origin of the Waldenses — Various Theories — The Testimony of Jerome — The 
 Waldenses in the Fourth Century — The Testimony of their Enemies, .... 36 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GOTHS IN ITALY. 
 
 Alaric invades Italy — His Forces induced to retire — The Martyr Telemachus — The 
 Vandal Invasion — Alaric returns to Italy and pillages Rome — His Death and 
 Burial — Attila, King of the Huns, invades Northern Italy and destroys Several 
 Cities — Rome plundered by Genseric, the Vandal King of Africa — The Emperor 
 Maximus slain — Eight Sovereigns reign in Twenty Years — Odoacer proclaimed 
 King of Italy, 41 
 
 5Hiit n. 
 
 PAPAL DARKNESS PREVALENT. 
 
 CESTUKY VI-XIV. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE REIGN OF THE LOMBARDS. 
 
 Italy Tranquil and Flourishing — The Administration of Theodoric — Boethius slain — 
 Amalsontha — Theodatus — Viteges — The Great General Belisarius — Totila cap- 
 tures Rome — The Gothic Power destroyed in Italy — The Lombard King. 
 Audoin — His Conquests and Death — Clepho — Chilperic, the Frankish King, 
 enters Italy — Authauris — Childebert — Gregory the Great — Benedict — Origin of 
 the Benedictines, 45 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 ITALY IN PAPAL DARKNESS. 
 
 Tho Deplorable Condition of Italy — The Industrious Benedictines — Boniface IV — 
 Religious Disputes — Monophysites and Monothelites — Pope Martin I perse- 
 cuted — The Sixth General Council — The Claim of Agatho to Supremacy — Su- 
 perstitious Views of the Sacraments and Pilgrimages — Festivals in Honor of the 
 Virgin Mary — The Pantheon 5^ 
 
CONTENTS. VII 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ITALY UNDER PRANKISH RULE. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Leo III and Pope Gregory II — The Iconoclastic War — Eutycliius — Luitprand — 
 Charles Martel — Pepin enters Italy and defeats Astolph — The Pope of Rome 
 becomes a Temporal Ruler — Desiderius conquered by Charlemagne — The Latter 
 crowned King of Italy — The Flight of Pope Leo III, 54 
 
 CHAPTER ,IV. 
 
 THE PROTEST OF CLAUDIUS. 
 
 Claudius of Turin — He denounces the Errors of the Papacy — The Prevalence of 
 Image -worship — The writings, of Claudius — His Views of the Sacrament, the 
 Primacy of Peter, etc. — Claudius sustained by Bishops and Synods — The False 
 Accusations of his Enemies — The Trial of Leo III — Charlemagne receives the 
 Crown of the Csesars — Louis the Mild — Lothaire — Leo IV — Pope Joan — Various 
 Pontiffs — The Assumed Decretals, 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RISE OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 The Death of Charles the Fat — Var-ious Rulers and Popes — Alberic restores Repub- 
 lican Institutions in Rome — Otho III overthrows Popular Government — His 
 Death — Liberty enjoyed in Rome and Other Italian Cities — The Wealthy and 
 Powerful Republics of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa — Four Emperors — Gregory VII 
 and Heni-y IV— The Normans, 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE STRUGGLES OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 The War of Investitures — Henry V and Pascal II— The End of the Conflict — The 
 Normans in Southern Italy — The Cities of Lombardy Independent — The Strong 
 Republics oppress the Weak — The Struggle between Milan and Lodi — Frederic 
 Barbarossa in Italy — The "Lombard League," 72 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 ARNOLD OF BRESCIA. . 
 
 Arnold's Proposed Reforms — He is condemned and banished — The Bold Reformer 
 returns to Rome — The City in a Tumult — Arnold denounces the Prevailing 
 Corruptions — The Hero's Martyrdom, 82 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FRANCISCANS AND DOMINICANS. 
 
 Legends of St. Francis's Birth — The Monk in Rome — He is commissioned by Inno- 
 cent III to establish a Mendicant Order — Its Growth — St. Dominic visits 
 Rome — The Work and Garb of the Dominicans — The Grandeur of their Con- 
 vents — Prominent Italian Writers — Thomas Aquinas — Bonaventura, 87 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GUELFS AND GHIBELINES. 
 
 The Claims of the Popes — The Papal Power increasing — Origin of Guelfs and 
 Ghibelines — Otho IV — Frederic, lionorius, and Gregory — The Capture of the 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Papal Fleet — Celestine IV — Innocent IV — The [Italian Republics — Conrad — 
 Manfred, 95 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE GROWTH OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 The Wealth and Military Defenses of Italian Cities — The Podestas — Factions and 
 
 Feuds — Giovanni di Vicenza, HO 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DECLINE OF THE IMPERIAL POWER IN ITALY. 
 
 Eccelino da Romano — Conradin — Manfred — Urban IV — The Defeat and Death 
 of Conradin — The Ambitious Charles — Dissensions in Milan — Castruccio 
 Castrucani, I18 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 1 THE DOCTRINES AND USAGES OF THE WALDENSES. 
 
 The Waldensian Theology — The *'Nobla Leycon " — The "Lingua Romana" — 
 
 The Synods and Clergy — Waldensian Missionaries, 1 27 
 
 5aiit m. 
 
 PAPAL DARKNESS RELIEVED. 
 
 CENTURY XIV-XIX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ITALY DURING THE PAPAL SCHISM. 
 
 Robert, King of Naples — Nicola di Rienzi — The Bannerets — Electing a Pontiff — 
 
 Urban VI— The Rival Popes, 133 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE REVIVAL OF LETTERS IN ITALY. , 
 
 Dante — His Poetical Works — The *<Di^ina Commedia " — Dante on the Papacy — 
 Petrarch — His Letter to Clement VI — Laura de Sade — Petrarch's Character 
 and Writings — Boccaccio — His Poems — The " Decanierone," 137 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WARS OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 A Crisis in Lombardy — The Power and Wealth of Venice- -Its Wars with Milan — 
 Florence — Its Government — Cosmo de Medici — The Milanese defeated by the 
 Florentines and Venetians — Various Popes, 152 
 
CONTENTS. . IX 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SAVONAROLA — MICHAEL ANGELO — RAPHAEL. 
 
 PAGB. 
 
 Girolamo Savonarola — Accepts the Monastic Life — Admired by Lorenzo de Med- 
 ici — Accomplishes Reforms — The Fiery Trial — Savonarola's Martyrdom — His 
 Character — Michael Angelo — His Works — Raphael — Other I^istinguished 
 Italians, ... ... .1 . 157 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FIRST PERSECUTIONS OF THE WALDENSES. 
 
 The Tragedy of Pragelas — Cataneo's Expedition — The Fearful Massacre — the Inva- 
 ders defeated, 169 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FAILURE OF CATANEO'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 The Val di Angrogna — Cataneo repulsed — The Pra del Tor — The White Cloud — 
 
 Captain Sacquet — The Humane Prince, Charles II, 181 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 LUTHER'S JOURNEY TO ROME. 
 
 The Monk on his Pilgrimage — An Italian Monastery — Luther in Florence — The 
 Campagna — Luther in Rome — The Prevailing Impiety — The Church of the 
 Lateran — Scala Santa, 187 
 
 CHAPTER VIH. 
 
 THE PAPACY AND ITALY. 
 
 Pope Julius II — Leo X — The Corruptions of the Papal Court — Indifference and 
 
 Skepticism — The Patriotic Spirit, 201 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ITALY RECEIVING LIGHT FROM GERMANY. 
 
 The Reuchlin Controversy — Luther's Writings in Italy — Protestant Books in — 
 
 Rome — Egidio di Porta — Baltasare Fontana, 207 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SACRED LITERATURE IN ITALY. 
 
 Various Italian Scholars — The Writings of Pico — Authors of Hebrew Works — 
 
 Italian Commentators and Translators, 213 
 
 CHAPTER XL ' 
 
 THE REFORMATION EXTENDED BY COMMERCE AND WAR. 
 
 The Intercourse between Germany and Italy — Charles V in Italy — His Controversy 
 
 with Clement VII — Rome pillaged — Terrible Scenes — The Reformation, . . . 223 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN VENICE. 
 
 The Condition of Venice Favorable to the Gospel — Luther's Writings circulated — 
 
 Rosselli's Letter — Protestantism advancing — Altieri's Letter, 233 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ' MILAN RECEIVING THE GOSPEL. 
 
 PAGB. 
 
 Paul III alarmed at the Progress of the Reformation — Celio Secundo Curio — His 
 
 Arrest and Imprisonment — His Remarkable Escape, 239 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MANTUA — LOCARNO — ISTRIA FERRARA. 
 
 The Gospel in Mantua — Folengo — Cardinal Gonzaga — The Reformation in Lo- 
 carno — Beccaria and Other Reformers — Istria receives Protestantism — Ver- 
 gerio — The Court of Ferrara — Duchess Renee — She favors the Reformation, . 242 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PROTESTANT CAUSE IN MODENA. 
 The Academy at Modena — Controversy with the Priests — Paolo Ricio — Giovanni 
 
 di Politiano — Cardinal Morone, 252 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ITALY. 
 
 Florence as a Literary Center — Brucioli, Marmochini, and Teofilo — The Writings of 
 Brucioli — The Reformation in Bologna — ^John Mollio — A Reform Commission — 
 Protestantism in Naj)les — Juan di Valdez — Peter Martyr Vermigli — Bernardino 
 Ochino — His Popularity in Venice — The Gospel in Sicily and Lucca — Aonio 
 Paleario, 257 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE INQUISITION AT VENICE, MODENA, AND FERRARA. 
 
 Pietro Caraffa— The Flight of Ochino and Martyr— The "Holy Office "—The Con- 
 flict at Modena — Protestants persecuted — Valentino — Trial of Castelvetro — 
 Protestantism at Ferrara — Duchess Renee, 280 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PERSECUTION IN NORTHERN ITALY. 
 The Firmness of Duchess Renee — Her Character — Her Children — Persecution in 
 Venice — Altieri banished — Terrible Scenes in Capo d' Istria — Flight of Ver- 
 gerio — The Martyrs of Venice — Guirlanda, Ricetto, Sega, Spinula, and Lupe- 
 tino — Persecutions in Cremona, Parma, and Faenza, 297 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE CRUELTIES OF THE PAPAL INQUISITION. 
 
 The Sufferings and Banishment of the Locarnese Protestants — Persecutions in 
 Lucca, Mantua, Milan, Florence, and Sienna — The Reign of Terror in Naples 
 and Calabria — Wholesale Slaughter, 311 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ITALIAN MARTYRS. 
 The Cruel Reign of Pius V — Jacobini, Fannio, and Mollio — Algieri, Gamba, and 
 Varaglia — The Imprisonment and Martyrdom of Paschale — Carnesecchi, Pa- 
 leario, and Beatrice Cenci, 335 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 ITALIAN RULERS AND POETS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The Italian Reformation suppressed — Death of Lorenzo de Medici — Alexander VI 
 succeeds Innocent VITI — Ludovico Sforza — Pietro de Medici — Charles VIII of 
 France — Decline of the Genoese Republic — Death of Leo X — Charles, Arch- 
 duke of Austria — Andrea Doria — Ludovico Ariosto — Torquato Tasso — Various 
 Italian Writers — Niccola Macchiavelli — His Diplomatic and Literary Career — 
 Political Writers, 355 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 SYNOD IN THE WALDENSIAN VALLEYS. 
 
 The Vaudois Church declining in Spirituality — The Synod at Chamforans — The 
 
 Waldenses revived — Delegates from Switzerland, 365 
 
 CHAPTER XXUL 
 
 THE WALDENSIAN REMONSTRANCES. 
 
 Emmanuel Philibert's Decree — Persecution at Carignano — Remonstrance to the 
 
 Prince — To the Queen — To the Council, 372 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE PAPAL CRUSADE IN THE VALLEYS. 
 
 The Vaudois Messenger — The Monks of Pinerolo — Philip of Savoy — A Monk's 
 Sermon — La Trinita invades the "Valleys" — The Enemy repulsed — Deception 
 and Persecution — The Vaudois Covenant — The Defeat of La Trinita's Army — 
 *' Articles of Capitulation," 377 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 DISTINGUISHED PONTIFFS — PROMINENT SCHOLARS. 
 
 Clement VIII — He is resisted by the Venetians — Paul V and the Venetians — 
 Urban VIII — Various Pontiffs — Galileo — His Imprisonment — Torricelli — Bo- 
 relli — Malpighi — Sarpi — Pallavicini, , . . . . 394 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. ' 
 
 THE FAMINE — THE PLAGUE — THE MASSACRE. 
 
 The Vaudois aided by Foreign Contributions — Castocaro's Tyranny — The Fearful 
 Pestilence — The Duchess Christina — The Inquisition at Work — Marchioness di 
 Pianeza — The Exiles — Pianeza's Treachery — The Awful Massacre — Cromwell's 
 Interposition, 399 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 GIANAVELLO — THE MASSACRE — THE EXILES. 
 
 The Mountains of La Combe — Joshua Gianavello — The Deceptive Pianeza — Giaiv 
 avello's Bravery — Massacre of the Vaudois — Their Courage — Cromwell's Let- 
 ter — The Cruel Edict of Amadeus — The Exiled Vaudois, 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE WALDENSES. 
 
 The Exiles looking Homew^ard — Preparations for Departure — Henri Arnaud — The 
 
 Waldenses Victorious — The Sabbath at Prali — Leidet's Pulpit, 427 
 
XTI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE WALDENSES RE-ESTABLISHED IN THEIR VALLEYS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The Vaudois at Bobbio and the "Rock of Sibaud " — Arnaud's Warriors on La 
 Balsiglia — The Giant Alps — Supplies for the Vaudois — Catinat defeated — 
 French Cannonading — The "Old Mantle" covers the Vaudois, 434 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 FOREIGN RULE IN ITALY — PROMINENT POPES AND WRITERS. . 
 
 Italy under Austrian Rule — Philip V of Spain — Prince Eugene of Savoy — The 
 French and Spanish defeated — Victor Amadeus II and the Vaudois — Charles 
 Emmanuel III — The Spanish Power^ — Clement XT — Benedict XIII — Clements 
 XII, XIII, and XIV — The Jesuits suppressed — Alfieri and other Eminent 
 Italians in Art, Science, and Literature, 442 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE FRENCH CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 
 
 Bonaparte's Victories in Italy — Overthrow of the Venetian Republic — The Cisalpine, 
 Ligurian, Cispadane, Tiberine, and Par then opasan Republics — The French 
 Reverses in Italy, 452 
 
 PAPAL DARKNESS DISAPPEARING. 
 
 century xix. 
 
 First Decade, 1800-1810^. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ITALY UNDER FRENCH RULE. 
 
 The Conflict in Italy — The Passage of the Alps by Napoleon's Army — The French 
 
 Victory at Marengo — Napoleon's Supremacy complete, 458 
 
 Second Decade, 1810-1820. 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BIRTH OF CAVOUR — ITALY OPPRESSED — GARIBALDI. 
 
 The Birth and Childhood of Cavour — The French Rule in Italy overthrown — The 
 Despotic Power of Austria — Pius VII restores the Jesuits — Giuseppe Gari- 
 baldi — His Education — The Young Sailor, 461 
 
 Third Decade, 1820-1830. 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 JOSEPH MAZZINI AND THE CARBONARI. 
 
 The Liberal Movement in Naples and Piedmont — Charles Felix — Young Mazzini 
 
 aroused — Plis Writings — Initiated into Carbonarism, 469 
 
CONTENTS: xiii 
 
 Third Decade, Continued, 1820-1830. 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE WALDENSES — COLONEL BECKWITH— THE PAPACY. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Education in the "Valleys" — Aid from Philanthropists — Colonel Beckwith — His 
 
 Work among the Waldenses — Their Condition — Leo XH — Pius VIH, . . . 479 
 
 Fourth Decade, 1830-1840. 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION— " YOUNG ITALY." 
 
 The Insurrection in Various Cities — Its Suppression by Austria — Mazzini — His Ar- 
 rest and Imprisonment — His Release and Retirement to France — Visits Sis- 
 mondi — His Flight to Corsica — Returns to France — His Letter to Charles 
 Albert — "Young Italy" — Its Failure — "Young Europe "—Mazzini in Eng- 
 land, 483 
 
 Fourth Decade, Continued, 1830-1840. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE WALDENSES — GREGORY XVI — GARIBALDI. 
 
 Dr. Baird's Visit to the Waldenses — Their Usages and Doctrines — Colonel Beck- 
 with's Efforts — Gregory XVI — The Degradation of Italy — Garibaldi's Career 
 in South America, 497 
 
 Fifth Decade, 1840-1850. 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 MAZZINI IN EXILE — THE BANDIERAS. 
 
 Mazzini collects Foscolo's Writings — Carlyle's Opinion of Mazzini — Attlilio and 
 
 Emilio Bandiera — Their Expedition, An'est, and Execution, 502 
 
 Fifth Decade, Continued, 1840-1850. 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CAMILLO CAVOUR — THE CRISIS IN ITALY. 
 
 Cavour's Policy — Piedmontese Reverses — The Condition of Europe — Various Poli- 
 cies proposed — Charles Albert abdicates — Victor Emmanuel, 508 
 
 Fifth Decade, Continued, 1840-1850. 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ALESSANDRO GAVAZZI — PIUS IX — GIOBERTI. 
 
 Gavazzi as a Monk, Professor, and Priest — Nicolini on Romanism — Gavazzi's Ser- 
 mon in Rome — His Imprisonment — The Italians aroused — The Patriotic 
 Army — Ovation to Gavazzi — His Bravery — Welcomed to Bologna — Pius IX 
 abandons his Liberal Policy — Daniel Manin — Gioberti — His Writings, , . . 521 
 
 Fifth Decade, Continued, 1840- 1850. 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ROMAN REPUBLIC OVERTHROWN — GARIBALDI — ANTONELLI. 
 
 Garibaldi returns to Italy — Pius IX at Gaeta — Provisional Government in Rome — 
 The French Repulsed — A Spirited Proclamation — The Neapolitans defeated — 
 The Fall of Rome — Garibaldi and Anna — Sketch of Antonelli, 538 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Sixth Decade, 1850-1860. 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CAVOUR. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Cavour and Rattazzi — Cavour's Proposed Reforms — Massimo D'Azeglio — Parties in 
 
 Parliament — Cavour's Resignation — Visits France and England, 566 
 
 Sixth Decade, Continued, 1850-1860. 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE POLICY OF CAVOUR. 
 
 Cavour as President — Financial and Commercial Reforms — Cavour's Religious 
 
 Policy— His Liberal Views — Denounced by Factions — Public Works, .... 579 
 
 Sixth Decade, Continued, 1850-1860. 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OPENING OF THE NATIONAL DRAMA IN ITALY. 
 
 Piedmont and the Crimean War — The Treaty of Alliance — Cavour's Anxiety — 
 Bravery of the Italian Troops — The Congress at Paris — Death of Manin — Ca- 
 vour's Triumph — The Alliance at Plombieres, 594 
 
 Sixth Decade, Continued, 1850-1860. 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ITALY BEFORE AND AFTER THE PEACE OF VILLA FRANCA. 
 
 The Italian Question — Cavour and Napoleon III — Austria's Rashness — War de- 
 clared — Cavour's Labors — Battle of Montebello — Palestro — Magenta — The 
 Austrians defeated — The Battle of Solferino — Peace of Villafranca — Cavour 
 resigns, 615 
 
 Seventh Decade, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ANNEXATIONS — THE REVOLUTION IN SICILY. 
 
 Cavour resumes the Premiership — Tuscany and Emilia annexed to Piedmont — Ces- 
 sion of Savoy and Nice — Debate in Parliament — Cavour's Reply to Rattazzi 
 and Guerrazzi — Garibaldi's Expedition to Sicily — Francis II defeated — Naples 
 surrenders, 634 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CAVOUR AND THE UNITY OF ITALY. 
 
 The Sardinian Parliament — Victor Emmanuel pi-oclaimed "King of Italy" — The 
 
 Roman Question — Father Passaglia — Cavour and the *< Temporal Pov^^er," . . 644 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 cavour's POLICY VICTORIOUS — THE STATESMAN'S DEATH. 
 
 The Situation in Southern Italy — Cavour's Arduous Labors — Garibaldi's Caustic 
 Addresses — Ricasoli's Reply — Garil^aldi's Speech in Parliament — Cavour's Re- 
 joinder — His Sickness and Death — General Sorrow — Cavour's Appearance, . . 650 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 WALDENSIAN MISSIONS IN ITALY. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The Bible in Italy— The Waklensian Church— Its Theological School— The Leg- 
 horn Mission — Romish Opposition — Letters of Drs. Revel and M'Clintock — 
 The Gospel in Milan, Aosta, Elba, and Naples — Gavazzi visits England, . . 665 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ITALIAN MISSIONS OF THE "AMERICAN AND FOREIGN CHRISTIAN UNION." 
 
 The Society sends a Missionary to Florence — Work commenced in the Island of 
 
 Elba — The Story of Francesco and Rosa Madiai — Papal Intolerance, .... 684 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE ITALIAN CABINET — GARIBALDI — PROTESTANT WORK. 
 
 Rattazzi's Administration — Garibaldi preparing for War — The Hero v^^ounded — The 
 Italians aroused — Protestant Literature — Evangelical Missions — Death of Gen- 
 eral Beckwith, 688 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE BRIGANDS — THE LIBERAL PRIESTS — MISSIONS. 
 
 Brigandage encouraged by the Papal Church — Garibaldi Resigns — Liberal Priests 
 
 proscribed — Waklensian Synod — The Wesleyan Mission, 697 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE ROMAN QUESTION — THE ITALIAN PRESS. 
 
 Garibaldi — Religious Corporations suppressed — The "September" Convention — 
 
 The Press — Conflict of Ideas — Liberal Papers criticising the Priests, .... 705 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PARTIES IN ITALY — THE PAOLOTTI. 
 
 The Views of the Three Parties — The Writings of Gabelli, de Boni, and Perfetti — 
 
 The Paolotti — Their Perfect Organization and Power, 717 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 PROTESTANT MISSIONS ADVANCING. 
 
 The Prospect in Northern Italy — Preaching in a Monastery — The Converted Su- 
 perior — Reports from Como, Milan, Sienna, etc., 7^7 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EVANGELICAL WORK IN ITALY. 
 
 The Valtellina — Colporteurs persecuted — The Mission at Carrara — The Avaricious 
 Priest — The Labors of Don Ambrogio — Gavazzi in Milan — The Italian Free 
 Churches — Various Missions — Religious Parties in Parliament, - 738 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, i860- 1870. 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE DEFEAT OF AUSTRIA — ITALY ANNEXES VENETIA. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Italy declares War against Austria — Victor Emmanuel's Proclamation — His Address 
 
 to the Venetians — The Circular of Ricasoli, 753 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXVn. 
 
 THE ROMAN QUESTION — PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 
 
 Garibaldi's Expedition against Rome — A Proposed Conference — The Parliament — 
 
 Various Evangelical Missions — Burning Protestestant Books, 760 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 CHAPTER XXVni. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT — EVANGELICAL MISSIONS — PAPAL COUNCIL. 
 
 Protest against French Intervention at Rome — The Gospel in Central and North- 
 ern Italy — The Life and Labors of De Sanctis — GEcumenical Council, . . . 766 
 
 Eighth Decade, 1870-1880. 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE "FREE CHURCH" — THE KING IN ROME — PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 
 
 The "Free Church" Assembly — Declaration of Principles — Papal Council — Victor 
 
 Emmanuel in Rome — Entrance of the Gospel — Several Missions Organized, . 777 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE GREAT DEBATE — WALDENSIAN CONFERENCE — GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 
 
 A Remarkable Discussion — Italian Bible Society — Gavazzi in America — Death of 
 
 Mazzini — Waldensian Conference — Free Church Assembly, 790 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 VARIOUS RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL EVENTS. 
 
 The "Military Church" in Rome — Missions in Florence and Rome — Religious 
 
 Corporations abolished — Roman Catholic Congress — Mrs. Gould's Work, . . 795 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS PROHIBITED — AMERICAN METHODIST MISSIONS. 
 
 A Protestant Chapel dedicated — Religious Processions forbidden — Proposed Re- 
 forms — Death of Anlonelli — Several Mission Stations, 810 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 CHAPTER XXXIIL 
 
 VARIOUS EVANGELICAL MISSIONS — THE DECEASED KING AND POPE — CLOSING EVENTS OF 
 
 THE DECADE. 
 
 The Waldensian and Free Italian Churches— Gavazzi's Anniversary — Death of Vic- 
 tor Emmanuel— Death of Pius IX— Leo XIII— Garibaldi in Rome— The End, 817 
 
List of Illustrations. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Count Camillo Cavour, Frontispiece. 
 
 The Coliseum, 15 
 
 The Twelve Coesars, 27 
 
 The Pantheon (Interior and Ex- 
 terior), 55 
 
 Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII), 71 
 
 St. Mark's, Venice, 81 
 
 Dante, 142 
 
 Petrarch, , 150 
 
 Boccaccio, 150 
 
 The Bridge of Sighs, 153 
 
 Lorenzo de Medici, 158 
 
 Michael Angelo, 165 
 
 Raphael, 167 
 
 Christopher Columbus, 168 
 
 View of La Torre, 176 
 
 Pass of Pra Del Tor, .182 
 
 Giotto, 189 
 
 Campagna di Roma, 194 
 
 Scala Santa, 199 
 
 Leo X, 202 
 
 "Search the Scriptures," .... 220 
 Ruins Around the Forum, . . . 227 
 
 Florence, 257 
 
 Bay of Naples, 264 
 
 Peter Martyr, 285 
 
 Duchess Renee, 299 
 
 PAGE 
 
 27. Pius V, 349 
 
 28. The Vaudois Taking their Oath, 386 
 
 29. Milton's Visit to Galileo, .... 398 
 
 30. Church of Chabas, Oldest m the 
 
 " Valleys," 433 
 
 31. Vittorio Alfieri, 451 
 
 32. Pius VII, 465 
 
 33. Mazzini, 476 
 
 34. Victor Emmanuel, . ' 518 
 
 35. Pius IX, 531 
 
 36. St. Peter's and the Vatican, . . . 543 
 
 37. Antonelli, 565 
 
 38. Rattazzi, 580 
 
 39. D'Azeglio, 602 
 
 40. General Cialdini, 629 
 
 41. Cathedral and Leanmg Tower of 
 
 Pisa, 639 
 
 42. Tomb of General Beckwith, . . . 696 
 
 43. Cathedral at Milan, 739 
 
 44. Gavazzi, 745 
 
 45. Garibaldi, 760 
 
 46. De Sanctis, 772 
 
 47. Procession m St. Peter's, .... 776 
 
 48. Reading the Dogma m Council, . 783 
 
 49. St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal 
 
 Church, Rome, 816 
 
 50. Leo XIII, S24 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I? OR more than twenty-five centuries Italy has occupied a prom- 
 ■^ inent place among the nations of the world, and has been the 
 theater of remarkable events. The geographical position of the 
 Peninsula no doubt contributed to these results. Almost surrounded 
 by the sea, situated between two hemispheres, and abounding in 
 natural harbors, it attracted the nations and became the grand e7ttre- 
 pot of the world's commerce. This advantage of location secured 
 wealth and power, and that small territory soon had universal 
 dominion. 
 
 No other country has a history more interesting and thrilling than 
 Italy. To the philosophical student of human events it is a profound 
 volume. On that narrow strip of land projecting into the Mediter- 
 ranean arose the fourth great monarchy described by the prophet 
 Daniel, and in the *' seven-hilled city," on the banks of the Tiber, 
 stood the magnificent structures of the Roman civilization. Succeed- 
 ing ages have read with wonder and even admiration the history of 
 Rome and its Caesars, whose dominion ruled the civilized world for 
 twelve centuries. Not less remarkable in its character and effects 
 is Papal Rome, whose career during the past thirteen centuries is 
 unparalleled in the record of human affairs. In all the great historic 
 epochs the central power in the renowned city of Italy has been a 
 mighty factor in governing and civilizing the nations of the earth. 
 
 Italy also presents instructive lessons for the consideration of the 
 statesman who desires to study the science of government and the 
 art of diplomacy. At different periods the Peninsula has been under 
 monarchical and then under republican rule, and the peculiar fea- 
 tures of each have been discussed in the intervening centuries by the 
 political writers of all countries. In every age Italy has produced 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 statesmen, but none surpass the illustrious Cavour, Victor Emman- 
 uel, Ricasoli, and D'Azeglio. 
 
 Those who admire martial deeds ■\^'ill find on the pages of Italian 
 history the names of distinguished generals, whose valor will be com- 
 mended while bravery is esteemed an honor and patriotism remains 
 a virtue. The popular belief that the sons of the Peninsula are 
 effeminate and incapable of military hardships is not sustained by the 
 record. If the achievements of Scipio, Sylla, Caesar, and other 
 ancient heroes had never been preserved, the daring exploits of 
 Garibaldi, La Marmora, and Cialdini, and the glorious victories of 
 Magenta and Solferino, Avould shed imperishable lustre upon the 
 escutcheon of that sunny land. 
 
 Although crushed by the worst form of political and ecclesiastical 
 despotism, Italy has been the home of the champions of freedom. 
 Hence the friends of liberty delight to repeat the names and read 
 the lives of such noble patriots as Brutus, Cato, Arnaldo, Rienzi, 
 Savonarola, and Mazzini, who were the apostles of a new faith, if 
 not the evangels of a new dispensation. It is a significant fact that 
 the discoverer of what has become the "land of the free and the 
 home of the brave" was a native of Genoa, in which the spirit of 
 republicanism has always been predominant. 
 
 In art, science, and literature — the trinity of a refined civiliza- 
 tion — Italy stands pre-eminent. No other country has as many gal- 
 leries of paintings and sculpture, and the influence of these has 
 cultivated the taste and elevated the feelings of all enlightened 
 nations. Its cathedrals, palaces, and villas are visited by lovers of 
 fine art from every clime, who admire the proud and costly mon- ' 
 uments of architecture like St. Peter's at Rome. Michael Angelo, 
 Raphael, Giotto, Ghiberti, Bandinelli, Cellini, Canova, Titian, Tinto- 
 retto, Paul Veronese, Salvator Rosa, Grassi, Benvenuti, and a host 
 of other architects, artists, and sculptors have made the name of 
 Italy illustrious. It will also be honored in its relations to scientific 
 discovery, Galileo having invented the telescope to explore the heav- 
 ens, and Gioja the magnetic needle to explore the earth. In nav- 
 igation the labors of Columbus, Vespucci, and Marco Polo crown the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 brow of Italy with a halo of glory, while Bruno, Malpighi, Torrlcelll, 
 Bellini, Morgagni, Borelli, and others in the various departments of 
 natural science reflect credit upon their native land. In literature 
 Italy shines as a star of the first magnitude in the galaxy of nations. 
 The productions of Virgil, Cicero, Livy, Horace, Tacitus, and other 
 celebrated writers have been perennial fountains of classic thought, 
 enriching all modern languages and elevating the standard of culture. 
 This age of intellectual activity passed away when the Roman empire 
 fell, and the northern barbarians possessed the land of scholars. For 
 centuries papal dogmas engrossed public attention and repressed all 
 investigation ; but the great minds of Italy at last rebelled, and Dante, 
 Petrarch, Tasso, Boccaccio, Macchiavelli, and others startled the 
 ignorant ecclesiastics of Italy by their eloquent appeals in behalf of 
 political and spiritual independence. 
 
 Italy is a land of sacred interest to the Christian. Soon after the 
 establishment of Christianity in Palestine it penetrated the country of 
 the Caesars, and had its representatives in the imperial household. 
 The great apostle to the Gentiles was brought in chains to Rome, 
 preached the Gospel In his own hired house, and then suffered mar- 
 tyrdom, baptizing the soil of a pagan nation with the blood of a 
 noble saint. Then followed the ten fearful persecutions, during 
 which multitudes of Christians were slain, and the remnant wor- 
 shiped in the catacombs, whose dark, subterranean passages and 
 significant inscriptions will ever impress the Christian Avorld. The 
 martyrs of Italy in the sixteenth century have been canonized in the 
 hearts of every Protestant, and no more thrilling chapter can be 
 found in the history of the Christian Church than that which records 
 the labors of Peter Martyr, Ochino, Palearlo, Paschale, Carnesecchi, 
 Fannio, and other worthies. 
 
 In the present volume the author has narrated in chronological 
 order, as far as possible, the prominent events, political and relig- 
 ious, in the modern history of Italy. He has commenced with the 
 Christian era, because not until the Introduction of Christianity into 
 that country did the real struggle between the conservative and pro- 
 gressive elements of society become manifest. It will be apparent 
 
 2 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 to the reader, in considering the many changes through which Italy 
 has passed, that it has advanced into the h'ght or receded into the 
 darkness according as it has maintained or corrupted the doctrines 
 of Christianity. Equahty, hberty, and fraternity are the fruits of 
 the pure Gospel in society, and a nation can not reach the light of 
 a true Christian civilization without them. For nearly nineteen cen- 
 turies Italy has been moving slowly toward this grand destiny. 
 
 During the first five centuries of the Christian era the Peninsula 
 was a part of the vast Roman empire; but, upon the overthrow of 
 the latter, it became a distinct kingdom. It had been struggling 
 into a new religious light, and the luminous cross which Constantine 
 beheld was prophetic of the complete banishment of pagan darkness. 
 But a short day only intervened between the night of pagan and, 
 papal rule, and then followed eight centuries of ignorance and super- 
 stition. Filicaja, an Italian poet, in his beautiful sonnet, extols the 
 gift of loveliness possessed by his native land, but calls it a fatal 
 dower, because it has tempted the invader and attracted armed hordes 
 from the time of Hannibal's conquests down to those of Napoleon. 
 The Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Franks, and Germans in succession 
 ravaged the fair plains of Ital}^ and subjugated its people. 
 
 At length, however, these oppressions of foreign tyrants aroused 
 the principal Italian cities, and they asserted their independence. 
 This was the first struggle into the light of political freedom, and is 
 a bright epoch in the history of that land. Those small republics 
 were rich and powerful, and even at that early age the Peninsula 
 might have been united under one free government had not the 
 papacy, which acquired temporal possessions during the reign of 
 Pepin, held Rome as its capital, and fomented jealousy between 
 rival cities. From the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries the 
 prevailing darkness was partly relieved by the lamps of the Renais- 
 sance and the Reformation. The former was the awakening of the 
 Italian intellect, and the latter the moving of the Italian heart. 
 
 Another radiant center was the Waldensian Church, which had 
 lighted its ancient lamp at apostolic altars and kept it burning in the 
 Alpine valleys during that long night of papal ignorance. At differ- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 ent periods the bloody hand of persecution endeavored to extinguish 
 this Hght; but, amid the most terrible sufferings that any people ever 
 experienced, the Waldenses maintained the truth of their significant 
 motto: "Lux Lucet In Tenebris." The names of Arnaud, Leidet, 
 Leger, and other heroes are indissolubly linked with those grand 
 mountains, where marvelous deeds of valor were performed and the 
 pure faith preserved. The Italian Reformation of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury was suppressed by the Inquisition, the republics declined, and 
 for two hundred years the Peninsula was ruled by Spain, Austria, 
 and France. Soon after the dawn of the nineteenth century, Italy, 
 profoundly moved by the French Revolution, and weary of its sub- 
 jection to despotic governments, sighed for national independence 
 and unity. The brilliant victories of Napoleon on its soil and the 
 defeat of Austria aroused its patriotic spirit, and several republics 
 were organized. Once more Italy struggled into the light of free- 
 dom, but the overthrow of Napoleon resulted in the restoration of 
 Austrian tyranny. It was too late, however, to crush the aspirations 
 of an awakened people, which found expression in such organiza- 
 tions as the ''Carbonari''' and "Young Italy." Mazzini, the fearless 
 patriot and republican agitator, was the first to raise in the face of all 
 Europe the banner of Italian unity. He gave to his native land a 
 faith and a conscience. His motto was, "Thought and action;" his 
 creed, "God and the people." He was the civil educator of the 
 masses, the oracle of Italian liberals, and the symbol of the national 
 energy and intelligence, working out the problem of the national 
 regeneration. His was "the Titanic dream," as he himself says of 
 Dante, "of an Italy the leader of humanity and the angel of liberty 
 among the nations." Believing that he had a divine mission to fulfill, 
 Mazzini labored to secure the triumph of his lofty ideal, though he 
 sometimes employed means which were unworthy of himself and of 
 his holy cause. 
 
 The three decades — from 1850 to 1 880 — are the most glorious in 
 the history of Italy. During this short period more real progress 
 has been made than in all the previous centuries. At last a bright 
 morning has come to that oppressed country. The house of Savoy 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is honored with the inauguration of the new pohtical dispensation, 
 because it had nourished the germ of freedom. In 1850 Victor 
 Emmanuel occupied the throne of Piedmont, when internal dissen- 
 sions and European complications threatened to defeat all plans for 
 Italian unity; but at the opportune moment Count Cavour, who 
 became the Washington of his country, was appointed prime minis- 
 ter. In ten years, amid insult and opposition, he secured important 
 reforms, and by his diplomacy placed Italy on a level with the great 
 nations of Europe. He was in many respects the most remarkable 
 man of his time, and ranks among the ablest statesmen of the world. 
 Italy, now united and prosperous, is his legacy, and he will ever be 
 recognized as the "Father of his Country." 
 
 During the past thirty j^ears Italy has solved a problem which 
 has troubled the nations for ten centuries — the temporal power of 
 the papacy. Victor Emmanuel entered Rome in 1 870, and unfurled 
 the tricolored flag from the Quirinal. Pope Pius IX became a sub- 
 ject of the Italian government, and the reproach of Canossa was 
 taken away. Fifteen centuries had elapsed since Constantine left 
 Rome, and Victor Emmanuel took possession of it. The Peninsula 
 once more had its ancient and magnificent capital, and was united 
 under one ruler from the Alps to the sea. The fruits of this recent 
 political and ecclesiastical emancipation are already apparent. While 
 Italy has always been distinguished for art, science, and literature, 
 yet in every age the masses of the people have not been intelligent 
 and enterprising. Indeed, the lower classes Avere proverbially igno- 
 rant, few of them being able to read. No real progress in popular 
 education was made until i860. As late as 1840 Tuscany and the 
 Lombardo- Venetian kingdom were the only governments in Italy 
 which provided instruction for all classes of youth. These few 
 schools were generally taught by the priests, who were so indolent 
 and inefficient that they were called ignorantelli. 
 
 In 1862, soon after the awakening of Italy, only one-half of the 
 whole population in the old provinces and Lombardy were able to 
 read, one-fourth in Emilia, Tuscany, the Marches, and Umbria, and 
 one-tenth in Naples and Sicily. Although the Peninsula contained 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 about 21,000,000 inhabitants, not more than ;^ 1,600, 000 were spent 
 in maintaining- elementary instruction. In 1864 there were 21,000 
 schools, attended by about 1,000,000 pupils. At the present time 
 (1879) there are 37,642 public day schools, and 2,299,758 pupils; 
 9,560 private schools, 193 normal schools, attended by 8,460 stu- 
 dents, and in the department of secondary instruction 107 gymnasia 
 with 9,296 pupils, and 80 lyceums with 5,132 pupils. The depart- 
 ment of superior education embraces 17 state universities and 4 free 
 universities supported by provinces and communes. These statistics 
 indicate the recent advancement of Italy in the light of popular edu- 
 cation, and are prophetic of its future greatness. The press has 
 been emancipated, and contributes to the diffusion of general intelli- 
 gence. In 1820 Silvio Pellico was imprisoned for publishing a literary 
 journal entitled the Conciliatore, and in company with Romagnosi, 
 Maronchelli, and other able writers, endured years of cruel suffering 
 in a gloomy dungeon; but now freedom of thought and speech is 
 unrestricted. 
 
 While new Italy rejoices in the possession of national unity, civil 
 and religious liberty, improved educational facilities, a revived com- 
 merce, a vigorous press, and other elements of greatness, yet its real 
 prosperity and stability depend upon the success of the evangelical 
 agencies now at work there. An open Bible and a restoration of 
 the primitive Christianity first planted there by Paul are the hope 
 of Italy. 
 
 The author, after his return from that country several years ago, 
 resolved to prepare a volume containing the prominent events in its 
 civil, religious, and literary history. He has gathered his material 
 from a wide field, and is indebted to such excellent authorities as 
 Hallam's ''Middle Ages," Wylie's "History of Protestantism," 
 M'Crie's ''Reformation in Italy," M'Cabe's "IHustrated History of 
 the World," Baird's "Protestantism in Italy," De Mazade's "Life 
 of Cavour, and Dwight's "Life of Garibaldi." 
 
 Iowa City, Iowa, December i, 1879. 
 
ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 fhft I. 
 
 PAGAN DARKNESS DISPELLED. 
 
 I CENTURY B -VI. 
 
 Chapter L 
 
 TJIE DAWN IN ITALY. 
 
 THE early history of Italy is closely connected with that of the 
 Roman Empire. Among the earliest inhabitants of the country 
 were the Umbrians, Etruscans or Tuscans, Oscans, Siculi or Latins, 
 Volsci, ^qui, Sabines, Peligni, Marsi, Marrucini, Vestini, Hernici, 
 (Enotrians, Daunians or Apulians, Japyges, Peucetii, and Messapii. 
 These and many other barbarous tribes lived in the northern part of 
 the peninsula, and various Grecian colonies in the southern, which 
 was called " Magna Grsecia." The Greek appellation of '^Hesperia," 
 or " Hesperia Magna," which was applied to the whole region, Avas 
 replaced by the name ''Italy." The latter was at first employed to 
 designate a small southern portion of the peninsula, but gradually 
 extended to the north until the time of Augustus, when it embraced 
 the provinces of Liguria, Gallia Cisalpina, Venetia, and Istria in the 
 north ; Etruria, Umbria, Picenum, Samnium, Latium, and Campania 
 in the center, or Italy proper ; and Apulia, Lucania, and Bruttium, 
 in the south. 
 
 It is generally admitted that the authentic history of Italy com- 
 menced with the founding of Rome, B. C. 753. From that remote 
 period to the birth of Christ pagan darkness enveloped the land. 
 The tribes in the north and the colonies from Greece In the south 
 had Introduced polytheism into Italy, and made it the national religion. 
 
lO ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Romulus laid the foundation of Rome with the most minute ceremo- 
 nial, and Numa Pompilius, who succeeded him, B. C. 715, increased 
 tlie number of the gods, built temples, and instituted different 
 classes of priests and a great variety of religious ceremonies. The 
 flamens officiated each in the service of a peculiar deity ; the salii 
 guarded the sacred bucklers ; the vestals cherished the sacred fire ; 
 and the augurs and aruspices divined future events from the flight 
 of birds. 
 
 As Rome advanced in wealth and refinement its pagan worship 
 was rendered more magnificent and impressive by the erection of 
 costly and splendid edifices, adorned with all the arts of sculpture, 
 and filled with offerings and sacrifices. The priests, arrayed in gor- 
 geous costumes, officiated in the temples, and the multitude beheld 
 the spectacle of bleeding animal victims with feelings of the deepest 
 awe. Jupiter and a host of other national deities, celestial and ter- 
 restrial, were worshiped in the most solemn and imposing manner. 
 Ancient Rome is said to have contained four hundred and twenty 
 temples dedicated to different gods. Indeed, every virtue and vice 
 of the human heart, every faculty of the mind and body, and every 
 property of the real and imaginary world, was presided over by its 
 peculiar deity. Every mountain and stream and grove had its 
 nymph or naiad, and every hero and sage of Italy was elevated to 
 the rank of a divinity. In the dwelling of almost every wealthy 
 family there was a private chapel, in which their household gods 
 were worshiped. 
 
 This system of paganism, with all its mysterious rites and grand 
 ceremonies, degraded the people of Italy. Instead of restraining 
 human passions, this ancient religion actually developed them by 
 inculcating the worship of certain deities who represented the worst 
 forms of vice. There could not be incitements to virtue when the 
 unlimited gratification of appetite was regarded as the sinmmmi bo- 
 mini of human life. While some of the heathen philosophers had an 
 indistinct idea of the true God, and of future rewards and punish- 
 ments, the multitude were ignorant of these important truths. 
 Hence, from age to age, they progressed in wickedness, and so intent 
 were they in practicing evil, and so resolved to gratify their passions, 
 that their minds were excited to discover new modes of indulgence. 
 It is not surprising, therefore, that their entertainments, games, 
 theaters, and sports became cruel and bloody to satisfy the desires of 
 lust and of pride. The priests, who were teachers of error and the 
 base deluders of a wretched, degraded people, could not arrest this 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN ROME. 1 1 
 
 tide of iniquity, because paganism ignored the authority of con- 
 science, declaring the whole of religion to consist of the performance 
 of certain ceremonies, and the gods to be superior to men only in 
 their immortality and power. 
 
 Such was pagan Rome when the Christian era dawned upon the 
 world. Christ had proclaimed those truths which were destined to 
 enlighten and elevate every nation ; but as yet they had not advanced 
 beyond Judea. At length the instrumentality that was to proclaim 
 them in the great center of paganism was selected. It is not defi- 
 nitely known, however, when the first ray of Christian light pene- 
 trated Italy. In A. D. 58 Paul, the chosen apostle to the Gentiles, 
 was moved to address a letter from Corinth to the Christians at 
 Rome, but when and by whom the Gospel was first preached there 
 can not be ascertained. Those who assert that the Apostle Peter was 
 the honored instrument depend upon tradition to support their 
 opinion, as the Bible is silent concerning the matter. If that servant 
 of Christ first preached the Gospel in the "Eternal City," such an 
 important event would have been recorded in the "Acts of the 
 Apostles," which embraces chiefly the labors of both Peter and Paul. 
 Indeed, the name of the original founder of the Church in Rome has 
 not been preserved by history. It is, therefore, probable that it was 
 first organized by private Christians converted in Palestine, who had 
 come to reside at Rome, or who had brought back Christianity with 
 them from some of their periodical visits to Jerusalem, as the "stran- 
 gers from Rome" from the great Pentecost. (Acts ii, 10.) Among 
 the immense multitudes whom political and commercial reasons con- 
 stantly attracted to the metropolis of the world there could not fail 
 to be representatives of every religion which had established itself in 
 any of the provinces. 
 
 As the organization of the Church in Rome was undoubtedly the 
 early dawn of Christianity in Italy, its character possesses an historic 
 interest. The epistle of Paul reveals some features of it which 
 deserve consideration. The salutations at the close indicate that the 
 apostle was already acquainted with the names of numerous Chris- 
 tians at Rome, though he had never seen the brethren there. He 
 had ascertained from those who had visited the Church some impor- 
 tant facts relative to its spiritual condition, and he did not hesitate, 
 therefore, to address its members as "beloved of God, called to be 
 saints." Paul also expresses thanks to God that their faith was 
 "spoken of throughout the whole world." This was a remarkable 
 tribute to the zeal and devotion of the first Italian Church, which 
 
1 2 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 boldly maintained the truth in the mag-nificent but corrupt capital of 
 the Roman Empire. The apostle, moreover, declared his purpose to 
 visit the brethren at Rome, and by imparting ''some spiritual gift," 
 through the preaching of the Gospel, to more fully establish them 
 in their work. He expected to greet them on his contemplated 
 journey from Jerusalem to Spain ; but having been delayed, and 
 wishing to assure them of his affectionate regard, he wrote the cele- 
 brated epistle. 
 
 From Corinth Paul went to Jerusalem to attend the Hebrew fes- 
 tival of Pentecost. He was there arrested and arraigned before the 
 Sanhedrim, but was afterwards sent to Caesarea to Felix, the Roman 
 governor. At the close of two years' imprisonment he was brought 
 to trial, and having appealed his case to Caesar was taken a prisoner 
 to the Roman emperor. It is the prevailing opinion that Paul 
 reached the imperial city in the Spring, A. D. 6i. How different 
 the circumstances of his visit from what he anticipated three years 
 before when he wrote to the brethren at Rome ! He now landed 
 upon the shores of Italy in chains ; but his humiliation only served to 
 increase the sympathy of the Italian Christians, who gave the dis- 
 tinguished prisoner a cordial reception, meeting him at Appii-Forum 
 and the Three Taverns, and escorting him to the city. The apostle 
 was delivered to the "captain of the guard," who permitted him to 
 dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him." 
 
 The presence and counsels of Paul were a blessing to the Church, 
 and though an ** ambassador in bonds," he was determined, as he 
 had previously declared, *'to preach the Gospel," under all circum- 
 stances, to the believers "at Rome also," for even there he was "not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." Knowing it to be "the power 
 of God unto salvation," he proclaimed it to others, and made con- 
 verts in "Caesar's household." While waiting to be arraigned for 
 trial he "dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and 
 received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God 
 and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with 
 all confidence, no man forbidding him." It is evident from the 
 various epistles which he wrote to distant Churches while in Rome, 
 that many were converted under his ministry there. 
 
 The humble Church to which Paul ministered was as "a light 
 which shineth in a dark place." At that period Italy had reached the 
 meridian of wealth, refinement, and luxury; but its moral condition 
 was fearful to behold. Seven centuries of pagan superstition and 
 idolatry had produced their legitimate effects. Livy says of the age 
 
PAUL IN ROME. 13 
 
 of Augustus, which closed A. D. 14, *' We can neitJier bear our vices 
 nor their remedy.'' Seneca, one of the purest morahsts of Rome, 
 says of the same period: ''All is full of criminality and vice; 
 indeed, much more of these is committed than can be remedied by 
 force. A monstrous contest of abandoned wickedness is carried 
 on. The lust of sin increases daily, and shame is daily more and 
 more extinguished. Discarding respect for all that is good and sa- 
 cred, lust rushes on wherever it will. Vice no longer hides itself. It 
 stalks forth before all eyes. So public has abandoned wickedness 
 become, and so openly does it flame up in the minds of all, that 
 innocence is no longer seldom, but has wholly ceased to exist." 
 Thus the testimony of pagan writers confirms the statements of Paul 
 contained in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans. 
 
 From the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, 
 A. D. 14, to the death of Nero, A. D. 69, Italy had continued to 
 sink lower in effeminacy and vice. It could boast of a civilization 
 of intellectual and physical greatness, which may exist even under 
 the dominion of paganism, but sensuality and cruelty every -where 
 prevailed. The spirit of Roman liberty fled, and the people became 
 slaves under the tyrannical rule of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and 
 Nero. In the mean time the light of divine truth had been radiat- 
 ing from the Church in Rome, and many embraced the doctrines of 
 Christianity. The number of such must have been considerable, 
 because a severe persecution was waged against them by Nero, 
 A. D. 64. In the Summer of that year a terrible conflagration 
 occurred in Rome, which continued nine days, and destroyed ten of 
 the fourteen regions, or ** wards," of the city. Nero watched the 
 progress of the flames from a tower on the Esquiline, and chanted 
 the ''Sack of Troy" in the dress of an actor. He manifested the 
 most heartless indifference to the sufferings of his subjects. It is 
 said that he ordered the firing of the city because he was disgusted 
 with its narrow, winding streets, and then charged the crime upon 
 the Christians, who were pursued like wild beasts and put to death 
 in the most cruel manner. 
 
 During the reign of this blood-thirsty monster Paul suffered mar- 
 tyrdom, the tragic event occurring, according to the best authority, 
 in the Summer of A. D. 68. The heroic apostle, after fearlessly 
 proclaiming the truths of Christianity in the splendid city of the 
 Caesars, offered himself as a sacrifice ; but his death, instead of dis- 
 couraging the Christians in Italy, inspired them with fresh courage 
 and hope. The immediate successors of Nero were more tolerant 
 
14 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 toward the followers of Christ. Galba, who reigned only seven 
 months, was of illustrious descent, and possessed a good moral 
 character. He endeavored to accomplish two important objects — 
 the punishment of the enormous vices then prevalent and the replen- 
 ishing of the treasury. Otho, who succeeded Galba, occupied the 
 throne only ninety days, but during that time he manifested a 
 humane disposition. One of his generals was proclaimed emperor 
 by the army, and Otho, having been defeated by Vitellius, commit- 
 ted suicide. The latter resembled Nero in his vices and cruelties, 
 and at the end of eight months was ignominlously put to death by 
 his enemies, who had selected Vespasian to be his successor. 
 
 The new emperor came to the throne by the unanimous consent 
 of the senate and army, and was received with demonstrations of 
 delight on his arrival at Rome, A. D. 70. He acted under the forms 
 of the republic, and even restored the senate to its deliberative 
 rights. Under his vigorous administration the empire regained a 
 great degree of its lost power and prestige. The prominent features 
 of his character were clemency, affability, and frugality. Vespasian 
 also restored the discipline of the army to its old standard, and pro- 
 moted education and literature. The spirit of enterprise was fostered 
 by the erection of great public works, which gave employment to 
 the laboring class. The emperor converted the space inclosed by 
 Nero, for his own use, into public grounds, and in a portion of it built 
 the Flavian Amphitheater, or celebrated Coliseum. The interior was 
 decorated with great splendor. The principal seats were of marble, 
 and covered with cushions. Gilded gratings, ornaments of gold, ivory, 
 and amber, and mosaic of precious stones, displayed the generosity 
 of the emperor and gratified the taste of the people. 
 
 Vespasian, who died A. D. 79, to the universal regret of the 
 people of Italy, was succeeded by his son Titus, a just and benevo- 
 lent prince. He was sincerely and unceasingly devoted to the hap- 
 piness of his subjects, and, notwithstanding his extravagant habits 
 and other grave personal faults, deserves to be classed among the 
 good rulers of Italy. During his reign the country was afflicted 
 with heavy calamities. A terrible fire raged three days and nights 
 at Rome, and this was followed by a destructive pestilence, which 
 carried away ten thousand persons in one day. Titus from his own 
 resources repaired the devastations of the city, even selling the orna- 
 ments of his palace to defray the cost of rebuilding the burned dis- 
 trict. The great eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the beautiful 
 and wealthy cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum,was a serious loss to 
 
l6 ITAL V STJi UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that portion of Italy ; but in all these disasters the emperor acted as 
 a father to his people. His brother, Domitian, assumed the royal 
 purple, A. D. 8i. The beginning of his reign promised a continu- 
 ance of their happiness to the inhabitants of Italy; but the scene 
 soon changed, and he became a most execrable villain and tyrant. 
 Possessing a morose and jealous disposition, he delighted in cruel 
 deeds, condemning to death many illustrious Romans, whose agonies 
 he witnessed with ferocious pleasure. His reign was an era of prod- 
 igality and luxury as well as of inhumanity and baseness. The 
 people were loaded with insupportable taxes to furnish spectacles and 
 games for their amusement. Though not destitute of learning him- 
 self, he was not disposed to patronize it, but banished the philoso- 
 phers from Rome, and spent his own leisure in the most degrading 
 pursuits. He was bitter against the followers of Christ, who had 
 become numerous, and at his instigation not less than forty thousand 
 of them suffered martyrdom, A. D. 95. 
 
 The cruelties of Domitian had so discredited the hereditary prin- 
 ciple that the senate now asserted a right which it had not exercised 
 since the days of Augustus, and selected Nerva to occupy the throne, 
 which was made vacant by the death of Domitian, A. D. 96. The 
 new emperor proved to be one of Rome's best sovereigns — econom- 
 ical, prudent, munificent, courteous, and modest. The few vices he 
 possessed were scarcely observed amidst the blaze of his virtues and 
 the fame of his exploits. He replaced the bloody rule of Domitian 
 with a government of great gentleness, and, by rescinding the san- 
 guinary edicts of his predecessor, permitted the Christian Church to 
 enjoy a season of tranquillity. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 PAGAN DARKNESS DISAPPEARING. 
 
 WHEN the second century opened Trajan still held the imperial 
 scepter, and endeavored to extend his dominions. After a 
 struggle of four years he finally conquered the Dacians, A. D. 105, 
 and, returning to Rome, celebrated his triumph with games which 
 lasted one hundred and twenty-three days, during which eleven thou- 
 sand wild beasts and ten thousand gladiators, chiefly Dacian prison- 
 ers, are said to have been slain. He invaded Armenia, A. D. 115, 
 
THE PEACEFUL REIGN OF HADRIAN. 17 
 
 and carried his victorious arms as far as Susa. The result of the 
 war was the addition to the Roman territory of the provinces of 
 Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Ass3Tia. Desiring to be considered by 
 future ages as a great conqueror, he resolved to subjugate the whole 
 earth, but was compelled to abandon the enterprise on account of the 
 inconveniences of increasing age. He died in Cilicia, A. D. 117, 
 on his return from the East, and his ashes were conveyed to Rome 
 in a golden urn, and buried under the column which is called by 
 his name. 
 
 Hadrian was chosen emperor, and in many respects resembled 
 Trajan. He was genial in his disposition, affable in manner, and 
 liberal in character. Though he ruled with a firm hand he was mod- 
 erate in all things, and scrupulously maintained the forms of a free 
 government. He expended the public funds lavishly in the service 
 of the state and the improvement of the empire, but managed the 
 finances with such skill that his treasury was never exhausted. He 
 resembled Trajan also in his capacity for and devotion to business, 
 and never allowed his love of pleasure to interfere with his official 
 duties. He was a liberal patron of the arts and a wise friend to lit- 
 erature. His reign was an almost unbroken period of peace and 
 prosperity, as he desired to improve his dominions Avithout caring to 
 extend them. By visiting in person all the provinces of his empire 
 he became acquainted with the various races over which he ruled, 
 and dispensed to each alike the blessings of justice and order. With 
 the advance of age his natural irritability of temper and jealousy 
 increased, and, disregarding the value of human life, he put men to 
 death for small offenses. An architect was condemned to be exe- 
 cuted for criticising some statues designed by the emperor. Toward 
 the close of his earthly career he was miserable and unhappy ; but 
 his subjects, despite his faults, mourned his demise. "To have 
 combined for twenty years unbroken peace with the maintenance of 
 a contented and efficient army ; liberal expenditure with a full ex- 
 chequer, replenished by no oppressive or unworthy means ; a free- 
 speaking senate with a strong and firm monarchy, — is no mean glory." 
 
 The wisdom of Hadrian was never more strikingly exhibited than 
 in the choice of his successor, Titus Aurelius Antoninus, or Antoni- 
 nus Pius, as he is more commonly called. He commenced to reign 
 A. D. 138, and during his peaceful and prosperous administration 
 of twenty -three years conferred innumerable blessings upon Italy. 
 While preferring peace to conquest, yet whenever war became nec- 
 essary he carried it on with vigor and success. He continued the 
 
l8 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 liberal policy of Trajan and Hadrian, displaying virtues that were an 
 ornament to human nature. Such was his munificence that in cases 
 of famine or inundation in Italy he supplied with his own money the 
 wants of the sufferers. When told of conquering heroes his humane 
 feelings moved him to say, with Scipio, that ' * he preferred the life 
 and preservation of one subject to the death of a hundred enemies." 
 He was the first of the pagan emperors who protected the Christians, 
 for whom he manifested an extraordinary regard, declaring that ' * if 
 any should proceed to disturb them on account of their religion, 
 such should undergo the same punishment which was intended against 
 the accused." A degree of persecution, nevertheless, occurred, for 
 which Antoninus can not be held responsible. 
 
 Marcus Aurehus, who ascended the imperial throne A. D. i6i, 
 assumed the name of Antoninus, his adoptive father, to whom he was 
 sincerely attached. He was a prince of great talents and virtue, lov- 
 ing retirement and philosophical contemplation, and improving for 
 mental cultivation and enjoyment all his leisure time, which, to his 
 regret, was limited. The disturbances in the empire called him fre- 
 quently into the field, and being inclined to peace, he disliked these 
 military excursions. It was an infelicity of the otherwise admirable 
 reign of Aurelius, that the Christians at one time were violently per- 
 secuted. From his youth he had been a devoted follower of the doc- 
 trines of the Stoic philosophy, and it is possible that he was influenced 
 in his treatment of the Christians by the advice of the harsh and arro- 
 gant members of that sect Avho surrounded him. The fanatical pagan 
 priests ascribed to the Christians the various calamities which afflicted 
 the empire — the attacks of the barbarians, and the devastations occa- 
 sioned by earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and inundations. The 
 disciples of Christ were accused of provoking the gods by impiously 
 refusing to deprecate their wrath. During this persecution, which 
 occurred A. D. 177, many indignities, deprivations, and sufferings 
 were inflicted on those who professed the true faith. These cruel 
 measures, which equaled those of Nero, were permitted by Aurelius, 
 though he was the most philosophic and accomplished of the Romish 
 emperors, and his administration was stained with the blood of such 
 eminent martyrs as the venerable Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, the 
 friend and companion of the Apostle John, and the excellent and 
 learned Justin Martyr. Among many nameless sufferers history has 
 preserved from oblivion Pothinus, the respectable bishop of Lyons, 
 who was then more than ninety years of age ; Sanctus, a deacon of 
 Vienne; Attalus, a native of Pergamus ; Maturus, and Alexander; 
 
A URELIUS LESS INTOLERANT. 1 9 
 
 some of whom were devoured by wild beasts, and some of them 
 tortured in an iron chair made red hot. Some females also, and 
 particularly Biblias and Blandina, reflected honor both upon their sex 
 and their religion by their constancy and courage. 
 
 It is said that a circumstance, which seemed to be almost miracu- 
 lous, gave Aurelius a favorable impression of the Christians, and 
 immediately caused him to relax the persecution against them. In a 
 contest with the barbarians beyond the Danube, the Roman legions 
 unexpectedly, through the artifice of the enemy, found themselves 
 inclosed in a place where they could neither fight nor retreat. In 
 this situation they became at length entirely disheartened from their 
 long-continued fatigue, the excessive heat of the place, and their 
 violent thirst. In this terrible condition, while sorrow and despair 
 were depicted on every brow, Aurelius ran through the ranks and 
 used every effort to rekindle their hopes and courage ; but in vain. 
 At this crisis, and just as the barbarians were ready to follow them, 
 it is recorded that the solemn prayers of a Christian legion, then serv- 
 ing in the Roman army, produced such a shower of rain as instantly 
 revived the fainting soldiers. At the same time the clouds seemed 
 to change their appearance and next discharged a fearful storm of 
 hail with thunder, that dismayed the enemy and made them an easy 
 prey to the refreshed and inspirited Romans. This circumstance is 
 related by pagan as well as Christian writers, with this difference, that 
 the latter ascribe the victory to the prayers of the Christian legion, 
 and the former to the prayers of the emperor. The death of Aurel- 
 ius, A. D. 180, was regretted as a public loss, and great honor was 
 paid to his memory by the people. According to the superstitions 
 of the times he was ranked among the gods, and in almost every 
 house his statue was found. Scholars and philosophers in succeeding 
 ages read and admired his book of "Meditations." 
 
 Commodus, the son of Aurelius, was nominated by the latter to- 
 succeed him, and he accordingly mounted the throne A. D. 180. 
 He had nothing but the merits of his father to commend him to the 
 Roman people, evidently inheriting the disposition of his infamous 
 mother, Faustina, rather than that of Aurelius. It is a singular fact 
 that the most detestable of all the emperors was the son of one who, 
 in many respects, may be ranked among the best. Commodus in- 
 dulged in the lowest vices and the meanest pursuits, participating in 
 the sports of the circus and the ampitheater. Proud of his physical! 
 strength, he called himself the "Roman Hercules," and engaged in 
 combats with wild beasts and gladiators. His administration of the 
 
20 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 government was entirely weak, contemptible, and tyrannical, and the 
 decline of the empire, which had begun as early as the reign of Galba, 
 and had only been arrested by the five good emperors, proceeded 
 with frightful rapidity. The discipline of the army was almost totally 
 destroyed. The troops deserted their standards by hundreds, and 
 either united with the provincials and settled down into an agricul- 
 tural life, or organized themselves into banditti and plundered the 
 country without restraint. ** Meanwhile population was declining and 
 production consequently diminishing, while luxury and extravagance 
 continued to prevail among the upper classes, and to exhaust the 
 resources of the state. Abo\'e all, the general morality was contin- 
 ually becoming worse and worse. Despite a few bright examples in 
 high places, the tone of society grew every-where more and more 
 corrupt. Purity of life, except among despised Christians, was almost 
 unknown. Patriotism had ceased to exist, and was not yet replaced 
 by loyalty. Decline and decrepitude showed themselves in almost 
 every portion of the body politic, and a general despondency, the 
 result of a consciousness of debility, pervaded all classes." 
 
 Commodus was assassinated, A. D. 193, and in the same year 
 Pertinax, who had been chosen emperor by the conspirators, com- 
 menced to reign. The praetorian guards, yielding to the entreaties 
 of their commander, who was one of the murderers of Commodus, 
 sullenly accepted the new ruler; but the senate, overjoyed at the 
 elevation of one of their own order, welcomed him with manifestations 
 of delight. At first he naturally hesitated to receive a crown pre- 
 sented to him by bloody hands, but his scruples were at length over- 
 come. Originally the son of an enfranchised slave, he nevertheless 
 rose to esteem by his virtues and military talents. When called to the 
 throne he possessed an unblemished character and was one of the few 
 surviving friends of Marcus Aurelius. The treasury being empty, Per- 
 tinax endeavored to introduce economy into the administration of the 
 government; but he corrected abuses with such an unsparing hand 
 that he aroused the hostility of the avaricious praetorians and alien- 
 ated the affections of a corrupted people. On the 28th of March, 
 A. D. 193, he was deposed and murdered by the same guards that 
 had elected him. The praetorians now put the imperial dignity up^ 
 at auction, and Didius Julianus, a man of consular rank and the 
 richest citizen of Rome, charmed with the prospect of unbounded 
 dominion, hastened to the camp, and became the purchaser by a bid 
 of more than fifteen millions of dollars. The senate, afraid to oppose 
 the will of these troops, acknowledged Julianus; but at least three of 
 
THE MILITAR V REIGN OF SE VER US. 2 1 
 
 the generals in the provinces abroad disclaimed his authority, and 
 were each proclaimed emperor by their respective forces. Of these, 
 Severus was the most energetic, and being the nearest to Rome he 
 soon passed the Alps and marched upon the city. Julianus, unable 
 to raise an army to oppose him, was exposed to disappointment, 
 mortification, insult, and danger. His perplexity and distress at 
 length became extreme and overwhelming. The senate, at this crisis, 
 perceiving his timidity and irresolution, abandoned him, and after 
 causing him to be beheaded proclaimed Severus emperor. Thus 
 within eight months the imperial crown had been worn by two mon- 
 archs, Pertinax having reigned three months and Julianus five. 
 
 The first act of Septimius Severus, after obtaining possession of 
 the capital, was to degrade the praetorian soldiers and destroy their 
 power, and he secured this result by depriving them of their title and 
 banishing them one hundred miles from the city. The new emperor 
 was an African by birth, and possessed a restless activity with an 
 unbounded share of ambition. He was endowed with a hardihood 
 and decision of character which fitted him for any enterprise. His 
 military talents were conspicuous, and the credit of the Roman arms 
 was sustained during his reign. In his administration of government 
 he was generally wise and equitable, but. highly despotic. After de- 
 feating Albinus and Niger, his rivals, he put to death forty-one sen- 
 ators and a number of rich provincials, because they did not support 
 him. He spent considerable time in visiting the cities of Italy, but 
 devoted more attention to military than civil affairs. 
 
 During the second century Christianity made rapid progress in 
 Italy, and paganism, beholding the desertion of her temples and the 
 neglect of her victims, trembled in the presence of an increasing 
 power which threatened her with inevitable destruction. The writ- 
 ings of Pliny, Justin Martyr, and others, declare that not only the 
 wretched, the ignorant, and the poor accepted the Gospel, and espe- 
 cially the doctrine of immortality, which reconciled them to the miser- 
 ies of life, but also the learned, the accomplished, and the wealthy. 
 The prominent virtues of the early Italian Christians were instrumental 
 in the spread of the truth. Men could not resist an argument so 
 persuasive and powerful. The followers of Christ, relinquishing the 
 pleasures and vanities of the world, lived in humble style, and those 
 who had possessions voluntarily renounced them for the relief of 
 their indigent brethren. The heathen philosophers, who tolerated 
 every form of vice, naturally abhorred the doctrines and despised the 
 professors of this new religion; but even Marcus Aurellus acknowl- 
 
22 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 edged the contrast between the resigned and devout manners of the 
 Christians and the conduct of the other subjects of the empire during 
 a season of pecuHar calamity. They were bound by the most sol- 
 emn obligation to abstain from theft, sedition, adultery, perjury, 
 fi-aud, and all other crimes which disturb the private or public peace 
 of society. Far from being engaged in any unlawful conspiracy, they 
 were even commended for their loyalty by the pagan governors. 
 Besides these virtues, which shone so brightly in that dark age, the 
 members of this persecuted sect possessed a warm and active charity, 
 which was not confined to their own society, nor even to the whole 
 Christian community, but extended to all, however different in relig- 
 ious opinions. 
 
 Notwithstanding that during the greater part of this century the 
 Christians of Italy were not molested, the sword of persecution was 
 not sheathed because the pagan government had ceased to be hostile. 
 It was constantly suspended by a single hair over their innocent heads, 
 but the emperors were often too much engrossed with public affaiirs 
 to punish them. The decrees of Trajan respecting them Avere soft- 
 ened by the counsels of the mild and benevolent Pliny, Avhose hu- 
 mane interference secured for them exemption from further annoy- 
 ance ; and in the succeeding reign of Hadrian, the penalties enacted 
 against them were mitigated, but not abrogated. The enemies of 
 Christianity despised its followers, because their manners and habits 
 were peculiar, and they were accused of being austere and arrogant. 
 As they had no visible object-of worship, their pretensions to religion 
 were considered improbable, if not impious, and because they assem- 
 bled in solitary places they were charged with holding incestuous 
 festivals and practicing human sacrifices. These and other accusa- 
 tions originated in the implacable hatred of the pagan priests. 
 
 Not only the pious lives but also the triumphant deaths of many 
 of the prominent martyrs were powerful arguments in favor of the 
 Gospel. The testimony of these illustrious saints confounded the 
 pagan philosophers, and deeply impressed the people. Another ele- 
 ment of strength that contributed to the overthrow of error was the 
 Christian literature of Italy. Among the celebrated writers of the 
 century was Justin Martyr, whose piety and eloquence have been 
 admired by succeeding ages. He wandered in pursuit of truth 
 through every known philosophical system, and at length embraced 
 the Christian religion. Without laying aside the philosopher's habit, 
 he taught the doctrines of the Gospel at Rome, where he suffered 
 martvrdom. 
 
THE NOBLE ALEXANDER SEVER US. 23 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 THE LIGHT SHINING IN ITAL Y. 
 
 THE reign of Severus extended into the third century and "ter- 
 minated A. D. 211. He died in Great Britain, where he had 
 spent more than two years in mihtary campaigns against the Caledo- 
 nians. His sons, Caracalla and Geta, conjointly ruled the empire, 
 but the former murdered the latter, A. D. 212. The surviving 
 brother was a cruel monster, and after committing a continued series 
 of fearful atrocities was taken off by assassination, A. D. 217. Ma- 
 crinus, who instigated Caracalla's death, became emperor; but little is 
 known concerning him. He was of obscure birth, and, alienating 
 the affections of his soldiers by severe discipline, he rendered himself 
 unpopular, and lost his life in the struggle to retain his power, after 
 a brief reign of eighteen months. The army raised Heliogabalus to 
 the throne, A. D. 218, when he was only fourteen years of age; but, 
 notwithstanding his youthfulness, he ranked in wickedness with Nero, 
 Commodus, and Caracalla, hastening by his vices the fall of the 
 empire and covering his name with eternal infamy. 
 
 At the end of four years Heliogabalus was assassinated, and Alex- 
 ander Severus became the imperial ruler, A. D. 222. He was a 
 prince of pure and blameless morals, possessing a kind, beneficent 
 disposition, and having a thorough knowledge of literature and the 
 arts. It is said that in deciding a controversy between the Christians 
 and a company of cooks and vintners about a piece of ground, which 
 the former claimed as a place of public worship, and the latter for 
 exercising their respective trades, he made the following remark: *'It 
 is better that God be worshiped there in any manner than that the 
 place should be put to the uses of drunkenness or debauchery." 
 Though a young man of only sixteen years when called to this 
 responsible position, he exhibited great wisdom and was highly hon- 
 ored and esteemed by his subjects. During a mutiny among his 
 soldiers he was slain at the instigation of Maximinus, A. D. 235, 
 in the fourteenth year of his reign. Maximinus did not long wear 
 the crown obtained through crime, for he became so odious to the 
 Roman people on account of his cruelties that his own soldiers were 
 induced to put him to death, A. D. 238. From this period to the 
 
24 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 beginning of Diocletian's administration, A. D. 285, one emperor fol- 
 lowed another in rapid succession. The praetorian soldiers selected 
 the two Gordians, father and son, and the senate elected Pupienus 
 and Balbinus. During the struggle that ensued all the claimants per- 
 ished, and Gordian, a grandson to one of the former Gordians, was 
 chosen by the army, and the senate and people were compelled to 
 submit. This ruler was a young man of considerable merit, and was 
 so fond of learning that he collected sixty-two thousand books in 
 his private library. He appointed Philip, an Arabian, his prefect, 
 and the latter showed his ingratitude by murdering his benefactor, 
 A. D. 244; but after reigning five years he himself fell under the 
 assassin's blow, thus receiving, in the manner of his death, a righteous 
 retribution. 
 
 When Decius began to sway the scepter, A. D. 249, the profli- 
 gacy and luxury of the times, the disputes between the pagans and 
 Christians, and the recent eruptions of the barbdrians from without, 
 had enfeebled the empire beyond remedy, and hence the activity and 
 wisdom of the new sovereign could not arrest the process of decay. 
 Believing that by destroying the Christians the purity of religion and 
 morals among the Romans would be restored, he inaugurated a series 
 of persecutions, and among the eminent martyrs were the bishops 
 of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome. During his reign the Goths, 
 attracted by the riches of the empire, swept over the border in large 
 force, and Decius, in endeavoring to check their advance, was slain. 
 The army now consented to allow the senate to regulate the succes- 
 sion, and that body nominated Gallus, one of the generals of Decius, 
 and two sons of the latter, Hostilianus and Volusianus, to rule the 
 kingdom; but Gallus was really the emperor, his age and experience 
 placing him far above his colleagues. He purchased peace from the 
 Goths by the payment of an annual tribute on condition of their 
 abstaining from invading the Roman dominions. This act rendered 
 him unpopular in Italy, and the prevailing discontent was increased 
 by the calamities Avhich rapidly came upon the people. A destructive 
 pestilence raged in Rome, threatening almost to depopulate it, and 
 among the victims was Hostilianus. Gallus was a vicious sovereign, 
 and was more and more disliked by his subjects. He failed to repel 
 a fresh invasion of the barbarians ; but -^milianus, a governor of one 
 of the provinces, defeated them, and was proclaimed emperor by his 
 troops. Advancing upon Rome, he was opposed by Gallus, whose 
 soldiers revolted, murdered their leader, and accepted ^milianus. 
 The latter was acknowledged by the senate, A. D. 253; but Valerian, 
 
THE VIG OR O US REIGN OF A URELIAN. 2 5 
 
 a general of Gallus, returning from Gaul, contested the elevation of 
 the new ruler, and defeated him in a conflict in which he perished, 
 after a reign of three months. 
 
 Valerian was sixty years of age, and being too infirm to grapple 
 with the dangers which now burst upon Italy, he did not enjoy a 
 prosperous reign. In a war with Persia he was made a prisoner, A. 
 D. 260, by Sapor, who refused all offers of ransom for his illustrious 
 captive, allowing him to retain his imperial purple while in chains — a 
 spectacle never before witnessed in the world's history. It is said 
 that the Persian king held the royal prisoner seven years, and used 
 him as a footstool in mounting his horse, declaring that '^such an 
 attitude was the best statue that could be erected in honor of his 
 victory." Gallienus, who had been associated, A. D. 254, in the 
 government of the empire, upon his father's capture became sole 
 ruler; but during his reign of eight years the disasters which had 
 been afflicting Italy, continued without cessation. ''The emperor," 
 says Gibbon, "was a master of several curious but useless sciences, 
 a ready orator, an elegant poet, a skillful gardener, an excellent cook, 
 and a most contemptible prince." He promised to avenge the insults 
 and death of his father ; but after his elevation he thought only of his 
 own base pleasures. In the mean time his dominions were attacked 
 without and disturbed within, and he could do little more than 
 attempt the defense of Italy against the thirty pretenders who at one 
 time contended for the control of the state. In the vicinity of Milan, 
 Gallienus was slain by his troops, A. D. 268, and their selection of 
 Flavins Claudius to fill the vacant throne was indorsed by the whole 
 Roman people. This prince was an active, wise, and good man, and 
 by his firmness arrested for a while the work of destruction which 
 was going on in the empire. He conquered and expelled the Goths 
 and other tribes from Italy; and, after a short but glorious reign of 
 two years, died at Sirmium, A. D. 270. On his death-bed he recom- 
 mended as his successor Aurelian, one of his generals, whom he 
 considered most competent to the task of completing the work he 
 himself had begun. 
 
 The parentage of Aurelian was obscure, but he was esteemed the 
 most valiant commander of his age, and after driving the Germans 
 out of Italy he put an end to the Gothic war by crushing the enemy. 
 He revived the rigid discipline of the army, and led his victorious 
 troops to Palmyra, and not only overthrew the kingdom, but con- 
 veyed Zenobia, the ruling princess, to Rome, A. D. 273. Previous 
 to these wars Aurelian, in order to secure the capital against the 
 
26 ITALY STRUGGLIXG IXTO LIGHT. 
 
 sudden attack of the barbarians, fortified Rome with a new wall 
 which inclosed the suburbs that had sprung up beyond the wall of 
 Servius Tullius. This brave general was about to proceed to the 
 East to make war upon the Persians when he was assassinated by 
 several of his officers, who had been instigated to the crime by his 
 private secretary, A. D. 275. The administration of Aurelian was 
 thus suddenly terminated at the end of four years and nine months, 
 and ranks among the most brilliant in the history of Rome. His 
 violent death created great indignation in the army, and the troops, 
 refusing to allow any of the officers to assume the imperial dignity, 
 applied to the senate to appoint a new emperor. After waiting six 
 months the people were informed that ]\I. Claudius Tacitus, a senator 
 of great wealth and pure character, had been chosen. He endeav- 
 ored to decline the honor, pleading his age and infirmities, but the 
 senate would not release him. During a reign of six or seven months 
 he labored to restore that era of morality and law which had marked 
 the earlier republic. Being called away to the East by the disaffec- 
 tion of the army in that quarter, he sank under the fatigues of the 
 journey, and died, A. D. 276, When the news of his death reached 
 Rome, his brother, Florian, resolved to take the reins of government ; 
 but the Eastern army had already invested their general, M. Aurelius 
 Probus, with the imperial purple. The troops of Florian not only 
 refused to fight their comrades, but were induced, within three 
 months, to murder their own commander. 
 
 Probus, who now had undisputed possession of the throne, was 
 an able general and a prudent and vigorous monarch, sincerely 
 devoted to the welfare of his subjects, which he believed he could 
 accomplish as well by the arts of peace as by conquest. He endeav- 
 ored to drain the marshy lands and to improve the agricultural 
 system. In attempting to accomplish the latter object he found it 
 necessary to employ his troops, and they, disgusted with agricultural 
 pursuits, and desiring to be reheved, put Probus to death, A. D. 282. 
 The army selected Carus, the praetorian prefect, to administer the 
 government, and he proclaimed his two sons, Carinus and Numer- 
 ianus, "Caesars," associating the former in the empire. Leaving 
 Carinus to govern the West, Carus departed for the East, taking with 
 him his younger son. After a victorious campaign in Mesopotamia 
 and Persia, he died on the banks of the Tigris, A. D. 283. Xumer- 
 ianus assumed the command, but was assassinated by his father-in- 
 law, who hoped to seize the throne. When the legions discovered 
 the crime they placed the scepter in the hands of Diocletian, the 
 
THE TWELVE C^SARS. 
 
28 ITAL V STjR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 commander of the body-guard, who slew the murderer of the young 
 prince with his own hands and marched westward. Carinus, who had 
 disgusted the people of Italy by his profligacy, hearing of the 
 approach of Diocletian, advanced with a large army to meet him, 
 and obtained a decisive victory, but was himself slain by a tribune 
 whom he had grievously wronged. 
 
 The troops acknowledged Diocletian as emperor, A. D. 285, and 
 his accession truly marks a new period in the history of Italy and the 
 whole empire. Since the death of Commodus, the imperial authority 
 had been restricted by the insolent legions, who claimed the right to 
 elevate and dethrone the sovereign at will. By assuming the pre- 
 rogatives legally belonging to the senate, they inaugurated a tyranny 
 which was unendurable, and which would have destroyed the Roman 
 state long before had not the danger with which the barbarians con- 
 stantly threatened it made the troops willing to submit to some form 
 of discipline. Diocletian strengthened the authority of the government 
 and taught the army its true position as the servant of the state. He 
 associated with him in the empire one of his generals named Maxim- 
 ian, who had risen from the ranks, and who was little more than a 
 good military commander. The two emperors took each the title of 
 Augustus. Two ''Caesars" were appointed to stand in the relation 
 of sons and successors to the Augusti, Galerius being chosen by 
 Diocletian and Constantius by Maximian. Both were younger than 
 their patrons and possessed great ability as generals. The empire 
 was divided among the four sovereigns, Italy being a part of Max- 
 imian's territory; but, according to the basis of agreement, the unity 
 of the v/hole remained intact. This complex arrangement worked 
 well while Diocletian lived, because his influence was sufficient to 
 maintain harmony in the government. Toward the close of his reign, 
 however, the evils of the system began to manifest themselves. The 
 establishment of four imperial courts instead of one, and the conse- 
 quent multiplication of officials and of armies, necessarily increased 
 the rate of taxation, already very heavy. The inhabitants of Italy 
 were almost crushed beneath the weight of the imposts laid upon the 
 country, and the taxes were collected with the greatest difficulty. It 
 was generally necessary to employ violence and sometimes torture 
 for this purpose. Hence industry sank beneath this system that 
 deprived it of all its earnings; production diminished steadily, and 
 the prices of all commodities rose. 
 
 During the civil and military events of the third century Chris- 
 tianity continued to advance in Italy. Among several causes favor- 
 
LIGHT IN THE CATACOMBS. 29 
 
 able to its diffusion was the rapid succession of the Roman emperors, 
 whose Hves and deaths attracted pubHc attention, and delayed the 
 execution of those edicts intended for the destruction of the Chris- 
 tians. The interval between the death of Severus and the time when 
 Maximinus assumed the imperial purple was a period when the follow- 
 ers of Christ enjoyed peculiar privileges. They publicly appeared at 
 court, and composed a considerable part of the household and favor- 
 ites of the amiable Alexander, being protected by Mammaea, his 
 mother. Maximinus persecuted them, but after his death they had 
 more liberty than they ever before experienced. Philip had even 
 advanced beyond the bounds observed by Alexander Severus, who 
 paid divine honors to Christ, and it is said that he placed his statue 
 or picture along with Abraham and Orpheus in his domestic chapel. 
 After the Decian persecution the Church had comparative peace, 
 which continued during eighteen years of the reign of Diocletian. 
 In this prosperous season the Christians publicly professed their 
 religious sentiments, and increased so rapidly that many additional 
 edifices were demanded for religious worship. 
 
 Thus the first dawn of Christian light upon Italy had developed 
 into a bright morning. The storms of persecution often darkened 
 the sky ; but the radiance of the Gospel dispelled even the gloom of 
 the Catacombs, the subterranean sanctuaries where the saints assem- 
 bled to worship God, and the purity of their faith is attested by the 
 symbols on the walls of these wonderful retreats. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 PA GANISM O VER THR WN IN ITAL Y. 
 
 TOWARDS the close of his reign Diocletian, alarmed at the 
 rapid progress of Christianity, which had been embraced by 
 fully one-half of his subjects, determined to destroy it. He issued 
 an edict, A. D. 303, requiring uniformity of worship throughout the 
 empire; but the Christians refused to comply with it. Thousands 
 were slain in every province ; their property was confiscated, and 
 their churches destroyed. Diocletian, weary of the trials and cares 
 of public life, abdicated his throne, and compelled Maximian to do 
 likewise. By this act Galerius and Constantius became Augusti, 
 A. D. 305, and for several years the empire \yas ruled by various 
 
30 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 persons appointed by the senate. Maxentius was (A. D. 311) em- 
 peror of that division which embraced Italy, and had ahenated his 
 subjects by his cruelties and extortions. They appealed to Constan- 
 tine to drive their oppressor from the throne ; but he disliked to 
 engage in such a war. Finding, however, that Maxentius was pre- 
 paring to invade Gaul, he anticipated him, and entered Italy at the 
 head of forty thousand men, passing the Alps by way of Mont Cenis 
 without resistance. The struggle was decided by the vigor and 
 rapidity of Constantine's movements. He defeated his adversary in 
 two battles — one near Verona and the other at the CoUine Gate — 
 and made himself master of Rome and Italy, Maxentius having been 
 drowned in the Tiber during the last battle. 
 
 Constantine declared subsequently to Eusebius, bishop of Caesa- 
 rea, according to that writer, that in one of his marches in the cam- 
 paign against Maxentius he had seen with his own eyes the luminous 
 trophy of the cross, placed above the meridian sun, inscribed with 
 these words, ''By this conquer!" This amazing object in the sky 
 astonished the whole army, as well as Constantine, who was yet 
 undetermined in the choice of a religion. His astonishment was 
 converted into faith by a vision v\/hich was vouchsafed to him the 
 following night. * ' Christ appeared before his eyes ; and, displaying 
 the same celestial sign of the cross, he directed Constantine to frame 
 a similar standard, and to march with an assurance of victory against 
 Maxentius and all his enemies." 
 
 In the fourth century the darkness of paganism disappeared from 
 Italy. When Constantine embraced the Christian religion, A. D. 
 311, he found the Church crushed by persecution, and resolved to 
 defend it against its enemies. In A. D. 313 he issued an edict from 
 Milan, authorizing every subject of the empire to profess either 
 Christianity or paganism, undisturbed, securing the places of Chris- 
 tian worship, and even directing the restoration of whatever property 
 they had been dispossessed of by the late persecutions. About 
 A. D. 325 he sent forth circular letters to all his subjects, exhorting 
 them to an immediate imitation of their sovereign, who had em- 
 braced the divine truths of the Gospel. By legal enactment, Chris- 
 tianity became the national religion of the Roman Empire. From a 
 persecuting the government had been converted into a protecting 
 power. The religious zeal of Constantine increased with his years, 
 and toward the close of his life several imperial edicts were issued 
 for the destruction of the heathen temples and the prohibition of 
 any sacrifices upon the altars of the gods. Before receiving the 
 
THE CHUR CH AND ST A TE. 3 1 
 
 initiatory rite of baptism, or entering the ranks of the catechumens, 
 he performed many of the solemn ceremonies appointed by the 
 Church — fasting, observance of the feasts in commemoration of the 
 martyrs, and devout watching during the whole night on the vigils 
 of the saints. 
 
 The Church, having received so many advantages from the con- 
 version and protection of Constantine, was prepared to acknowledge 
 the emperor as its supreme head, who desired to unite the office of 
 sovereign pontiff with the imperial dignity. He assumed to himself 
 the title of bishop and ruler of the external affairs of the Church, 
 and regulated whatever pertained to the possessions, reputation, 
 rights, and privileges of the clergy. He and his successors convened 
 councils, in which they presided and determined every thing relating 
 to religious controversy, to the forms of divine worship, to the vices 
 of the ecclesiastical order or the offices of the priests, and to matters 
 of discipline. The Hmits of episcopal power between the emperor 
 and the clergy were never clearly defined, and hence each party often 
 encroached upon the rights of the other. 
 
 The Bishop of Rome claimed superior antiquity, and therefore 
 placed himself at the head of the clerical order. Before the close 
 of the fourth century his authority had a formidable rival in the 
 bishop of Constantinople, who, in the council convened at that city, 
 was elevated to the second clerical rank in the empire. From this 
 period began that contention and animosity which long existed 
 between these rivals, and which finally terminated in a final separa- 
 tion between the Greek and Latin Churches. This strife frequently 
 'arose between candidates for the same bishopric. The extensive 
 powers and revenues belonging to the principal sees made them 
 desirable, and presented a temptation to ambition and avarice 
 which even clerical integrity could not resist. A melancholy and 
 disgraceful instance of this kind occurred A. D.#336, when the 
 vacant see of Rome was, by a greater part of the clergy and 
 people, conferred upon Damasus, and the bishops confirmed the 
 election by regularly ordaining him. By various Intrigues the de- 
 signing Ursiclnus had obtained ordination to the same see from some 
 other bishops, and proceeded to take possession of what he regarded 
 as his right. This produced a severe contest, which resulted in 
 blows, and even bloodshed and murder. The tumult did not subside 
 after the banishment of Ursiclnus, whose followers would not com- 
 municate with Damasus. They were likewise banished, but soon 
 returned with their turbulent leader and excited another rebellion. 
 
32 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The Council of Aquileia requested the emperor again to banish the 
 factious prelate ; but several years elapsed before Damasus obtained 
 peaceable possession of his office. This specimen of clerical deprav- 
 ity indicated a departure from primitive virtue in the early Church 
 of Italy that must have alarmed those who preferred Jerusalem above 
 their ''chief joy." 
 
 One of the most striking evidences of the growing formality, 
 superstition, and corruption of the Italian Church was the increasing 
 veneration for the Virgin Mary, which arose in the fourth century, 
 and was generally entertained at the beginning of the fifth. Her 
 image, holding in her arms the infant Jesus, was honored with a dis- 
 tinguished situation in the church, and in many places invoked with 
 a peculiar species of worship. Another step toward Romish idolatry 
 was the respect shown for the bread consecrated for the sacrament 
 of the Lord's-supper. The body, as well as the soul, was supposed 
 to feel its efficacy, and it was used as a medicine in sickness. Many 
 who traveled by land and by sea carried it with them as a preserva- 
 tive against every danger. Some deposited a quantity of it in the 
 sepulchers of their departed relations. This practice was condemned 
 in the Council of Carthage, but it continued to prevail in succeeding 
 centuries. Thus the memorials of the death and sufferings of Jesus 
 Christ, which had formerly been celebrated by all Christians on every 
 Lord's-day, was attended by very few of the numerous professors 
 of Christianity, because they feared that they might receive them 
 unworthily. 
 
 A remarkable innovation was also made in the discipline of the 
 Church by Leo the Great, who suppressed all public confessions of 
 sin. It had been customary for the trembling penitent to confess 
 before the assembled congregation, but. In order that the power of 
 the clergy might be extended over the consciences of men, a single 
 priest was authorized to hear confession in private. This change 
 indicated how rapidly the Italian Church was being transformed into 
 the papal hierarchy. 
 
 All the magnificent appendages which had characterized pagan 
 ceremonies were now Interwoven into the fabric of the Church. 
 Incense was no longer regarded as an abomination, but smoked upon 
 every Christian altar. Even In the day the services of religion were 
 performed by the light of tapers and flambeaux. The discovery of 
 rehcs was proportioned to the desire of obtaining them. 
 
 Another branch of superstition originated at this time, and rap- 
 idly increased in Italy and the surrounding nations. This was monk- 
 
CHURCH CO UN CHS. 33 
 
 ery. It was greatly encouraged by the Emperor Constantine, who 
 was deeply attached to those that devoted themselves to what they 
 called "divine philosophy." Large numbers of females abandoned 
 their elegant homes and all the pleasures of domestic life to dwell in 
 deserts and caves. Among these was Paula of Rome, a matron, 
 descended from one of the most iUustrious families. She, with her 
 daughter Eulalia, rent asunder every tender domestic tie, and, forsak- 
 ing her home, her country, and her weeping children, went to Pales- 
 tine, visited Jerome, and accompanied him in his visit to Epiphanius at 
 Cyprus. Neither talents nor wealth were demanded of these sohtary 
 devotees. Hence, the illiterate and indolent discovered in the mo- 
 nastic life an agreeable retreat, and were soon elevated to positions 
 of peculiar respectability and honor, provided they could assume a 
 fervent sanctity and austerity. 
 
 Different motives — religion, fanaticism, hypocrisy — no doubt in- 
 fluenced men and women to become monks, because their conduct 
 revealed the purpose that had animated them. Many were devout, 
 modest, disinterested, and compassionate ; some were censorious, 
 austere, and gloomy, and others by intrigue obtained a large part 
 of that property which they pretended to renunciate when they 
 embraced the monastic life. A fanatical spirit controlled a certain 
 class, who voluntarily inflicted upon themselves the severest suflerings 
 and deprived themselves of every earthly comfort. While in this 
 solitary state they opposed education as a useless thing, if not per- 
 nicious, and professed to spend their whole time in silence, medi- 
 tation, and prayer. Some were organized into regular societies, and 
 devoted themselves to study. Their modes of life made them mel- 
 ancholy and visionary, filling them with all the vagaries of a heated 
 imagination ; they had prophetic dreams, beheld remarkable visions, 
 conversed with the various inhabitants of the invisible world, and 
 many closed a life of insanity in wretchedness and despair. 
 
 Various kinds of ecclesiastical councils were held. The first 
 species of these consisted in an assembly of the bishops and pres- 
 byters of a particular city or district. The second was composed of 
 the bishops of several provinces. The oecumenical or general coun- 
 cils were convened by the emperor alone, and the rulers of the 
 Church in every part of the empire were required to attend. The 
 first general council was called by Constantine, A. D. 325, at Nice, in 
 Bithynia. Three hundred and eighteen bishops and two thousand 
 and forty-eight ecclesiastics were in attendance. The synod was in 
 session two months. The emperor frequently took a seat in the 
 
34 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 assembly, and even participated in the debates. This council con- 
 demned the doctrines of Arius, which had many followers in the 
 Church of Italy. Jesus Christ was declared to be of the same essence 
 with the Father. An effort was made to favor the perpetual celibacy 
 of the clergy, but it was not successful. The Homoousian faith, or 
 the doctrine of consubstantiality, was indorsed, and matters relating 
 to the powers of the clergy and the discipline of the Church 
 acted upon. 
 
 During the fourth century the doctrines of the Church received 
 more attention than at any preceding period. The schismatic Arius 
 asserted that there was a time when the Son of God was not, that he 
 was created out of nothing, or that he was of a different substance 
 from the Father. He and his followers were solemnly anathema- 
 tized by successive councils, and declared the enemies of God. The 
 consubstantiality of the three persons in the Godhead was declared a 
 fundamental article of the Christian faith. The semi-Arians violently 
 attacked the divinity of the Holy Spirit, which was in the general 
 council of Constantinople, A. D. 383, discussed and defined, and the 
 doctrine of three persons in one God established as the orthodox 
 belief of the Church. The Nicene Creed, which was accepted by 
 the Church of Italy, is thus stated in the epistle of Eusebius to the 
 Caesareans, and in the epistle of Athanasius to Jovian: "We believe 
 in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and 
 invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God ; the only- 
 begotten ; begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the 
 Father ; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God ; be- 
 gotten, not made ; consubstantial with the Father, by whom, all things 
 were made, things in heaven, and things on earth ; who for us 
 men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate, and 
 became man, suffered, and rose again the third day, and ascended 
 into the heavens, and comes to judge the quick and the dead ; and 
 in the Holy Ghost. And the catholic and apostoHc Church doth 
 anathematize those persons who say that there was a time when he, 
 the Son of God, was not; that he was not before he was born; that 
 he was made of nothing, or of another substance or being; or that 
 he is created or changeable or convertible." 
 
 While the maintenance of sound doctrine was of great importance 
 to the cause of Christ in Italy, many practices were introduced which 
 did not contribute to the promotion of either piety or good morals. 
 The minds of the people were confused with difficult and fanatical 
 explanations of the Bible. The Christian emperors encouraged super- 
 
THE POWER AND WEALTH OF THE CLERGY. 35 
 
 stition by erecting costly churches over the remains of saints and 
 martyrs, and even the Fathers of the Church beheved that wonderful 
 miracles were performed by relics. This veneration for departed 
 saints increased until a degree of worship was rendered them, because 
 they were supposed to intercede with God in behalf of the worshiper. 
 About A. D. 386 some persons asserted that they had received 
 extraordinary revelations from heaven, which declared where the 
 remains of distinguished martyrs could be found. Their bodies had 
 been secretly buried in some obscure place, but when persecution 
 ceased they were brought forth and decently Interred. This custom, 
 to a great extent, gave rise to the translation of relics, many esteem- 
 ing It a meritorious act to carry and preserve the bones of martyrs. 
 Constantine commanded the bodies of St. Andrew and St. Luke to 
 be removed from the sepulchers where they had been deposited to 
 the magnificent church at Constantinople, which he had dedicated to 
 the twelve apostles. The powers which belonged to the people in 
 the election of their ministers produced great scandals in the Church. 
 These were at length taken away, and were soon followed by those 
 of the presbyters ; but, instead of being lost, were usurped by the 
 bishops, and "many of the rights and privileges with which the relig- 
 ious community had been formerly Invested were obtained by the 
 emperor and magistrates. The Bishop of Rome assumed powers 
 superior to the other metropolitans, who governed one province 
 only; and the jurisdiction of the bishops differed according to the 
 different extent of their respective sees. The famous Council of Nice 
 determined the mode of establishing the bishops in their functions 
 and offices, and declared that every bishop should be ordained or 
 consecrated by three bishops of the province, and that his election^ 
 should be confirmed by the metropolitan. 
 
 The revenues of the Church In Italy were secured by the edlct 
 of Milan. All that had been lost by the persecution of Diocletian^ 
 was restored, and the establishment continued to be supported by 
 voluntary oblations long after Christianity became the religion of the' 
 emperor and the empire. Full and free permission was granted by 
 Constantine to his subjects of bequeathing their possessions to the 
 Church; but while this measure filled the ecclesiastical treasury, it 
 encouraged a practice which brought penury and distress to the 
 desolate widow and defenseless orphan, and made them a depend-- 
 ence upon their kindred or upon the alms of the ecclesiastical 
 body. The emperors themselves considerably increased the riches 
 of the clerical profession. Constantine bestowed upon the Churches 
 
 4 
 
36 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 in every city a regular allowance of corn for the purposes of charity, 
 and the no less acceptable present of large donations of land. Far 
 from aiding the Church these measures were among the causes of 
 that apostasy by which it was extensively and deeply injured. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 AMBROSE— THE WALDENSES. 
 
 WHILE the Church in the southern part of Italy had become 
 formal, and declined in spirituality, the northern section 
 remained comparatively pure. This might be attributed to the fact 
 that the inhabitants of mountainous regions are less effeminate, more 
 virtuous, and stronger in their attachments to civil and religious lib- 
 erty than those of the plains, residing in an enervating climate. The 
 powerful diocese of Milan, which included the Alps of Piedmont, 
 was not tributary to the papal chair as early as the middle of the 
 fourth century. In those days the see of Rome embraced only the 
 imperial city and neighboring provinces. Pope Pelaglus I writes, 
 A. D. 555, ''The bishops of Milan do not come to Rome for ordi- 
 nation," and declares that ''this was an ancient custom of theirs." 
 This ecclesiastical Independence of Northern Italy prevented the 
 corruptions of the Roman see from entering Milan and its diocese. 
 The remarkable story of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, has an 
 appearance of romance seldom found In real life. He was born 
 about A. D. 340 at Treves (Augusta Trevirorum), where his father 
 resided as prefect of the prsetorlum among the Gauls. It is said 
 that while he was yet an infant a swarm of bees settled upon his 
 mouth, which his father interpreted as a portent of future greatness. 
 After his father's death his mother took him to Rome, where he 
 received the education of an advocate under Anicius Probus and 
 Symmachus. For some time he pleaded at the bar, and his success, 
 together with his family Influence, led to his appointment, about 
 A. D. 370, as consular prefect of Liguria and Emilia, a tract of 
 Northern Italy, which extended, as near as can be ascertained, to 
 Bologna. It Is said that Aniclus Probus, the prefect, when he sent 
 him to his government, did so in these remarkable words, which 
 may well be called prophetic, "Go, then, and act, not as judge, but 
 as a bishop." Ambrose made Milan his residence; and when Aux- 
 
AMBROSE ELECTED BISHOP. 37 
 
 entius, the bishop, died, the people of Milan assembled to elect a 
 successor. This the cruel divisions made In the Church by the 
 Arian heresy rendered no easy matter ; and the contest was carried 
 on between catholics and Arlans with such violence that Ambrose 
 was obliged to proceed himself to the church, to exhort the people 
 to make their election quietly and in order. At the close of his 
 speech the whole assembly, catholics and Arlans, with one voice 
 demanded him for their bishop. Believing himself to be unworthy 
 of so high and responsible an office, he tried all means In his power 
 to evade their call ; but in vain, and he was at last constrained to 
 yield, A. D. 374. He was yet only a catechumen ; he had then to 
 be baptized, and on the eighth day after he was consecrated bishop. 
 He devoted himself to his work with unexampled zeal ; gave all his 
 property to the Church and poor, and adopted an ascetic mode of 
 life. He opposed the Arlans from the very beginning of his epis- 
 copacy, and soon acquired great Influence both with the people and 
 the Emperor Valentlnian. He presided at an episcopal synod in 
 Aquileia, summoned by the Emperor Gratlan A. D. 382, at which 
 the Arian bishops Palladius and Secundianus were deposed. 
 
 Ambrose had a severe conflict, A. D. 385, with Justlna, mother 
 of Valentlnian H, who demanded the use of at least one church for 
 the Arlans ; but the people sided with Ambrose, and Justlna desisted. 
 He excommunicated the Emperor Theodosius, A. D. 390, for the 
 massacre at Thessalonica, and did not absolve him till after a penance 
 of eight months and a public humiliation. Augustine, the great the- 
 ologian and author, was instructed by Ambrose, and converted under 
 his preaching. The former, after remaining two years among the 
 catechumens, was baptized by the latter at Easter, A. D. 387. Am- 
 brose died at Milan, April 4, A. D. 397, having served as bishop 
 twenty-three years. His theology and that of his diocese was not 
 essentially different from that of the Protestants at the present time. 
 The Bible alone was his rule of faith; Christ alone was the foundation 
 of the Church ; the justification of the sinner and the remission of sins 
 were not of human merit, but by the expiatory sacrifice of the cross ; 
 there were but too sacraments, baptism and the Lord's-supper, and 
 In the latter Christ was held to be present only figuratively. Such, 
 according to Allix, is a summary of the faith professed and taught 
 by the chief bishop of the north of Italy in the end of the fourth 
 century. Hence the evangelical light shone there long after darkness 
 had gathered In the southern part of the peninsula. 
 
 Notwithstanding his great talents and ardent piety, Ambrose did 
 
38 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 not entirely escape the degeneracy of his age. He was not without 
 a degree of veneration for reHcs. His writings abound in moral les- 
 sons, plentifully interspersed with exhortations to celibacy, and the 
 other superstitions of the day. It is also recorded that he performed 
 many astonishing miracles. He composed a discourse upon the in- 
 carnation, mysteries, and penance, several books concerning faith and 
 the Holy Ghost, and many other works, which have been published 
 in two volumes, folio. His services to church music were very great ; 
 he was the father of *'hymnology" in the Western Church. The 
 writings of the early Fathers concur in recording the employment of 
 music as a part of public worship, though no regular ritual was in 
 existence to determine its precise form and use. This appears to 
 have been first supplied by Ambrose, who instituted that method of 
 singing known by the name of cantus Ainbroszaizus, which is said to 
 have had a reference to the modes of the ancients, especially to that 
 of Ptolemseus. The effect of the Ambrosian chant is described in 
 glowing terms by those who heard it in the cathedral of Milan. 
 "The voices," says, Augustine, "flowed in at my ears, truth was dis- 
 tilled into my heart, and the affection of piety overflowed in sweet 
 tears of joy." Ten of the many hymns ascribed to him are generally 
 admitted to be genuine, but it is doubtful whether the "Ambrosian 
 Hymn," or the Te Deum, is his production. It is not certain whether 
 any genuine relics of the music thus described exist at the present 
 time, though the style of singing may have been preserved. The 
 writings of Ambrose are numerous, but some of them are of no 
 practical importance. 
 
 It was not alone their proximity to the Alps that imparted to the 
 inhabitants of Northern Italy a spirit of independence which resisted 
 tyranny and corruption in both Church and state. The bracing at- 
 mosphere of the mountains had its influence upon their character, 
 but they breathed a still more vitalizing air. The purity of apostolic 
 Christianity had been maintained in the valleys of Piedmont, and its 
 power was felt throughout all that region. It is not improbable that 
 Ambrose was strengthened in the defense of the true faith by observ- 
 ing its elevating effects upon the Waldenses. These people could 
 not confine their religion to their own narrow valleys, but, like the 
 pure, sparkling streams that gushed forth from the rugged mountains 
 and rolled on to refresh the plains below, it permeated the north 
 of Italy. 
 
 The origin of the Waldenses — Vallenses — Vaudois — Valdesi, as 
 they are variously called, has been a fruitful source of controversy, 
 
ORIGIN OF THE WALDENSES. 39 
 
 some tracing their genealogy to the first periods of Christianity, or to 
 a less remote time, according to the ingenuity or fancy of different 
 historians. Some think that they are the descendants of the Christian 
 inhabitants of Spain, whose territory lay in Navarre (a part of Bis- 
 cay), who, upon the irruption of the Moors, were driven for refuge 
 into the vicinity of the Pyrenean Mountains. In this new situation 
 it has been conceived that they assumed new names, agreeable to 
 their former or present circumstances, or names composed from dif- 
 ferent combinations; and that one of these tribes took their denomi- 
 nation from a place near Barcelona, called Vallensia, whence the name 
 of Vallenses, Valdenses, or Waldenses, might be easily derived. 
 This opinion is attended with many difficulties that render it unpopu- 
 lar. Turretine, a Waldensian writer, represents them as originating 
 from the Milanese clergy, many of whom refused to repudiate their 
 wives at the command of Leo IX, Nicholas II, and Gregory VII. 
 With still greater probability, however, they are supposed to have 
 been a branch of the Paulicians, who were dispersed in almost all 
 the countries of Europe and Asia, and selected a secluded region in 
 the Alps. These and other theories do not give to the Waldenses a 
 greater antiquity than that which belongs to the period between the 
 seventh and eleventh centuries. But Jerome, the famous theologian 
 of the Church in the fourth century, unquestionably refers to them as 
 then dwelling in the Alps. With the zeal of a new convert, he assailed 
 a Spanish priest, called Vigilantius, on account of religious opinions 
 similar in some respects to those held by the Waldenses. Vigilan- 
 tius, bitterly persecuted in Spain, fled into Italy, and concealed him- 
 self, says Jerome, in a region which is between the Alps of King 
 Cottius and the waves of the Adriatic Sea. There all the inhabitants 
 had the same religious opinions as Vigilantius, and even the bishops 
 cherished him, ''though," observes Jerome, -'I can not recognize 
 them as bishops, because they would ordain not even a deacon if he 
 has no wife." Evidently that region was the eastern side of the Cot- 
 tian Alps, where the Waldenses lived. After having spent nine years 
 there, Vigilantius returned to Spain, full of zeal for the truth, and 
 published the most uncompromising treatise against the growing 
 superstitions of the age. It was probably owing to the residence of 
 Vigilantius among them that the name ''Leonist" Avas applied to 
 the Waldensians, for he being a native of Leo in the Pyrenees, was 
 often called the Leonist in Italy. It is a fact that the doctrines 
 advocated by him in his book, in many points, are the same as those 
 of the Waldensian Church. 
 
40 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The marriage of priests has always been maintained as most 
 desirable by the Waldensian Church in the Cottian Alps. Upon this 
 point we have the testimony of Peter Damian, another doctor of the ' 
 Church in early ages. One of his letters is to Adelaide, marchioness 
 of the Cottian Alps, to excite her to help the local bishop in the holy 
 work of destroying the married clergymen who resided in a part of 
 her dominions. "Thy are new Siseras," says he; ''the bishop will 
 be a new Barak, and you must be a new Deborah." In this Scriptural 
 language the new saint goes on insinuating that while the new Barak 
 deals with the husbands, the new Deborah should kill the wives. 
 
 The most reliable theory, therefore, concerning the origin of the 
 Waldenses is, that they were among the first inhabitants of Italy who 
 embraced Christianity. History does not reveal who first preached 
 the Gospel to them ; but it is probable that the early missionaries, 
 going out from Rome soon after the time of Paul, penetrated these 
 mountains, for the road from Italy to France and Spain passed that 
 Avay. If Paul ever made his proposed journey into Spain (Rom. xv, 
 28), he would probably travel that road, and may have been the first 
 Christian preacher to these "men of the valleys." The name Vau- 
 dois was first given to them because they resided in the valleys (or 
 vaiLx) of Piedmont. They were "men of the valleys" from time out 
 of mind, and before the dukes of Savoy became princes of Piedmont. 
 While there may be differences of opinion concerning their ethnolog- 
 ical history, the antiquity and purity of their religious faith and prac- 
 tice are generally conceded. The testimony Avhich they give of 
 themselves is, that their fathers occupying those same valleys held the 
 same faith from the days of the apostles. Their traditions invariably 
 point to an unbroken descent from apostolic days, as regards their 
 religious belief. The Nobla Leycon, which dates from A. D. iioo, 
 shows that they were not established by Peter Waldo, of Lyons, who 
 did not appear until A. D. 11 60, though they may have derived the 
 names Vallenses, or Waldenses, from him after he had visited them. 
 
 Their greatest enemies, Reynerius, the Jesuit, A. D. 1250, and 
 Claude Seyssel, of Turin, A. D. 15 17, have admitted their antiquity, 
 and stigmatized them as "the most dangerous of all heretics, because 
 the most ancient." In a petition presented A. D. 1559 to the per- 
 secuting Philbert, Emanuel, duke of Savoy and prince of Piedmont, 
 the Waldenses say : ' ' We likewise beseech your royal highness to 
 consider that this religion is not only ours, nor hath it been invented 
 by men of late years, as is falsely reported, but it was the religion of 
 our fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers, and other yet 
 
THE STATEMENTS OF THEIR ENEMIES. 41 
 
 more ancient predecessors of ours, and of the blessed martyrs, con- 
 fessors, prophets, and apostles, and if they can prove the contrary we 
 are ready to subscribe and yield thereto." Rorenco, Prior of St. 
 Roch, Turin, A. D. 1640, was employed to investigate their origin 
 and antiquity, and of course had access to all the Waldensian docu- 
 ments in the ducal archives, and being their bitter enemy he may 
 be presumed to have made his report not more favorable than he 
 could help. Yet he states that ''they were not a new sect in the 
 ninth and tenth centuries, and that Claude of Turin must have de- 
 tached them from the Church in the ninth century." 
 
 It is also remarkable that their persecuting princes in replying to 
 their petitions and addresses never accused them of being apostates 
 from the Romish Church. If their claims to antiquity could have 
 been denied with decent plausibility, these learned princes and priests, 
 instead of passing over in silence such pretensions, would have 
 attempted to disprove them. The testimony of Jerome, that the 
 Waldenses in the fourth century were so distinguished for their 
 orthodoxy and piety as to attract Vigilantius from Spain, remains 
 unimpeached. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 THE GOTHS IN ITALY. 
 
 ABOUT the beginning of the fifth century Alaric, king of the 
 Visigoths, attracted by the beauty and wealth of Italy, crossed 
 the Alps and appeared under the walls of Milan. Honorius, who 
 ruled the Western Empire, was alarmed at the invading host, and 
 took refuge in the strong fortress of Ravenna. Stilicho, a famous 
 warrior of Italy, hastily gathered a powerful army, and inflicted a 
 crushing defeat upon the Goths in the neighborhood of Pollentia, 
 about twenty-five miles from Turin, on the 29th of March, A. D. 
 403. The Gothic infantry was almost totally destroyed; but Alaric, 
 with his cavalry, which was comparatively uninjured, marched rap- 
 idly upon Rome, hoping to capture it by a coup-de-inain. Stilicho 
 followed him closely, and prevented the execution of his design ; and 
 desiring to be rid of the enemy on the easiest terms, the Roman 
 general paid Alaric a stipulated sum, and conducted him safely to 
 the boundary of his kingdom. The departure of the barbarians was 
 
42 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 celebrated in Rome with great rejoicings. In the midst of the games 
 Telemachus, a Christian monk, sprang into the arena, and, raising 
 the cross above his head, commanded the gladiators, in the name of 
 their crucified Lord, to cease their inhuman sport. The enraged 
 multitude stoned him to death, but subsequently, overwhelmed with 
 remorse for their crime, acknowledged him a martyr. Honorius, 
 taking advantage of the occasion, prohibited human combats in the 
 amphitheater. The seat of government was now transferred frorr) 
 Milan to Ravenna, which, on account of its situation, was impreg- 
 nable, and it remained the capital of Italy until the middle of the 
 eighth century. 
 
 The Vandals, a new host of barbarians, burst into Italy, A. D. 
 405, passing the Alps, the Po, and the Apennines without opposition, 
 and ravaging with fire and sword the region between the Alps and 
 the Arno before Stilicho could collect an army to oppose them. 
 Radegaste, the savage leader of the barbarians, had sworn a solemn 
 oath to reduce Rome to ashes, and to sacrifice the senators to his 
 gods. Detained before Florence by the stubborn resistance of that 
 city, he refrained from moving southward until he had conquered it. 
 Profiting by this delay, Stilicho advanced with his troops, and by his 
 superior generalship defeated the formidable host of the barbarians, 
 slew Radegaste, and compelled the remnant of his army, about one 
 hundred thousand strong, to withdraw from Italy. Stilicho despised 
 the weakness of Honorius, and resolved to remove him and place his 
 own son upon the throne. The enemies of the great general, sus- 
 pecting a conspiracy, obtained the consent of the emperor to put him 
 to death; but his execution was a calamity, as he was the only man 
 who could contend with the barbarians. The friends of Honorius 
 ahenated the only force that was capable of resisting the Goths by 
 a general massacre of the families of the foreign auxiliaries who had 
 been left in the Italian cities as hostages for the faithful service of 
 these troops. The latter swore vengeance upon the murderers of 
 their wives and children, and invited Alaric to invade Italy, promis- 
 ing him assistance. 
 
 The Gothic king gladly accepted the invitation, and at once 
 crossed the Alps, marched upon Rome, and closely invested the 
 city, which was soon reduced to extremities. By the payment of an 
 enormous ransom, Alaric was induced to retire and Rome was spared. 
 The barbarian general withdrew into Tuscany, where he spent the 
 Winter. During negotiations with Honorius he was grossly insulted, 
 and again besieged Rome to gratify his revenge, and by seizing the 
 
ITAL V UNDER BARBARIAN R ULE. 43 
 
 fort of Ostia, where the grain for the use of the capital was stored, 
 he starved the city into an unconditional surrender. Alaric entered 
 Rome by night on the lOth of August, A. D. 410, the gates having 
 been opened by the slaves, forty thousand of whom assisted the 
 Gothic king, and thus repaid in full the wrongs they had suffered at 
 the hands of their masters. The city was given up to murder and 
 pillage during a period of five days. The scene was dreadful, for, 
 though the conqueror in his magnanimity had given orders that none 
 except the armed should be killed, many citizens were slain and larger 
 numbers still were reduced from affluence to want and captivity. 
 Rome for ages had been a repository for the plunder of the world, 
 embracing the choicest spoils of conquered countries, such as gold, 
 silver, jewels, silks, Grecian sculptures, and other rare, costly arti- 
 cles. These were remorselessly seized and carried off by the Goths, 
 and much that could not be removed was destroyed. The most 
 ancient and valuable monuments of art and learning were leveled 
 with the ground. Alaric, the Arian invader, professing to be a Chris- 
 tian, declared that he made war upon the Romans, not upon the 
 apostles, and he therefore spared all the churches, even granting life 
 and liberty both to the pagans and Christians who took refuge in 
 the sacred edifices dedicated to the apostles, or at the tombs of the 
 martyrs. The holy vessels which had been pillaged from the Church 
 of St. Peter were also restored by the victorious barbarians. Thus 
 the great tity, which had not for more than six hundred years been 
 violated by the presence of a foreign enemy, was sacked, plundered, 
 and partially burnt. 
 
 At length the Goths withdrew from Rome, and marching along 
 the Appian way overran Southern Italy, contemplating the conquest 
 of Sicily and Africa, but the death of Alaric suddenly terminated the 
 expedition. The waters of the Busentius were diverted from their 
 channel by the labor of the captive Romans, and in the vacant bed a 
 sepulcher was constructed and adorned with the spoils and trophies 
 of Rome. In this tomb the body of Alaric was laid, and the waters 
 were turned back in their channel. The prisoners who engaged in 
 the work were then inhumanly massacred, lest they should reveal the 
 secret of the tomb. Honorius died, A. D. 423, after a reign of 
 twenty-eight years, and the throne was usurped by John, his princi- 
 pal secretary; but he was beheaded by the troops of Theodosius 11,^ 
 at Aquileia, A. D. 425. Valentinian III, the legal successor, being 
 only six years of age, his mother, Placidia, as regent, governed the 
 empire during the next twenty-five years. Attila, king of the Huns, 
 
44 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 invaded North-eastern Italy, A. D. 453, captured and destroyed the 
 cities of Aquileia, Altinum, Concordia, and Padua, and sacked Milan 
 and Pavia. A result which the Hun did not foresee and would not 
 have desired sprang from this destruction. The inhabitants of Aqui- 
 leia, Padua, and the adjacent towns fled from the cruelties of the 
 barbarians to the safe but humble shelter of the islands at the head 
 of the Adriatic, and there laid the foundations of the famous republic 
 of Venice. Attila then advanced southward, intending to take and 
 destroy Rome. An embassy headed by Pope Leo the Great met 
 him, and the solemn appeal of the pontiff aroused the superstitious 
 fears of the barbarian, and he retired to his own dominions. 
 
 Valentinian was slain, A. D. 455, by Maximus, a wealthy senator, 
 whom he had wronged, and the latter ascended the throne, but 
 reigned less than three months. Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian, 
 being compelled to marry the assassin of her husband, besought aid 
 from Genseric, the Vandal king of Africa, whose fleet commanded 
 the Mediterranean, and that monarch responded to her appeal, eager 
 to enrich himself with the spoils of Italy. He landed at Ostia, and 
 in a short time seized Rome, which was pillaged by his troops for 
 fourteen days. Not even the churches which Alaric had protected 
 were spared, and the city was literally stripped of its wealth of every 
 description. At length, laden with plunder, the barbarians sailed for 
 Carthage, taking with them Eudoxia and her two daughters. This 
 terrible disaster so paralyzed the Romans that they delayed the 
 appointment of a successor to Maximus, whom they had slain. Dur- 
 ing the next twenty years the throne was occupied by eight different 
 sovereigns, whose brief reigns were unimportant. The barbarians 
 proclaimed Odoacer King of Italy, A. D. 476, and thus fell the 
 Western Empire. 
 
f^it II. 
 
 PAPAL DARKNESS PREVALENT. 
 
 CENTURY VI-XIV. 
 
 Chapter L 
 
 TJIE REIGN OF THE LOMBARDS. 
 
 WHEN the sixth century dawned upon Italy it beheld one of 
 the most tranquil and flourishing countries in the world. 
 Theodoric extended the boundaries of his kingdom to the north, 
 east, and west, and, besides Italy and Sicily, ruled Dalmatia, Nori- 
 cum, the two Rhaetias, Pannonia, and Provence. During the minority 
 of his grandson, Amalaric, the king of the Visigothic monarchy in 
 Gaul and Spain, he managed the affairs of those nations with wisdorri. 
 Though an Arian himself, Theodoric tolerated all forms of belief in 
 his dominions, and this liberal policy drew upon him the wrath of 
 the Roman Catholic party. The Eastern emperor, Anastasius, was 
 jealous of such a powerful servant, and attacked the kingdom of 
 Theodoric from the direction of the Danube, but was defeated by 
 the warrior king with an inferior force. The last years of this mon- 
 arch were in striking contrast with the opening of his reign. Soured 
 by the ingratitude of his people, he became suspicious and cruel. 
 Boethius, a Roman senator, was put to death on the charge of plot- 
 ting to restore the authority of the Eastern emperor, and his execu- 
 tion was soon followed by that of Symmachus, his venerable father- 
 in-law. Remorse for these crimes hastened the end of Theodoric 
 himself, and he died, A. D. 526. Had he been more a statesman he 
 might have founded an enduring state by a union of the Goths and 
 the Romans ; but he did not seem to desire a consolidated empire. 
 Instead of claiming the title of King of Italy, he appeared satisfied 
 with mere dominion over his own Goths. His kingdom did not long 
 survive him. 
 
 45 
 
46 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Theodoric was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric ; but, as he 
 was only ten years old, the regency passed into the hands of his 
 mother, Amalasontha, the daughter of Theodoric, who was assisted 
 by the wise counsels of her minister, Cassiodorus. Her son failed 
 to profit by her care and instruction, and indulged in riotous living 
 and excesses of all kinds. Being punished by his mother, he 
 appealed to the Goths to sustain him, and the queen regent was 
 compelled to resign the authority to him. He did not enjoy it long, 
 but died at the age of sixteen from the effects of intemperance. 
 Amalasontha, in violation of Gothic law and custom, then endeav- 
 ored to retain the throne by conferring her hand upon her cousin, 
 Theodatus, and raising him to the rank of king. Theodatus, how- 
 ever, refused to be ruled by a woman, and caused his wife to be 
 strangled, A. D. 535. 
 
 The Emperor Justinian, who had been eagerly watching for a 
 pretext to regain Italy, now constituted himself the avenger of 
 Amalasontha, and prepared to invade the peninsula with a force 
 under the command of Belisarius. Sicily was conquered toward the 
 close of A. D. 535. The next year Belisarius crossed to the main- 
 land. The chief strength of the Ostrogoths was in the north of 
 Italy, and the Greek influence was strong enough in the south to 
 render its conquest by the imperial forces an easy matter. The 
 southern Italians welcomed Belisarius as a deliverer, but the barba- 
 rian garrison of Naples held out against him. The city was taken 
 by surprise, and upon its fall Apulia and Calabria were restored to 
 the empire. Advancing northward, Belisarius entered Rome, which 
 opened its gates to him with joy, A. D. 536. 
 
 Assembling a powerful Gothic army, Viteges, the successor of The- 
 odatus, laid siege to Rome, Avhich was bravely defended by Belisarius, 
 with an inferior force, for more than a year. During this siege the 
 sepulcher of Hadrian, now known as the Castle of St. Angelo, was 
 used for the first time as a fortress. In their attacks, upon the city 
 the Goths met with heavy losses ; thirty thousand men fell in the 
 principal assault ; and Viteges was compelled to draw off his deci- 
 mated army to Ravenna, leaving Belisarius master of Italy. This 
 great general could easily have conquered the entire country but for 
 the dissensions of the Roman chiefs. Valuable time was lost, and 
 the Goths were given a breathing spell. Ten thousand Burgundians, 
 allies of the Gothic kings, captured and destroyed Milan, Avhich had 
 revolted from Viteges, A. D. 538. The next Spring Theodebert, the 
 grandson of Clovis, passed the Alps at the head of one hundred 
 
TOTILA CAPTURES ROME. 47 
 
 thousand Franks, and defeated both the Roman and the Gothic 
 armies near Pa via, and ravaged Liguria and ^miHa until his losses 
 from disease and the intemperance of his troops obliged him to return 
 to his own country. 
 
 Belisarius now apphed himself to the completion of the conquest 
 of Italy. He laid siege to Ravenna, and reduced that impregnable 
 city by famine. The Goths, weary of Viteges, proposed to deliver 
 up the city to Belisarius if he would make himself their king. He 
 pretended to accept the proposal, but upon obtaining possession 
 threw off the mask and declared that he held the city only as the 
 lieutenant of the emperor. Pavia, garrisoned by one thousand Goths, 
 alone held out ; and these warriors elevated Totila, the nephew of 
 Viteges, to the vacant throne. Before Belisarius could attack this 
 stronghold he was recalled to Constantinople by the emperor, who 
 had become jealous of his fame. Totila at once attempted to regain 
 all that had been lost by his uncle. Many cities which had welcomed 
 Belisarius as a deliverer had been so sorely oppressed by the Byzan- 
 tine officials that they now gladly opened their gates to Totila. 
 Rome was taken, A. D. 546, the senators carried away as prisoners, 
 and its people scattered. The noble character of Totila won him 
 friends on all sides, and it seemed that he was about to restore the 
 Gothic kingdom in all its strength. Such rapid and marked success 
 compelled Justinian to restore Belisarius to the command in Italy; 
 but the emperor could not overcome his jealousy of his great gen- 
 eral, and sent him to Italy without troops, and delayed those which 
 were ordered to follow him. Belisarius soon discovered that he was 
 sent to remain ' ' the idle and impotent spectator of the glory of a 
 young barbarian." Crossing to the coast of Epirus, he succeeded by 
 extraordinary exertions in assembling a small force, with which he 
 sailed to the mouth of the Tiber. He arrived in time to witness the 
 capture of Rome by Totila ; and, though he was too weak to prevent 
 this, he succeeded by his firm and temperate remonstrance in induc- 
 ing Totila to spare the city which he had resolved to destroy. Upon 
 his departure for Southern Italy he failed to leave an adequate force 
 behind him ; and Belisarius Avith a thousand horse seized the deserted 
 city, and, erecting the imperial standard upon the Capitol, succeeded 
 in inducing the scattered population to return. The fortifications 
 were repaired, and Totila was repulsed with severe loss in his efforts 
 to retake Rome, A. D. .547. The jealousy of the emperor still con- 
 tinued to embarrass Belisarius, and he was unable to follow up his 
 success. His movements in Southern Italy were defeated by the 
 
48 ITAL V STR [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 disobedience and cowardice of his own officers. Finding it impossi- 
 ble to accomplish any thing in the face of such obstacles, he sought 
 and obtained leave to return to Constantinople, A. D. 548. 
 
 After overrunning Italy, conquering Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, 
 and invading Greece, Totila again captured Rome, A. D. 549. These 
 successes induced the pope himself to head a deputation to Justinian, 
 imploring his aid against the Goths. The emperor dispatched a 
 strong force under the eunuch Narses, a man of commanding abili- 
 ties, and a favorite of the emperor. Narses was invested with abso- 
 lute power for the prosecution of the w^ar, and was liberally supported 
 by the emperor. He succeeded in regaining the lost territory, and 
 defeated and slew Totila in a great battle near Tagina. Rome at 
 once passed into his hands, A. D. 552, changing masters for the 
 fifth time during the reign of Justinian. Under the title of duke, 
 Narses, gaining some other victories, governed Italy with ability for 
 thirteen years, A. D. 554-568. 
 
 Teias, the last Gothic king in Italy, succeeded to the throne of 
 Totila, and sought aid of the Franks ; but before it could reach him 
 he was defeated and killed at Cumae. A force of seventy-five thou- 
 sand Germans subsequently passed the Alps, and ravaged Italy to 
 the extreme southern end of the peninsula ; but Narses defeated 
 them with terrible slaughter at Casilinum, on the Vulturnus. All 
 Italy was now subject to the emperor, and the Ostrogothic kingdom, 
 after an existence of sixty years, was at an end. The seat of the 
 exarchate of Italy was at Ravenna, and the first exarch, or lieutenant 
 of the emperor, Narses, ruled the country successfully. The Goths 
 either emigrated in search of new homes or were absorbed into the 
 mass of the Italian people. 
 
 The destruction of the Gothic power in Italy produced a result 
 which the emperor had not seen. During the life of Theodoric and 
 his daughter Amalasontha the Goths had faithfully guarded the im- 
 portant barrier of the Upper Danube against the Gepidse, who had 
 since the days of Attila occupied, on the opposite banks of the Dan- 
 ube, the plains of Hungary and the Transylvania hills. The necessi- 
 ties of the Goths in Italy compelled them to evacuate Pannonia and 
 Noricum for the defense of their Italian possessions against the im- 
 perial arms. Those regions were instantly occupied by the Gepidse, 
 who, not content with these acquisitions, threatened to burst into 
 Italy. To defeat them Justinian called on the Lombards, or Lango- 
 bards (Long Beards), who had moved from the eastern banks of the 
 Elbe down to the Upper Danube. The Lombard king, Audoin, 
 
THE LOMBARD RULERS. 49 
 
 accepted the invitation, and, entering Pannonia with his troops, 
 began a war with the Gepidae, which lasted for thirty years. At his 
 death he was succeeded by his son Alboin, who had greatly distin- 
 guished himself by his savage bravery. Alboin, finding the Gepidae 
 too formidable to be defeated by his own people, made an alliance 
 with the Avars, and the result was the extermination of the Gepidoe. 
 Alboin slew Cummund, king of the Gepidae, in a single combat, 
 and married the beautiful daughter of that monarch, A. D. 566. 
 The Avars received the lands of the Gepidae for their services, and 
 the Lombards were obliged to seek new homes. The way to Italy 
 was open, and they resolved to invade that country. Justin II, the 
 nephew of Justinian, succeeded the latter, A. D. 565 ; and, having 
 degraded and removed Narses from the exarchate, was alarmed at 
 the approach of the fierce warriors of the North, because he had no 
 servant to resist their advance. 
 
 Narses, desiring to avenge the insult he received from the em- 
 peror, urged Alboin to take possession of the country, and the Lom- 
 bard king, after crossing the Julian Alps, A. D. 568, soon made 
 himself master of Italy as far as Ravenna and Rome. Pavia alone 
 resisted him in a three years' siege, but was taken, A. D. 571, and 
 made the capital of the Lombard kingdom, which was divided into 
 thirty duchies. Alboin did not long enjoy his success. Having mor- 
 tally affronted Rosamond, his wife, by compelling her to drink from 
 the skull of her father, she organized a conspiracy against him, and 
 he was slain by the conspirators, A. D. 573. Rosamond and her 
 lover, the latter of whom was the principal actor in the tragedy, fled 
 to the court of the exarch of Ravenna. Longinus, the exarch, be- 
 coming enamored of the beautiful queen, offered her his hand in 
 marriage, and she undertook to remove Helmichis, her lover, by 
 poison, in order to accept the offer. Helmichis discovered her treach- 
 ery, and compelled her to drink also of the fatal cup. He then 
 expired a few moments before the queen. 
 
 Upon the death of Alboin, the Lombard chiefs elected Cleph, or 
 Clepho, the bravest of themselves, to be king. He was assassinated, 
 A. D. 574, and for the next ten years the kingdom had no regular 
 government, and was ruled by thirty dukes. Each chief seized some 
 city for himself Some of them attempted to invade the territories of 
 the German tribes beyond the Alps, and the people of Rome besought 
 aid of the Emperor Tiberius, who succeeded Julian II, A. D. 578. 
 The emperor, unable to assist them, bribed Chilperic, the Frankish 
 king, to invade Italy and expel the Lomxbards from the peninsula. 
 
50 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 In this emergency, the Lombards conferred their crown upon Autha- 
 ris, the son of Cleph, who defeated the Franks, and compelled them 
 to return to their own country, A. D. 584. The last Frankish inva- 
 sion was led by Childebert, who was encouraged to it by the Emperor 
 IMaurice, who ascended the throne, A. D. 582. Autharis completely 
 baffled the Frankish sovereign by his prudence and superior general- 
 ship, and declining an engagement, allowed the heat of Summer to 
 defeat his antagonist. The victorious Lombard extended his king- 
 dom to the southern extremity of the peninsula, where he founded 
 thes great duchy of Benevento. He confirmed the various dukes in 
 their authority on condition of their paying him half of their reve- 
 nues, and serving under his command in times of war, Avith troops 
 levied within their respective jurisdictions. This is regarded by some 
 as the origin of the feudal system. Autharis died, A. D. 590, and 
 his Avidow, Theodolinda, was intrusted by the Lombards with the 
 choice of his successor. She conferred the crown and her hand upon 
 Agilulf, duke of Turin. She converted her husband and many of 
 his subjects from the Arian to the Catholic faith, and was rewarded 
 by Pope Gregory the Great with the famous h'on Crown of Lombardy, 
 which is still preserved in the Cathedral of Milan, and which is said 
 to have been made of one of the nails of the true cross ! Gregory, 
 whose birth, rank, and literary abilities acquired him, in this age of 
 ignorance, the appellation of Great, occupied the papal throne more 
 than thirteen years, his reign having been terminated by death, A. D. 
 604. Another celebrated son of the Church in Italy Avas Benedict, 
 a native of Norcia. He was born about A. D. 480, and, at the age 
 of fourteen, attended school at Rome. Disgusted Avith the corrup- 
 tions of the Church and the city, he ran aAvay and concealed himself 
 for three years in a cave at Subianco. He retired to Monte Cassino, 
 A. D. 529, coDA^erted the "Temple of Apollo" into a monastery, and 
 introduced a neAV system of rules for the government of monastic 
 establishments. This monk died, A. D. 543, but his system extended 
 over Western Europe. Among the Benedictines of the Middle Ages 
 Avere tAvo hundred cardinals and four thousand bishops. 
 
ITAL V IN PAPAL DARKNESS. 5 1 
 
 Chapter IL 
 
 ITAL Y IN PAPAL DARKNESS. 
 
 THE condition of Italy during the seventh century was truly 
 sad and deplorable. As a general thing the Lombards ruled 
 their territories with wisdom and firmness, but the state of the ex- 
 archate was one of anarchy. It was a period when individual rights 
 were not acknowledged or respected, and when the strongest man 
 alone was sure of any thing. ' * Conquest, spoliation, and insecurity 
 had done their work. Wave after wave had passed over the surface 
 of the old Roman state and obliterated almost all the landmarks of 
 the ancient time. The towns, to be sure, still remained, but stripped 
 of their old magnificence, and thinly peopled by the dispossessed 
 inhabitants of the soil, Avho congregated together for mutual support. 
 Trade was carried on, but subject to the exactions, and sometimes 
 the open robberies, of the avaricious chieftains who had reared their 
 fortresses on the neighboring heights. Large tracts of country lay 
 waste and desolate, or were left to the happy fertility of nature in the 
 growth of spontaneous woods. Marshes were formed over whole 
 districts, and the cattle picked up an uncertain existence by browsing 
 over great expanses of poor and uninclosed land. These flocks and 
 herds were guarded by hordes of armed serfs, who camped beside 
 them on the field, and led a life not unlike that of their remote an- 
 cestors on the steppes of Tartary." Such was the condition of Italy, 
 and, indeed, of all Europe. 
 
 Amid this darkness and neglect, agriculture, which had become 
 almost a lost art, was restored by the Benedictine monks, who had 
 established monasteries in various parts of Italy. The wise founder 
 of the Order, St. Benedict, fearing that many evils would arise from 
 the assembling under a single roof of a number of idle persons, 
 enjoined upon his followers ''to beware of idleness as the greatest 
 enemy of the soul." They were directed to cultivate the soil and to 
 perform the various duties belonging to the domestic service of their 
 convents. ''No person," he said, "is ever more usefully employed 
 than when working with his hands, or following the plow, providing 
 food for the use of man." These instructions soon produced their 
 legitimate effects. Labor was rescued from the degradation into which 
 
 5 
 
52 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 it had fallen, and those who ministered at the holy altars of religion 
 were not ashamed to work with their hands. The lands attached to 
 the monasteries were better cultivated than any other, and these exam- 
 ples of the most approved methods of cultivation encouraged industry. 
 The monasteries also became retreats of learning in this period of 
 darkness and violence, and in them was preserved whatever of educa- 
 tion and culture had survived the Roman overthrow. In these places 
 of refuge the scholar found protection, and the leisure and means of 
 pursuing his congenial studies. 
 
 The Church did not escape the contaminating influence of this era 
 of ignorance and immorality. Ambitious contests arrayed the differ- 
 ent orders against each other, and as the Church grew in prosperity 
 it became more corrupt. The elegant scholarship which was once 
 characteristic of the clergy disappeared, and often a bishop could be 
 found who could neither read nor write, and was notoriously profli- 
 gate. The bishops and monks were frequently engaged in bitter 
 conflicts, and the latter were oppressed by the former. The Roman 
 pontiff interfered in behalf of the monks, taking them under his 
 special protection, relieving them from the supervision of their local 
 bishops, and making 'them directly dependent upon and responsible 
 to himself. By this stroke of policy he secured the enthusiastic sup- 
 port of the most compact and influential body in Europe. Their 
 power was completely established by Boniface IV, A. D. 606, whose 
 attachment to them was such that he converted his house at Rome 
 into a monastery. This prelate granted to the monks authority to 
 preach, to baptize, to hear confession, and to absolve, and, in fine, 
 to perform every clerical function. These favors were appreciated by 
 the followers of St. Benedict, and they went forth proclaiming the 
 pope to be the first of earthly powers, even speaking of him, in the 
 enthusiasm of their gratitude, as something more than mortal. Thus 
 the authority and influence of the papacy were securely established 
 as a firm foundation upon which the tenlporal claims of the Roman 
 pontifl" were subsequently based. 
 
 During the seventh century the Eastern and Western Churches 
 were convulsed with religious disputes between the Monophysite and 
 Monothelite parties concerning the union of the two natures in Christ, 
 one asserting the existence of a single will, and the other, of two 
 wills in the person of the incarnate Son of God. The pontificates 
 of Honorius, Severian, John IV, and Theodore, who began to reign 
 A. D. 642, were disturbed by these controversies. Pope Martin I, 
 on account of his views, was removed from Rome by the opposite 
 
CLERICAL AUTHORITY AND SUPERSTITION. 53 
 
 party, and exiled to Naxos, a small island in the Archipelago. He 
 experienced extraordinary hardships, and after enduring captivity, 
 disease, and insult, was summoned before the senate, refused the in- 
 dulgence of a seat, though too weak to stand, and was charged with 
 treason against the state. His powerful address, in which he proved 
 his innocence, was ineffectual, and, after being divested of his sacer- 
 dotal garments he was loaded with chains and led through the city, 
 preceded by the executioner, bearing a drawn sword. For some 
 reason he was not then put to death, but was thrown into successive 
 prisons and finally sent into banishment, where he died, A. D. 656, 
 in extreme poverty and distress. In order to unite, and, if possible, 
 to restore peace to the Church, Agatho, the Roman pontiff, convened 
 at Constantinople, in November, A. D. 680, a General Council, called 
 the sixth. It continued until the following September, and confirmed 
 the' decrees of the Romish synods by the condemnation of the 
 Monothelites. 
 
 At first the pretended successors of Peter faintly urged their claims 
 to dominion and supremacy, but they became more ambitious as 
 their power increased. The bishops of Rome denounced those of the 
 Eastern Church for accepting new titles, but at the same time they 
 were eagerly seeking them for themselves. The artful Boniface III, 
 who had for some time resided as nuncio at the imperial court, did 
 not hesitate to insinuate himself into the good opinion of the infamous 
 Phocas, nor to receive with gratitude the effects of his favor. The 
 Romish patriarchs were permitted to assume the title of oecumenical 
 or universal bishops, but it did not confer any new powers. The 
 title of pope, which, in fact, merely signifies the name of father, was 
 equally bestowed upon the Bishop of Rome and those who possessed 
 the other considerable sees ; and Cyprian had been complimented with 
 the title of Pope of Carthage, by Cornelius, Bishop of Rome. About 
 the seventh century the prelates of the Roman see began, however, 
 to appropriate this title to themselves. But it is impossible to satisfy 
 the demands of ambition and vanity, and Agatho, not content with 
 the honors already acquired, laid claim to a privilege never yet en- 
 joyed by man, and asserted that the Church at Rome never had 
 erred, nor could err in any point, and that all its constitutions ought 
 to be as implicitly received as if they had been delivered by the "di- 
 vine voice of St. Peter." 
 
 The different fathers of the Romish Church endeavored to excel: 
 each other in the invention of new superstitions, and thought that 
 they could not be zealous champions of the holy faith unless they 
 
54 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ignored truth and reason. The sacrament of the Lord's -supper, 
 which, in the first stages of the Church had been received with the 
 utmost plainness and simpHcity, was now accompanied by various 
 superstitious observances prescribed by the authority of councils. 
 The council of Toledo, A. D. 646, prohibited any one from receiving 
 it after having eaten the smallest particle of food ; and that of Trulla 
 confirmed this decree, with the addition of a comrnand to the receiver 
 to take it stretching out his hands in the form of a cross. The 
 superstitious opinion prevailed that the eucharistical wine, when 
 mixed Avith ink, rendered the contract with which it was signed 
 peculiarly sacred. The doctrine of the efficacy of masses repeated 
 by ecclesiastics was strenuously urged, and became a fruitful source 
 of wealth. Pilgrimages afforded a profit not less considerable, and 
 devout visitors to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul, at Rome, 
 were taught by the priests to believe that great spiritual benefits 
 would be derived from these acts of practical piety. The people, 
 the clergy, and the civil rulers in Italy were equally infected with the 
 most desperate superstition. 
 
 During this century various festivals were instituted by the Romish 
 Church and observed throughout Italy, among which were those in 
 honor of the Virgin Mary. Her departure from the world was com- 
 memorated by the faithful, and toward the close of the century the 
 feast of her nativity was established. Few of the saints had, indeed, 
 been forgotten in the distribution of celestial honors ; but Boniface 
 IV obtained a grant of the Pantheon at Rome ; and, in order that no 
 one might be neglected, he piously dedicated it to all the saints. 
 The edifice, therefore, which among the pagans had served as a 
 memorial of all the gods, was consecrated by the papal Church to 
 the remembrance of all its saints. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 ITALY UNDER FRAN KISH RULE. 
 
 UNTIL the beginning of the eighth century the Italians had 
 regarded themselves as the subjects of the emperor, though he 
 had not always protected them. Even the Bishop of Rome, who 
 was a temporal prince, and did not hesitate to maintain his inde- 
 pendence against the exarch, still acknowledged allegiance to the 
 
INTERIOR. 
 
 EXTERIOR. 
 THE PANTHEON. 
 
56 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Eastern emperor. But when Leo III inaugurated the iconoclastic 
 war, A. D. 726, a serious and determined opposition to it was aroused 
 in Italy. Pope Gregory II, who had strongly resisted the attempts of 
 Leo III respecting image worship, endeavored to soften his resent- 
 ment by claiming great merit for the measures he had taken in Italy 
 in restraining the growing power of the Lombards, and wrote to the 
 emperor, earnestly entreating him to revoke the imperial edict against 
 one of the most cherished practices of the Latin Church. Leo III 
 refused to comply with this request, and sent private orders to the 
 exarch of Ravenna and to the governor of Rome to arrest the con- 
 tentious prelate and bring him to Constantinople. Thus a great 
 breach was opened between the empire and Italy, which widened 
 daily. The people of Rome were too little attached to Leo III to 
 suffer the execution of this order, and Gregory II, aware of this 
 fact, excommunicated the exarch, and by letters exhorted the Vene- 
 tians, with Luitprand, king of the Lombards, and all the cities of 
 the empire to continue si;eadfast in the Roman Catholic faith. He 
 also absolved the people of Rome from their allegiance to the 
 emperor, and, it is said, would not permit the annual payment of 
 tribute from Italy into the imperial treasury. This step was the 
 signal of revolt ; the imperial officers were massacred or banished ; 
 the people of Rome refused to acknowledge the authority of the 
 emperor, and new magistrates were chosen. 
 
 Leo III made a desperate effort to retrieve his fortunes in Italy, 
 to relieve the exarch, Eutychius, who was shut up in Ravenna, and 
 to reduce the refractory Gregory II and Italy to obedience. Manes, 
 one of his bravest and most experienced generals, sailed for the 
 peninsula with a great fleet ; but it encountered a terrible storm on 
 the Adriatic, a large part of the ships were lost, and the '* image 
 worshipers on the coast of Calabria beheld their shores strewn with 
 the wrecks of the iconoclastic navy." The inhabitants of Naples mur- 
 dered their duke, Exhiliratus, the imperial governor, together with 
 his son and one of his principal officers. The peace between Gregory 
 II and the Lombards was broken by Luitprand, who took Ravenna, 
 and then began to overrun the Roman territory. The pope made 
 an alliance with the Venetians, and retook the city. He was enthu- 
 siastically supported by the Italians, who disliked the emperor because 
 he was the champion of iconoclasm. Yet Gregory II hesitated to 
 throw off definitely his allegiance to Leo III, as he needed an ally 
 against the Lombards, who were pressing him hard. Finding that it 
 was impossible to obtain the assistance of the emperor, he finally 
 
PEPIN IN ITAL V. 5 7 
 
 appealed to Charles Martel, duke of the Franks, and the real ruler 
 of the Frankish kingdom, for aid. In the midst of the negotiations 
 Gregory II died, A. D. 731 ; but his successor, Gregory III, took up 
 the struggle with equal vigor. Eutychius, who had maintained for a 
 long time his perilous position in Ravenna, temporizing the pope, 
 the Lombards, and the Franks, abandoned the seat of government, 
 and fled to Naples. Italy was now forever lost to the empire, and 
 the pope and the Lombard king only remained to contest its sover- 
 eignty. Luitprand, by endeavoring to reduce the pope to submission 
 to him, compelled Gregory III to call upon the Franks for aid, as his 
 predecessor had done. The pope offered the Frankish leader the 
 sovereignty of the Roman people as the reward of his intervention, 
 and the latter prepared to accept it, but died before he could do 
 so, A. D. 741. 
 
 Rachisius, king of the Lombards, commenced to reign A. D. 
 742, and under the pretense that the people of Rome had violated a 
 treaty besieged a city which belonged to the pope ; but such was the 
 influence of the pontiff over the king that at their meeting the ruler 
 of the Lombards was persuaded to retire to the abbey of Monte Cas- 
 sino. His queen and daughter at the same time (A. D. 749) founded 
 a monastery of nuns near that abbey, whither they retired and took 
 the veil. The Lombard king, Astolpb, having seized Ravenna, 
 A. D. 752, and invaded the Roman territories. Pope Stephen II 
 appealed for aid to Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, who had been 
 proclaimed king of the Franks by Pope Zachary, A, D. 751. The 
 alarmed pontiff, who visited the Frankish capital in person, after 
 receiving a promise from Pepin to cross the Alps the following 
 year and assist him, rewarded the latter by absolving him from his 
 oath of allegiance to Chilperic, the deposed king, by anointing him, 
 and then investing him with the regal crown, at the same time sol- 
 emnly conferring upon him the title of Patrician of the Romans. In 
 the Autumn of the next year, A. D. 754, Pepin entered Italy at the 
 head of a powerful army, and compelled Astolph to restore the 
 Roman territory ; but the conqueror had scarcely returned home 
 when the Lombard king renewed the war, ravaged the Romagna, 
 laid siege to Rome, and demanded the surrender of the pope as the 
 price of the city's safety. Pepin at once crossed the Alps a second 
 time, and inflicted upon Astolph such a punishment that he Avas 
 obliged to purchase peace by the surrender of all his conquests, 
 including the exarchate and Pentapolis. 
 
 Pepin, who declared that he undertook the war only for the glory 
 
5 8 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of St. Peter, bestowed upon the pope the restored territory, and thus 
 raised him to the dignity of a temporal as well as spiritual ruler. 
 Thus began the temporal dominion of the Roman pontiffs, which 
 continued until 1871. The district thus acquired by the pope 
 included Ravenna, Rimini, and twenty-three other cities, and em- 
 braced the territories of the exarchate and the Pentapolis, which were 
 afterwards known as the ''States of the Church." Thus by the gift 
 of a foreign potentate, this large part of Italy became the kingdom 
 of the Bishop of Rome. The sovereignty of this territory was 
 retained by Pepin, but its immediate government, with its rich reve- 
 nues, passed into the hands of the pope. Still the latter was not 
 yet entirely independent, as money was coined and justice adminis- 
 tered in the name of the king of the Franks, and even the election 
 of the pope was subject to his revision. 
 
 Astolphus having died, A. D. 756, Desiderius became king of 
 the Lombards; but not until the death of Pepin, which occurred 
 A. D. j6%, did he dare molest Rome. But, in the pontificate of 
 Adrian I, the restless and enterprising Lombards invaded the prov- 
 inces which had been granted by Pepin to the successors of the poor 
 and humble Peter. Desiderius laid waste the Romagna, and threat- 
 ened the city of the popes. Several years previous he meditated the 
 conquest of Ravenna, and sought the protection of Charlemagne and 
 Carloman, the sons of Pepin, between whom Italy was divided. His 
 two daughters became the wives of these rulers; but a difficulty arose 
 between Charlemagne and Desiderius, and the former divorced his 
 wife. This act displeased the Lombard king, who applied to the 
 pope to favor him in his projects against the French monarch ; and 
 failing in the attempt, he attacked the papal territory and endeav- 
 ored to seize Adrian I. The latter appealed to Charlemagne, who 
 came seasonably to his assistance with a powerful army, captured 
 Pavia after a siege of several months, took Desiderius prisoner, and 
 put an end to the Lombard kingdom, which he added to his own 
 dominions. During the siege of Pavia Charlemagne spent **Holy 
 Week" in Rome, and confirmed the gift of his father Pepin to the 
 pope, and, in return, was crowned king of Italy and "Patrician of 
 Rome," by Adrian I. Charlemagne entered Italy again, A. D. 781, 
 to protect the pope against a league of all the adversaries of the 
 papal and Frankish interests, headed by Arigiso, the Lombard duke 
 of Benevento, who had married a daughter of Desiderius. The 
 prompt appearance of the great conqueror in Italy ended the trouble. 
 Adrian I died, A. D. 795, and Leo III became his successor. He 
 
THE DOCTRINES OF CLAUDIUS. 59 
 
 was unpopular with the factions which divided Rome, and his enemies 
 attacked him in the streets, A. D. 799, and almost killed him. 
 Escaping from the city he went to Spoleto, and thence to Paderborn. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 THE PROTEST OF CLAUDIUS. 
 
 THE ninth century produced the most remarkable, perhaps, of all 
 those distinguished champions of the truth in Italy, who de- 
 nounced the growing superstition of the Church and labored to 
 preserve pure and undefiled the faith which apostles had preached. 
 The mantle of Ambrose fell upon Claudius, archbishop of Turin. He 
 was an earnest and diligent student of the Bible. As he read it he 
 seemed to stand in the immediate presence of the apostles, and of 
 One greater than the apostles. Beholding with dismay the departure 
 of the Church from the true way, he resolved to ''cry aloud and spare 
 not." He had been chaplain of the emperor, Louis the Meek, who 
 appointed him bishop of Turin, saying, "I have made this nomina- 
 tion in order to improve the condition of the Italian Churches, which 
 for the greater part have gone astray from the doctrine of the Evan- 
 gelists." Claudius had talent, learning, firmness, and virtue for such 
 a mission. He commenced it in earnest, and denounced the errors 
 and abuses of the bishop and king of Rome with uncompromising 
 zeal, both in his preaching and writings. He wrote extensive works, 
 which the Inquisition has since destroyed. The titles, however, and 
 many interesting passages of them may be found, as they are quoted 
 in the works of his opponents, and especially in a book pubHshed 
 against him by Jonas of Orleans, a contemporary writer. 
 
 The opinions of Claudius that may be gathered from such sources 
 were in direct opposition to those which were held by the Bishop of 
 Rome. Claudius maintained that the Church had no other head but 
 Christ, no supremacy in the Church for any bishop, no such place as 
 "purgatory," no merit in pilgrimages and formal penances, no wor- 
 ship of relics and images under whatever pretext, no pagan pomps 
 in the worship of God, no transubstantiation in the Lord's-supper. 
 'He grasped "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God," 
 and attacked the errors of his day. 
 
 In regard to the supremacy claimed by the Bishop of Rome, Clau- 
 
Co ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 dius remarked that ^*a certain supremacy was given by our Lord to 
 Peter for the conversion of the Jews as well as to Paul for the con- 
 version of the Gentiles; but this was personal to them, as were all 
 the gifts of the apostles. At any rate, the bishopric of Rome was 
 probably founded by Paul, who went there twice, but not certainly 
 by Peter, who never saw Rome." In addition to this statement 
 concerning the Roman primacy, we present the following from the 
 writings of Claudius: "We know very well that this passage of the 
 Gospel is very ill understood — 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock 
 will I build my Church; and I will give unto thee the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven,' under pretense of which words the stupid and 
 ignorant common people, destitute of all spiritual knowledge, betake 
 themselves to Rome in hopes of acquiring eternal life. The ministry 
 belongs to all the true superintendents and pastors of the Church, 
 who discharge the same as long as they are in this world;* and when 
 they have paid the debt of death others succeed in their places, who 
 Qnjoy the same authority and power. Know thou that he only is 
 apostolic who is the keeper and guardian of the apostle's doctrine, 
 and not he who boasts himself to be seated in the chair of the apostle, 
 and in the mean time doth not acquit himself of the charge of the 
 apostle." 
 
 The greatest difficulty with which Claudius had to contend in the 
 course of his mission was the worship of relics and images. It had 
 been adopted early by the Church as a compromise with paganism, 
 and the people were fond of it. There is no doubt a tendency in 
 our weak human nature to represent God clothed in our material 
 forms and passions; and this tendency was gratified in a high degree 
 by the sensuous idolatry of the ancient Romans. It was an almost 
 continual exhibition of the fine arts, showy pomps, and exciting 
 spectacles, besides being associated with all the national glories. 
 Claudius regarded the worship of images and relics as the source of 
 all abominations, and resisted it with all the logic of his pen and all 
 the force of his eloquence. The Bishop of Rome was the great advo- 
 cate of this innovation, which was then making rapid advancement. 
 The bishop of Milan condemned the practice as idolatrous, and 
 purged those churches in his diocese which had begun to admit 
 representations of saints and divine persons within their walls, not 
 even sparing the cross itself The seventh General Council or second 
 of Nice, held A. D. 'jZj, had decreed the worship of images; but 
 France, Spain, Germany, and the diocese of Milan rejected it. It 
 was also condemned by the Council of Frankfort, A. D. 794. 
 
CLAUDIUS DENOUNCES IMAGE WORSHIP. , 6 1 
 
 The advocates of images in the ninth century employed the very 
 same arguments in their defense that Romanists at the present time 
 offer, and Claudius refuted them on the same ground that Protestant 
 writers still maintain. The former declared that they did not worship 
 the image itself, but simply used it as the medium through which 
 they worshiped him whom the image represents, and when they 
 kissed the cross this act expressed their adoration of Him who died 
 upon it. But Claudius would not accept this common excuse that 
 the worship rendered to a material object is directed to an immaterial 
 one. ^^ First,'' said he, ''this is not true. The common class of 
 men are not able to make that subtle distinction, and for this reason 
 the Bible forbade absolutely even to make images of God. Secondly, 
 some images and relics are the objects of pilgrimages and greater 
 veneration than others; and this proves that an intrinsic virtue is 
 supposed to reside in those material objects. Thirdly, there is no 
 reason why we should worship the souls of those whom we believe 
 to be saved. To God alone is due honor, praise, and worship. Should 
 the saints be worshiped at all it would be preferable to do so when 
 they are still alive and in the image of God." 
 
 Claudius, in his letter to Theodemir, says: ''Appointed bishop by 
 Louis, I came to Turin. I found all the churches full of the filth of 
 abominations and images. ... If Christians venerate the images 
 of saints they have not abandoned idols, but only changed their 
 names." While employing the most invincible arguments, the bishop 
 of Milan also occasionally indulged in sarcasm. "God commands 
 one thing," says he, "and these people do quite the contrary. God 
 commands us to bear our cross and not worship it; but these are all 
 for worshiping it, whereas they do not bear it at all. To serve God 
 after this manner is to go away from him. For if we ought to adore 
 the cross because Christ was fastened to it, how many other things 
 are there which touched Jesus Christ! Why don't they adore man- 
 gers and old clothes, because he was laid in a manger and wrapped 
 in swaddling clothes? Let them adore asses, because he entered into 
 Jerusalem upon the foal of an ass !" 
 
 Where the voice of this earnest preacher could not reach he 
 labored to convey truth by his pen. He published expositions of 
 almost all the epistles of Paul, and several books of the Old Testa- 
 ment, besides writing commentaries on the Gospels. According to 
 AUix, none of these works have been printed except his commentary 
 upon the Epistle to the Galatians. The monks of St. Germain have 
 his commentary upon all the epistles in manuscript, in two volumes, 
 
62 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 which were found in the Hbrary of the abbey of Fleury, near Orleans. 
 They have also his manuscript commentaries on Leviticus, which 
 formerly belonged to the library of St. Remy at Rheims. There are 
 several manuscript copies of his commentary on Matthew in England 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 In A. D. 815 he expressed, in his commentary on Matthew, his 
 views of the Eucharist, declaring that it was a memorial of Christ's 
 death, and not a repetition of it, and that the elements of bread and 
 wine were only symbols of the flesh and blood of Jesus. It appears, 
 therefore, that the doctrine of transubstantiation was not held in the 
 ninth century by the Italian Church at the foot of the Alps. The 
 bishops of neighboring dioceses indorsed the opinion of the bishop 
 of Milan, and urged him to continue his expositions of the Bible. 
 Though differing from him on other subjects, they concurred in his 
 views of the sacrament. Among these prominent ecclesiastics who 
 favored the teachings of Claudius were Jonas, bishop of Orleans, and 
 the Abbot Theodemirus. 
 
 The doctrines which Claudius so powerfully advocated by both 
 voice and pen were essentially the same that Luther proclaimed in 
 the sixteenth century. He insisted that there is but one Sovereign 
 in the Church, and he is not on earth ; that Peter had no superiority 
 over the other apostles, but was honored in being the first who 
 preached the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles; that human merit 
 does not avail, and that man is saved by faith alone. This earnest 
 reformer of the ninth century rejected such dogmas as the authority 
 of tradition, prayers for the dead, and the infallibility of the Church. 
 With regret he beheld the doAvnward tendency of the Church in Italy, 
 the worldliness of its ministry, the ignorance of its people, the prom- 
 inence of image worship in its service, and the magnificence of its 
 ceremonies. Yet while there was a general declension of piety 
 throughout Italy, the Church in the northern part, to a great extent, 
 maintained its purity. The Bishop of Rome had not succeeded in 
 compelling universal submission to his jurisdiction, and had not per- 
 suaded all the Churches to accept his new opinions and to adopt his 
 peculiar customs. 
 
 The dominant power at Rome would have silenced Claudius, but 
 he was not alone. Bishops and synods extended to him sympathy 
 and support. Agobardus, the bishop of Lyons, was as strong an 
 iconoclast as the reformer at Turin, and stood by him in defense of 
 the true faith. Dupon says that the emperor, Louis the Pious (le 
 Debonnaire), summoned a council, A. D. 824, of **the most learned 
 
THE FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF CLAUDIUS. 63 
 
 and judicious bishops of his realm" to discuss the question of images. 
 At that time emperors could convene synods and appoint bishops. 
 Hence no papal allocution determined the action of this council. **It 
 knew no other way to settle the question than by determining what 
 they should find upon the most impartial examination to be true, 
 by plain text of Holy Scripture, and the judgment of the Fathers." 
 This ecclesiastical body, which met at Paris, like the great council at 
 Frankfort, A. D. 794, indorsed the principles for which Claudius 
 had contended. During the twenty years of controversy he was 
 publicly opposed by only two men, Dungulas, a recluse of the abbey 
 of St. Denis, an Italian, it is beheved, and naturally inclined to the 
 opinions of the pope ; and Jonas, bishop of Orleans, who differed from 
 Claudius on the one question of tolerating the use of images, the 
 bishop of Orleans defending them, but not for idolatrous pur- 
 poses, while the bishop of Turin condemned any use of them in 
 churches. 
 
 The doctrines of Claudius found many followers, both in Italy 
 and in France. The abbot of St. Theodomir, in France, who had 
 been a school-mate and friend, wrote to him, saying that his doc- 
 trines had already been extensively embraced, and beseeching him to 
 give up his preachings and writings, because they were not approved 
 by the apostolic lord, the Bishop of Rome. Claudius replied that 
 his doctrines were those of the Gospel, and incidentally remarked 
 that the title ** apostolic does not belong to him who administers a 
 bishopric founded by an apostle, but to him who truly fulfills the 
 apostolic mission." This important letter was followed by the publi- 
 cation of a book on the same subject. An extract of this book was 
 made by Dungal, an Irish priest, who, selecting here and there some 
 propositions, changed their meaning, and charged them as being 
 heretical. A self-constituted council assumed to examine those prop- 
 ositions ; but Claudius declined their judgment, and regarded with 
 indifference the attack of Dungal. 
 
 At this the enemies of Claudius openly and directly accused him 
 of heresy to the emperor, Louis the Meek, by whom he had been 
 appointed bishop of Turin. That monarch did not heed the accusa- 
 tion or order a trial, but simply gave a commission to Jonas, bishop 
 of Orleans, to make an inquiry into the doctrines of Claudius. Six 
 years elapsed, and Jonas was silent. In the mean while Claudius 
 freely continued his mission, completed his extensive commentaries 
 on the New Testament, and died in full communion with all the 
 Churches of Italy and France. It was only after his death that 
 
64 ITAL V ST 7^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Jonas of Orleans published and presented to the emperor a book in 
 which he admits that the bishop of Turin was right in opposing the 
 worship of images, but rebukes him on account of his intemperate 
 zeal on that subject, for his disregard of the Bishop of Rome, and 
 for his aversion to pilgrimages, invocation of the saints, and worship 
 of the cross. Jonas in the same book hints also that heretical books 
 were said to have been found in the library of Claudius after his 
 death, and that a rumor had been spread of his having received the 
 heresy of Arius. The words of the bishop of Orleans would rather 
 imply a malignant insinuation than an open accusation of heresy. 
 And yet, with no other foundation, a modern French writer, Bossuet, 
 has positively asserted that Claudius was an Arian or a Nestorian. 
 The inconsistency of this late charge is shown from the fact that he 
 communed and almost identified himself with the Waldensian Church, 
 against which no such accusation was ever made. 
 
 The civil and religious history of Italy during the ninth century 
 are so Intimately connected that they may be narrated together as 
 one inseparable cluster of events. Leo III, who had been driven 
 from Rome, A. D. 799, naturally appealed to Charlemagne for the 
 punishment of his enemies and his restoration to the papal throne. 
 His enemies endeavored to defend their course by charging the 
 pontiff with grave crimes. The Frankish monarch did not decline 
 to undertake the judicial investigation of the case, but postponed it 
 until his arrival in Rome, in the mean time continuing to treat the 
 pope Avith undiminished respect and familiarity. Toward the close 
 of the Autumn, A. D. 800, Charlemagne proceeded to Rome, and 
 the trial of Leo III occurred. It resulted, as a matter of course, in 
 his acquittal and the punishment of his accusers, the king with his 
 own voice proclaiming the innocence of the pontiff. The latter, 
 desiring to manifest his gratitude, resolved to reward his benefactor ; 
 and accordingly, while he was kneeling on the steps of the great 
 altar in St. Peter's Cathedral at the service of the mass, Leo III 
 came suddenly behind him and placed upon his head the golden 
 crown of the Caesars, at the same time hailing him with the ancient 
 imperial titles : ' * Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned 
 of God, great and peace-giving Emperor of the Romans!" It was 
 Christmas, A. D. 800, which was then the day of the New Year, 
 and a vast throng of clergy, warriors, and citizens filled the church. 
 This multitude echoed the words of the pontiff with an enthusiastic 
 shout, joyfully acknowledging the king of the Franks as the lawful 
 successor of the Caesars. Thus an august title which had remained 
 
CHARLEMA GNE AND LO UIS. 65 
 
 dormant for several centuries was revived, but it did not restore 
 Rome to its ancient splendor. 
 
 Charlemagne, the ** Emperor of the West," was now the most 
 powerful monarch in the world ; but his fame does not rest so much 
 upon his great exploits as a conqueror as upon his learning and 
 statesmanship. He labored to promote the civilization and Chris- 
 tianization of Europe, and during his life Italy enjoyed a period of 
 rest and prosperity. On his death, A. D. 814, his only lawful sur- 
 viving child, Louis, known as ''Le Debonnaire," or the meek, mild, 
 or gentle one, became emperor, having been crowned the previous 
 year. Feeling his own incompetency, and hoping to preserve peace 
 among his turbulent sons, the new monarch gave to each of them a 
 share in his dominions, A. D. 817, Italy being included in that por- 
 tion assigned to Lothaire. The death of Louis occurred A. D. 840, 
 and Lothaire took the imperial title, which he held for fifteen years. 
 His son, Louis II, who had been ruler over Lombardy, succeeded 
 Lothaire, A. D. 855, and was a brave and virtuous sovereign. He 
 advanced into Southern Italy, and saved Rome from the further 
 attacks of the Saracens. These invaders, after striving to get posses- 
 sion of Sicily, landed upon the Italian coast, and, encouraged by the 
 dissensions of the cities in the lower end of the peninsula, extended 
 their ravages to the vicinity of Rome, even besieging the city itself. 
 Had they been united they might have conquered all Italy. The 
 distress of the Romans was increased by the death of their pontiff, 
 Sergius II ; but in his successor, Leo IV, they found a chief fitted 
 for the employment both of the cabinet and the field. By his cour- 
 ageous conduct Rome was saved. He successfully resisted the Sara- 
 cens in their attacks upon the city, and brought about a league of 
 the cities of Gaeta, Naples, and Amalifei. Their combined fleets 
 inflicted a severe defeat upon that of the Saracens off Ostia, and a 
 tempest destroyed the remnant of it. Leo could not prevent the 
 Saracens from plundering the churches and shrines which lay without 
 the walls. Upon the withdrawal of the enemy he inclosed this por- 
 tion — the Vatican quarter — with a strong wall, and called it, in honor 
 of himself, the Leonine City, A. D. 852. 
 
 The Saracens, having captured Bari, had control of the Adriatic 
 and the southern part of Italy; but Louis II, aided by the Greek 
 fleet of Basil I, defeated them, A. D. 871. The death of Louis II 
 occurred A. D. 875, and Charles the Bald of France was crowned 
 emperor by his nephew, Pope John VIII. The latter is believed by 
 some authorities to have been a female in disgfuise, a native of Ger- 
 
66 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 many, educated at Athens, and celebrated for eloquence, learning, 
 and popular manners. It is said that she was elected pope, A. D. 854, 
 and reigned nearly two years and a half, but, not observing the laws 
 of chastity, she died in child-birth from improper exposure in a 
 public procession between the theater called Coliseum and the church 
 of St. Clement. Mosheim refers to this extraordinary or imaginary 
 person, still known under the popular name of Pope Joan, and says 
 that it is " more than probable that some unusual event must have 
 happened at Rome, from which this story derived its origin." Some 
 writers maintain that she is a fictitious character, whose degradation 
 represented the profligracy of the popes at that time. Among the 
 prominent pontiffs who reigned in the latter part of the century were 
 Adrian II (who, upon the death of Benedict III, A. D. 857, ascended 
 the papal throne), John VIII, and Eugenius III. In this century the 
 power and influence of the popes in civil affairs arose to an enormous 
 height through the favor and protection of the Italian princes. Car- 
 loman, who became emperor, A. D. 877, and Charles the Fat, who 
 succeeded him, A. D. 885, in the kingdom of Italy and in the Roman 
 Empire, were elected by the Roman pontiff and the Italian princes. 
 To support their pretensions to supremacy and independence the 
 bishops of Rome forged ancient records, and presented them as au- 
 thentic documents. Among these assumed decretals of the early 
 Church were those of some obscure writer, to which was attached 
 Isidore's name. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 RISE OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 DURING the tenth and eleventh centuries Italy was in a state 
 of constant strife. Hostile factions contended for the suprem- 
 acy, and surrounding nations, taking advantage of these internal 
 dissensions, invaded the peninsula. In the early part of the tenth 
 century it experienced many disasters. The Magyars and Northmen 
 swept over the Alps and ravaged the northern portion with fire and 
 sword, and Southern Italy was devastated by the Saracens. The 
 death of Charles the Fat, A. D. 887, ended the Carolingian Hne in 
 Italy, and was followed by the disruption of Charlemagne's magnifi- 
 cent empire. A struggle at once ensued between the adherents of 
 
DISORDERS IN ITAL V. 6/ 
 
 Beranger, duke of Friuli, and Guido, duke of Spoletum, for the 
 possession of the ItaHan crown. The latter prince was victorious, 
 and became emperor ; and Beranger appealed to the German king, 
 Arnulf, to assist him against his enemy. He responded willingly to 
 the summons, and invaded Italy, A. D. 894. Having taken Rome, 
 he set aside both Beranger and Lambert, son of Guido, who had 
 died during the conflict, and was himself crowned emperor by Pope 
 Formosus. He had no real power in Italy, and soon returned to. 
 Germany, where he died, A. D. 899. Death removed Lambert 
 about the same time, and Beranger occupied the Italian throne at 
 the beginning of the tenth century. 
 
 Leo V succeeded Benedict IV in the pontificate, A. D. 903 ; but 
 he reigned only forty days, having been dethroned and imprisoned 
 by Christopher, one of his "domestics. But the usurper Avas over- 
 thrown the following year by Sergius III, a Roman presbyter. This 
 pontiff owed his elevation to the protection of Adalbert, a powerful 
 Tuscan prince, whose influence at Rome was unlimited ; and his 
 short reigrj was followed by those of Anastasius III and Lando, all 
 too transient to be very fruitful in events. An archbishop of Ra- 
 venna, under the title of John X, ascended the papal throne, A. D. 
 914, and, Hke the most of his predecessors, was licentious and corrupt. 
 His glorious campaign against the Saracens, whom he expelled from 
 their settlements upon the banks of the Garigliano, A. D. 916, was 
 a redeeming feature of his reign. He did not, however, long enjoy 
 his elevation, as he was disliked by an infamous woman named 
 Marozia, the daughter of Theodora, and wife of Albert, marquis or 
 count of Tuscany. She was the mistress of one pope, the mother 
 of a second, and the grandmother of a third ; and the record of her 
 career forms the darkest page in the history of the papacy. Upon, 
 the death of her husband and Beranger I she endeavored to strengthen! 
 herself by marrying Hugh of Provence, who had assumed the Italians 
 crown, and had been acknowledged king by Pope John XI, the suc- 
 cessor of Leo VI and Stephen VII, whose respective reigns were- 
 unimportant. John XI was the illegitimate son of Marozia by Sergius^ 
 III, and yet accepted, A. D. 931, the sacred position once occupied' 
 by St. Peter ! His mother introduced Hugh of Provence into the- 
 castle of St. Angelo ; but the Romans, led by Alberic, the legiti- 
 mate son of Marozia, refused to allow Hugh to enter their city, audi 
 confined him to the castle, from which Alberic soon drove him.. 
 Marozia and John XI were thrown into prison, A. D. 933, and the 
 latter died, A. D. 936. The pontiffs who in their turns succeeded 
 
 6 
 
6S ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and filled the papal chair, until A. D. 956, were Leo VII, Stephen 
 VIII, Marianus II, and Agapet, whose characters were greatly supe- 
 rior to those of their immediate predecessors, and whose govern- 
 ment, at least, was not attended with those tumults and revolutions 
 which had so frequently shaken the pontifical throne and banished 
 peace from Rome. 
 
 For twenty years Alberic ruled Rome, restoring to a limited 
 degree the old republican institutions. He joined to his dignity as 
 Roman consul a degree of authority and opulence which nothing 
 could resist, and, consequently, upon the death of Agapet, he raised 
 his son Octavion to the pontificate. This inexperienced youth took 
 the name of John XII, when he began to reign, A. D. 956, and thus 
 introduced the custom, which has since been adopted by all the popes, 
 of assuming a new appellation upon occupying the chair of St. Peter. 
 Hugh of Provence, though driven from Rome, retained his hold upon 
 the rest of Italy ; but he was an infamous tyrant, and became so un- 
 popular with the people that they devised a plot to supplant him by 
 electing Beranger, marquis of Ivrea, the most powerful noble of Nor- 
 thern Italy. Hugh detected the conspiracy and Beranger fled ; but 
 the former was finally compelled to return to Provence, and his son 
 Lothaire became king of Italy, A. D. 945. This sovereign died, A. 
 D. 950, and his father's rival at once mounted the throne, as Beran- 
 ger II. He endeavored to compel Adelaide, the young and beautiful 
 wddow of Lothaire, to marry his son Adelbert; but she refused, and 
 was thrown into prison. After suffering* the most cruel treatment, 
 she succeeded in escaping, and appealed to the German king, Otho 
 the Great, for protection. He crossed the Alps, defeated Beranger, 
 and married Adelaide himself, at the same time assuming the title 
 of King of the Lombards. Allowing Beranger to retain his crown, 
 and Lombardy as his vassal, Otho returned home in triumph, A. D. 
 951. After ten years of violence and discontent, during which the 
 Lombard nobles succeeded in winning the uncompromising hostility 
 of the pope, John XII, the latter invited Otho to become emperor of 
 the Romans, and accordingly he was crowned, with Queen Adelaide, 
 at Rome, in February, A. D. 962. 
 
 Otho had scarcely passed the Alps, on his return to Germany, 
 when the pontiff commenced to plot against him, and final!}- plunged 
 Rome into a revolt against its German master. The emperor returned 
 to Italy, A. D. 964, and solemnly deposed the pope from his high 
 office. The Romans were deprived of their independent institutions, 
 and placed under the rule of Leo VIII, who was appointed by Otho. 
 
OTHO III AND SYLVESTER 11. 69 
 
 Thus the power of the German emperor was firmly estabhshed in 
 Rome. He endeavored to add Southern Italy to his empire, but ^vas 
 unsuccessful. The Romans attempted to regain their independent 
 municipal government during the latter part of the reign of Otho II, 
 and set up a consul named Crescentius, who compelled Benedict VI, 
 who succeeded John XIII (A. D. 972), to acknowledge his authority. 
 The unfortunate pontiff, upon the death of Otho the Great, A. D. 
 973, was murdered the following year. Boniface VII and Donus II 
 each reigned a few months, and when the papal chair became vacant, 
 A. D. 975, Benedict VII was chosen to occupy it. He remained in 
 the pontificate nine years, and was succeeded by John XIV. The 
 latter, however, was deposed by Boniface VII, who had returned 
 from his exile, A. D. 965, but whose reign extended over a period 
 of only six months. His successor was John XV, a wise and pru- 
 dent ruler, whose administration was tranquil and continued until A. 
 D. 996. In that year Otho III placed Gregory V, a German, upon 
 the papal throne, then marched to Rome at the head of a powerful 
 army, put an end to the consular government, and was crowned em- 
 peror by the pope. As soon as he had departed from the city some 
 hostile factions raised a revolt, and elected a Greek to the pontificate. 
 Otho III promptly returned to Rome, deposed the rival pope, cruelly 
 tortured him, and laid siege to the castle of St. Angelo. Self-govern- 
 ment was now at an end in Rome, and the power of the emperor 
 was supreme. He even dreamed of reviving the ancient glories of 
 the Roman Empire, and of reigning as master of the world, with 
 R^ome as his capital ; but his early death defeated all these plans. 
 One of his last acts was the appointment of Gerbert, his tutor, to the 
 pontificate, to succeed Gregory V. The new pope, Sylvester II, was 
 esteemed the most profound scholar and most daring thinker of his 
 day, using his power to promote literature and science. Mosheim 
 extols his genius and declares that by his writings "many were in- 
 cited to the study of physics, mathematics, and philosophy, and in 
 general to the pursuit of science in all its branches." 
 
 The disorders which had marked the tenth century in Italy contin- 
 ued throughout the eleventh. After the death of the emperor, Otho 
 III, A. D. 1002, Rome passed again under popu-lar government, and 
 the great cities of Northern Italy enjoyed, under various forms, much 
 of the liberty which prevailed in them at earlier periods. The great 
 trouble against which they had to contend was the repeated effort of 
 some powerful noble to make himself master of some important city. 
 Even the bishops, not content with their spiritual privileges, endeavored 
 
70 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 to obtain temporal power; and the people of Milan, especially, had 
 a severe struggle with their archbishop, who was resolved to deprive 
 them of their liberties. The municipal governments of Italy were 
 generally conducted by two or more consuls chosen by the people. 
 Each city had usually two councils, the smaller being called the Con- 
 siglio di Credenza, and the larger, the Senate ; but the supreme power was 
 in the hands of the citizens. The great Italian republics were more 
 thoroughly organized than their minor sisters. In the eleventh cen- 
 tury Venice was one of the richest and most powerful of the Italian 
 states, and was just entering upon its remarkable commercial career. 
 It was the only republic in Italy which never submitted to the Ger- 
 man emperors, and no foreign power had as yet been acknowledged 
 within its walls. Its chief magistrate Avas styled the Doge, or Duke, 
 and possessed all the powers of a king. For six centuries Venice 
 had not been involved in the great struggles which convulsed the 
 other portions of the peninsula, and consequently enjoyed a steady 
 growth. During the Crusades the republic engaged in ship-building, 
 expelled the pirates from the Adriatic Sea, carried on an extensive 
 commerce with eastern countries, and became the mistress of the seas. 
 The example of Venice was followed by Pisa, and that republic next 
 rose to wealth and importance, and became the principal commercial 
 rival of the other. Genoa did not advance so rapidly, but her terri- 
 tory ultimately embraced the cities of the two Rivieras, and extended 
 around the head of the Gulf of Genoa from Nice to Spezzia. She 
 was always the enemy of Venice, and the rival of Pisa, though some- 
 times the ally of the latter republic. 
 
 During the eleventh century the Italian crown was worn by Henry 
 of Bavaria, Conrad II, Henry III, and Henry IV, the Great. All 
 these German emperors had more or less contention Avith the Roman 
 pontiffs. Gregory VII compelled Henry IV to remain three days 
 and nights barefooted in the snow, and without food, at the gate of 
 the castle of Canossa, in February, A. D. 1077. The chief ally of 
 the pope in Italy was the Countess Matilda, of Tuscany, who pos- 
 sessed great fiefs. She laid the foundation of the temporal power of 
 the popes by bequeathing (A. D. 1080) a large portion of her do- 
 minions to Gregory VII. The Normans, under Robert Guiscard, 
 invaded Sicily, expelled the Saracens, and captured (A. D. 1053) 
 Pope Leo IX, who had advanced against them with an army. After- 
 wards the Normans defended the Roman pontiffs, and Roger, the son 
 of Robert Guiscard, became king of Sicily, and promised to make 
 his dominion a fief of the *' Holy See." 
 
HILDEBRAND (POPE GREGORy VIl). 
 
72 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 THE STRUGGLES OF THE ITALIAN REFUBLICS. 
 
 THREE important events mark the civil history of Italy during 
 the twelfth century — the struggle between the empire and the 
 papacy for ecclesiastical investitures; the establishment of the Nor- 
 man kingdom in Naples, and the formation of distinct and nearly 
 independent repubhcs among the cities of Lombardy. Pascal H, 
 who had been raised to the pontificate in the closing year of the pre- 
 ceding century (A. D. 1099), appeared firmly seated in the apostolic 
 chair without the least apprehension from the imperial faction. After 
 the death of Guibert, A. D. iioo, this faction, indeed, chose in his 
 place a person named Albert ; but he was seized and imprisoned on 
 the day of his election. Theodoric and Magnulf were successively 
 chosen after -Albert, who could not long support their claim to the 
 pontificate. No sooner did Pascal observe his deliverance from his 
 domestic enemies than he determined not to suffer the present season 
 of tranquillity to pass unimproved. He assembled a council at Rome, 
 A. D. 1 102, in which the decrees of his predecessors against inves- 
 titures and the excommunications they had fulminated against Henry 
 IV w^ere renewed, and the ambitious pontiff employed the most 
 vigorous efforts to excite new enemies against the unfortunate em- 
 peror. The latter, however, resisted with great constancy and reso- 
 lution the aggressions of this violent pope, and eluded his perfidious 
 stratagems with much vigilance and dexterity. But the heart of the 
 emperor was wounded in the tenderest part, and lost all its firmness 
 and courage, when his unnatural son, who was afterwards named 
 Henry V, under the impious pretext of religion, took up arms, A. D. 
 1 104, against his person and his cause. He seized his father in a 
 treacherous manner, and compelled him to abdicate the empire ; after 
 which the unhappy prince retired to Liege, where, deserted by all his 
 adherents, he was released from his miseries by death, A. D. 1 106. 
 This odious rebellion produced a revolution in the empire; but 
 Pascal II did not derive from it all the benefits which he anticipated. 
 While Henry V was willing to grant the right of election to the 
 canons and monks, as was usual prior to his reign, he could by no 
 means be persuaded to renounce his right of investing the bishops and 
 
JVAJ^ OF INVESTITURES. ^ 73 
 
 abbots. This refusal exasperated the pontiff, who renewed, in the 
 Councils of Guastallo and Troyes, the decrees which had so frequently 
 been issued against investitures, and the flame burst forth with new 
 fury. It was, indeed, suspended during a few years by the wars in 
 which Henry V was engaged, and which prevented him from terminat- 
 ing the dispute. But as soon as he had made peace with his enemies 
 and composed the tumults which disturbed the tranquillity of the em- 
 pire, he departed for Italy, A. D. mo, with a formidable army, to 
 put an end to the long and unhappy contest. He advanced toward 
 Rome by slow marches, while the trembling pope, reduced to the 
 lowest and most defenseless condition, proposed to him the following 
 conditions of peace : That he on the one hand should renounce the 
 right of investing with the ring and the crosier ; and that the bishops 
 and abbots should, on the other, resign to the emperor all the grants 
 they had received from Charlemagne, of those rights and privileges 
 which belong to royalty, such as the power of raising tribute, coining 
 money, and possessing independent lands and territories, with other 
 Immunities of a similar nature. Flenry accepted these conditions, 
 and accordingly ratified them by a formal consent, A. D. iiii; but 
 the Italian and German bishops were extremely displeased, and 
 strongly expressed their dissent. 
 
 The contending parties were assembled in the church of St. Peter, 
 and, a fatal tumult having arisen between their respective followers, 
 Henry ordered the pope and several of the refractory cardinals to be 
 seized and to be confined in the castle of Viterbo. After remaining 
 a prisoner for some time the captive pontiff was engaged, by the 
 unhappy circumstances of his present condition, to enter into a new 
 convention, by which he solemnly receded from the article of the 
 former treaty which regarded investitures, confirmed to the emperor 
 the privilege of inaugurating the bishops and abbots with the rijig 
 and crosier, and anathematized all who might oppose this concession. 
 Thus was peace concluded, and Henry received the imperial diadem 
 from Pascal 11. This peace was transitory — the fruit of violence and 
 necessity — and was followed by greater tumults and more dreadful 
 wars than had yet afflicted the Church. Immediately after this treaty 
 had been concluded Rome was convulsed with the most vehement 
 commotions, and a universal clamor was excited against the pontiff, 
 who was accused of having violated, in a scandalous manner, the du- 
 ties and dignity of his station, and of having prostituted the majesty 
 of the Church by his ignominious compliance with the demands of 
 the emperor. Pascal desired to appease these commotions, and, in 
 
74 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 defiance of his anathema, assembled in the church of Lateran a coun- 
 cil, A. D. 1 1 12. There he not only confessed, with the deepest con- 
 trition, the crime he had committed in concluding such a convention 
 with the emperor, but submitted the decision of the affair to the de- 
 termination of the council, who accordingly took the treaty into con- 
 sideration, and solemnly annulled it. This step led to many events 
 which, for a long time, resulted unfavorably to the interests of Henry, 
 Many synods and councils both in France and Germany excommu- 
 nicated him, and he was even placed in the black list of heretics, a 
 denomination which exposed those who were embraced in it to the 
 greatest dangers in these barbarous and superstitious times ; and to 
 make his anxiety more intense, he saw the German princes revolting 
 from his authority in several places, and taking up arms in the cause 
 of the Church. 
 
 Henry, desiring to terminate the calamities which thus afflicted 
 the empire on all sides, started for Italy a second time with a large 
 army, A. D. 1116, and arrived the year following at Rome, where 
 he assembled the consuls, senators, and nobles, while the fugitive 
 pontiff retired to Benevento. During his forced absence, however, 
 Pascal engaged the Normans to march to his assistance, and, encour- 
 aged by the prospect of immediate succor, prepared for a vigorous 
 war against the emperor, and attempted to make himself master 
 of Rome. But in the midst of these warlike preparations, which 
 attracted the attention of Europe, the military pontiff died, A. D. 
 1 1 18. John Cajetan was chosen as his successor, but ended his tur- 
 bulent reign in the beginning of the following year. Calistus W was 
 the next incumbent of the papal chair, A. D. 11 19. He renewed 
 the dispute concerning investitures ; but it was evident that both par- 
 ties had become wearied by constant agitation, and desired the 
 blessings of peace. Conditions were therefore proposed, which dero- 
 gated neither from the majesty of the empire nor the rights of the 
 Church, and temporary tranquillity was once more restored. In the 
 pontificates of his successors, until the elevation of Alexander III, 
 A. D. 1 1 59, few remarkable events occurred, except the struggles 
 of contending popes, and their disputes with Roger, king of Sicily, 
 who haughtily refused to acknowledge his dominions as dependencies 
 upon the *'Holy See." 
 
 By the compact between Henry V and CaHstus II the emperor 
 resigned forevei all pretense to invest bishops by the ring and crosier, 
 and recognized the liberty of elections. But, in return, it was stipu- 
 lated that elections should be made in his presence or that of his 
 
wAjR of investitures ended. 75 
 
 officers, and that the new bishop should receive his temporalities 
 from the emperor by the scepter. As both parties in the concordat 
 at Worms receded from so much of their pretensions, it is difficult to 
 determine which was victorious. On one hand, the emperors, by 
 restoring the freedom of episcopal elections, deprived themselves of a 
 prerogative which they had long possessed, and which was almost 
 essential to the maintenance of authority over not the least turbulent 
 part of their subjects. While the form of investiture by the ring 
 and crosier seemed in itself of no importance, yet it had been, in 
 effect, a collateral security against the election of obnoxious persons. 
 For the emperors, by delaying this necessary part of the pontificals 
 until they should confer investiture, prevented a hasty consecration 
 of the new bishop, after which, the vacancy being legally filled, it 
 would not be decent for them to withhold the temporalities. But 
 then, on the other hand, they preserved by the concordat their feudal 
 sovereignty over the estates of the Church in defiance of the language 
 which had recently been held by its rulers. Gregory VII had posi- 
 tively declared in the Lateran Council, A. D. 1080, that a bishop or 
 abbot receiving investiture from a layman should not be reckoned 
 as a prelate. A bishop of Placentia asserts that prelates dishonored 
 their order by putting their hands, which hold the body and blood 
 of Christ, between those of impure laymen. The same expressions 
 are used by others, and are directed against the form of feudal hom- 
 age, which, according to the principles of that age, ought to have 
 been as obnoxious as investiture. 
 
 The same doctrine had been maintained by all the successors 
 of Gregory, without any limitation of their censures to the formality 
 of the ring and crosier. But Calistus II himself had gone much 
 farther, and absolutely prohibited the compelling ecclesiastics to 
 render any 'service to laymen on account of their benefices. ''It is 
 evident," says Hallam, ''that such a general immunity from feudal 
 obligations, for an order who possessed nearly half the lands in 
 Europe, struck at the root of those institutions by which the fabric 
 of society was principally held together." The disciples of Gregory 
 had aimed at this complete independence ; and by yielding to the 
 continuance of lay investitures in any shape, Calistus may, in this 
 respect, appear to have relinquished the principal object of conten- 
 tion. In some battles immediate success may seem pretty equally 
 balanced, but subsequent effects indicate to whom the intrinsic advan- 
 tages of victory belong. So it is evident, from the events which 
 followed the settlement of this great controversy about investitures. 
 
'je ITAL V 577? [/OGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 that the ' * Holy See " had conquered. The emperors were not the only 
 sovereigns whose practice of investiture excited the hostility of Rome, 
 though they sustained the principal brunt of the war. A similar 
 contest, broke out under the pontificate of Pascal II with Henry I 
 of England. 
 
 The Normans in the southern part of Italy continued loyal to 
 the papal hierarchy. As has been previously stated Leo IX, A. D. 
 1053, invested them with their conquests in Apulia, as fiefs of the 
 '* Holy See." This investiture was repeate/j and enlarged as the popes, 
 especially in their contentions with Henry IV and Henry V, found 
 the advantage of using the Normans as faithful auxiliaries. Finally 
 Innocent II, A. D. 1138, conferred upon Roger the title of King of 
 Sicily. It is difficult to understand by what pretense these countries 
 could be claimed by the Roman See in sovereignty, unless by virtue 
 of the pretended donation of Constantine, or that of Louis the 
 Debonair, which is hardly less suspicious. Muratori presumes to 
 suppose that the interpolated, if not spurious, grants of Louis the 
 Debonair, Otho I, and Henry II to the Roman See were promulgated 
 about the time of the first concessions to the Normans, in order to 
 give the popes a colorable pretext to dispose of the southern prov- 
 inces of Italy. It appears strange that Innocent II should surrender 
 the liberties of the city of Naples, whether that was considered as 
 an independent republic or as a portion of the Greek Empire. But the 
 Normans, who had no titles but their swords, were naturally glad to 
 give an appearance of legitimacy to their conquest ; and the kingdom 
 of Naples, even in the hands of the most powerful princes in Europe, 
 never ceased to pay a feudal acknowledgment to the chair of St. Peter. 
 
 The cities of Lombardy, in the northern part of Italy, manifested 
 the same independent spirit during the twelfth century that they did 
 in the eleventh. There was, in fact, no power remaining in the 
 empire to control them. The two Henrys, IV and V, were so much 
 embarrassed during the quarrel concerning investitures and the con- 
 tinual troubles of Germany that they were less likely to interfere 
 with the rising freedom of the Italian cities than to purchase their 
 assistance by large concessions. Henry IV granted a charter to 
 Pisa, A. D. 1081, full of the most important privileges, promising 
 even not to name any marquis of Tuscany without the people's con- 
 sent; and it is possible that, though the. instruments have perished, 
 other places might obtain similar advantages. However this may 
 be, it is certain that, before the death of Henry V, A. D. 1125, 
 almost all the cities of Lombardy, and many among those of Tus- 
 
FEUDAL LORDSHIPS. JJ 
 
 cany were accustomed to elect their own magistrates, and to act as 
 independent communities in waging- war and in domestic government. 
 As already stated, the territory originally under the control of the 
 count or bishop of these cities had been reduced by numerous con- 
 cessions to the rural nobility. But the new repubhcs, believing that 
 they were entitled to all which their former governors had once pos- 
 sessed, commenced to attack their nearest neighbors, and to recover 
 the sovereignty of all their ancient territory. They besieged the 
 castles of the rural counts, and successively conquered them. They 
 suppressed some minor communities, which had been formed in 
 imitation of themselves by little towns belonging to their district. 
 Sometimes they purchased feudal superiorities or territorial juris- 
 dictions ; and, according to a policy not unusual with the stronger 
 party, converted the rights of property into those of government. 
 This produced a vast intricacy of titles, which, of course, was of great 
 advantage to those who desired a pretext for robbing their neighbors. 
 Hence, at the middle of the twelfth century, hardly any noble- 
 man could be found except the marquis of Montferrat who had not 
 submitted to some city. Among the independent families were 
 those of Este, Malaspina, and Savoy. Muratori produces many 
 charters of mutual compact between the nobles and the neighboring 
 cities, whereof one invariable article is, that the former should reside 
 within the walls a certain number of months in the year. The rural 
 nobility were thus deprived of the independence which had endeared 
 their castles ; but they imbibed a new ambition of directing the 
 municipal government of the cities, which, during the first period 
 of the repubhcs, was chiefly in the hands of the superior families. 
 The Lombards adopted the sagacious policy of inviting settlers by 
 extending to them the privileges of citizenship, and sometimes even 
 bestowing them by compulsion. Sometimes a city, imitating the 
 wisdom of ancient Rome, granted these privileges to all the inhab- 
 itants of another. Thus the principal cities, and especially Milan, 
 reached, before the middle of the twelfth century, a degree of 
 population very far beyond that of the capitals of the great king- 
 doms. Within their strong walls and deep trenches, and in the 
 midst of their well-peopled streets, the industrious dwelt secure from 
 the license of armed pillagers and the oppression of feudal tyrants. 
 Artisans, whom the military land-holders despised, acquired and 
 deserved the right of bearing arms for their own and the public 
 defense. Their occupations became liberal, because they Avere the 
 foundation of their political franchises ; the citizens were classed in 
 
78 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 companies according to their respective crafts ; each of which had its 
 tribune or standard-bearer (gonfalonier), at whose command, when 
 any tumult arose or enemy threatened, they rushed in arms to muster 
 in the market-place. 
 
 While the growth of these little republics and the corresponding 
 advancement of liberty excite our admiration, their national conduct 
 awakens an opposite feeling. Besides their love of freedom they 
 possessed a restless spirit, which led them to tyrannize over weaker 
 neighbors. They played over again the tragedy of ancient Greece, 
 with all its circumstances of inveterate hatred, unjust ambition, and 
 atrocious retaliation, though with less consummate actors upon the 
 scene. Among all the Lombard cities Milan was the most conspicu- 
 ous, as well for power and population as for the abuse of those 
 resources by ambitious and arbitrary conduct. An intensely bitter 
 feeling of long continuance had existed between the inhabitants of 
 Milan and Lodi. This animosity originated, according to Arnulf, in 
 the resistance made by the citizens of the latter place to an attempt 
 made by Archbishop Eribert to force a bishop of his own nomination 
 upon them. The bloodshed, plunder, and conflagrations which had 
 ensued would, he says, fill a volume if they were related. And this 
 is the testimony of a writer who did not live later than A. D. 1085. 
 Seventy years more either of servitude or hostility elapsed before 
 Lodi enjoyed peace. It was razed to the ground by the Milanese, 
 A. D. mi, and its inhabitants distributed among six villages, where 
 they were subjected to an unrelenting despotism. Milan commenced 
 a war of ten years' duration with the little city of Como, A. D. 11 18; 
 but its inhabitants exhibited such remarkable perseverance that they 
 obtained better terms of capitulation, though they lost their original 
 independence. The Cremonese treated the town of Crema so harshly 
 that it revolted from them and put itself under the protection of 
 Milan. Cities of more equal forces carried on interminable hostilities 
 by wasting each other's territory, destroying the harvests, and burn- 
 ing the villages. 
 
 At this period the sovereignty of the emperors, though not very 
 effective, was in theory always admitted. Their name was used in 
 public acts and appeared upon the coin. When they came into Italy 
 they had certain customary supplies of provisions called fodruin 
 regale, at the expense of the city where they resided; during their 
 presence all inferior magistrates were suspended, and the right of 
 jurisdiction devolved upon them alone. But the jealousy of the 
 Lombards was so great that they built the royal palaces without their 
 
FREDERICK B A REAR OSSA. 79 
 
 gates, a precaution to which the emperors were compelled to submit. 
 This was at a very early period a subject of contention between the 
 inhabitants of Pavia and Conrad II, whose palace, seated in the heart 
 of the city, they had demolished in a sedition, and were unwilling to 
 build in that situation. 
 
 Such was the condition of Italy when Frederick Barbarossa, duke 
 of Swabia and nephew of the last emperor, Conrad III, ascended 
 the throne of Germany, A. D. 1 152. His accession forms the com- 
 mencement of a new era, the duration of which is about one hundred 
 years, and which is terminated by the death of Conrad IV, the last 
 emperor of the House of Swabia. It is characterized, like the former, 
 by three distinguishing features in Italian history — the victorious 
 struggle of the Lombard and other cities for independence, the final 
 establishment of a temporal sovereignty over the middle provinces by 
 the popes, and the union of the kingdom of Naples to the dominions 
 of the House of Swabia. The Italians soon discovered that Frederick 
 Barbarossa was a very different sovereign from the last two emperors, 
 Lothaire and Conrad III, who had seldom appeared in Italy, and 
 whose forces had not been adequate to rule such insubordinate sub- 
 jects. This prince had a severe and arbitrary temper, and a haughty 
 conceit of his imperial rights. Combined with these qualities were 
 distinguished valor and ability which rendered him very formidable. 
 He believed, or professed to believe, the great absurdity that, as 
 successor of Augustus, he inherited the kingdoms of the world. 
 According to the same standard of right he claimed with more author- 
 ity, if not more reason, the entire prerogatives of the Roman emper- 
 ors over their own subjects, and the professors of the civil law, which 
 was now diligently studied, sustained him with the utmost servility. 
 
 To such a disposition as Frederick possessed the self-government 
 of the Lombard cities appeared real rebellion, and against Milan 
 especially, the most celebrated of them all, he cherished the most 
 inveterate resentment. Its behavior toward Lodi afforded him a eood 
 pretext for interference. Two natives of that ruined city threw them- 
 selves at the emperor's feet and implored him, as the ultimate source 
 of justice, to redress the wrongs of their country. A striking illustra- 
 tion of the terror inspired by Milan is the fact that the consuls of 
 Lodi disavowed the complaints of their countrymen, and the inhab- 
 itants trembled at the danger of provoking a summary vengeance 
 against which the imperial arms seemed no protection. The Milanese, 
 however, did not attack the people of Lodi, but treated with contempt 
 the emperor's order to leave them at liberty. Otho Morena, a citizen 
 
80 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of Lodi, wrote an interesting account of these circumstances, which 
 Sismondi criticized by reproaching Morena for partiahty towards 
 Frederick in the Milanese war; but that historian should have remem- 
 bered the provocations of Lodi. 
 
 Frederick, meanwhile, entered Italy and held a diet at Roncaglia, 
 where complaints poured in from many quarters against the Milanese. 
 Pavia and Cremona, their ancient' enemies, were impatient to renew 
 hostilities under the imperial auspices. Brescia, Tortona, and Crema 
 were allies, or rather dependents, of Milan. Frederick soon found 
 an occasion to attack the latter confederacy. Tortona was compelled 
 to surrender and leveled to the ground. In a short time the feudal 
 army was dissolved ; the emperor's attention was demanded at Rome, 
 where he had contentions with Pope Adrian IV, and when the impe- 
 rial troops were withdrawn from Lombardy the Milanese rebuilt 
 Tortona and expelled the citizens of Lodi from their dwellings. 
 Frederick assembled a fresh army, to which almost every city of 
 Lombardy, willingly or by force, contributed its militia. It is said 
 to have exceeded one hundred thousand men. The Milanese shut 
 themselves up within their walls, and perhaps might have defied the 
 imperial forces if their immense population, which gave them confi- 
 dence in their strength, had not exposed them to a different enemy. 
 Hunger compelled them to capitulate, upon conditions not very 
 severe, if a conquered people could ever safely rely upon a conven- 
 tion that testifies their submission. At the end of three weeks an 
 order was given to the Milanese to evacuate their habitations, and the 
 imperial army instantly occupied the deserted streets. The people 
 of Pavia and Cremona, of Lodi and Como were commissioned to 
 revenge themselves on the respective quarters of the city assigned to 
 them ; and in a few days the pillaged churches stood alone amid the 
 ruins of what had been Milan. The freedom to which Lombardy 
 had aspired had vanished, and she groaned beneath the yoke of serv- 
 itude. ''But there still remained at the heart of Lombardy," says 
 Hallam, "the strong principle of national liberty, imperishable among 
 the perishable arrny of her patriots, inconsumable in the conflagration 
 of her cities." Frederick placed the imperial eagle on the spire of 
 the Milan cathedral in token of his supremacy. 
 
 In the same year that the city surrendered (A. D. 1159), Pope 
 Adrian IV died, and the papal party elected Alexander III, while the 
 imperialists conferred the honor upon Victor IV. Each pontiff 
 excommunicated his rival and his followers, and all Christendom was 
 divided into two parties. Alexander III was more generally acknowl- 
 
82 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 edged, and he successfully resisted his formidable enemy, Frederick, 
 while the latter was fighting the cities of Lombardy; but the fall of 
 Milan gave the emperor control of Northern Italy and made Rome 
 an unsafe place for the pope. Sicily was so torn with violence and 
 strife that it no longer offered the pontiff his accustomed asylum, and 
 he fled into France, where he remained three years. During this 
 period his rival, Victor IV, died, and Guido of Crema succeeded him, 
 under the name of Pascal III. While the emperor was detained in 
 Germany, Alexander III returned to Rome, A. D. 1165. An alliance 
 against Frederick, called the "Lombard League," was organized, 
 A. D. 1 167, and this combination of all his enemies seriously threat- 
 ened his power. Taking the field in person, he vainly attempted to 
 capture Ancona; but Rome surrendered to him, and the pope fled. 
 A pestilence in his army caused Frederick to abandon the city. He 
 made an effort, A. D. 11 74, to take the new Guelfic city of Alessan- 
 dria, near Pavia, but was defeated by the forces of the ''League." 
 In the battle of Legnano, A. D. 11 76, the emperor's troops were 
 routed, and a truce between the hostile parties was soon arranged at 
 Venice. Frederick condescended to prostrate himself at the feet of 
 Alexander III, the haughty pontiff, in the celebrated Church of St. 
 Mark, and to receive from him the kiss of peace. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 ARNOLD OF BRESCIA. 
 
 ABOUT the beginning of the twelfth century there was born in 
 the town of Brescia, Italy, the eloquent and earnest reformer, 
 Arnold, whose career was both stormy and brilliant. In early life he 
 became a devout student of the Bible, and was a reader in the public 
 congregation. Having a deep love of learning he went to the desert 
 of Nogent, in France, to be instructed by Abelard, whose fame was 
 then filling Christendom. As a pupil of the celebrated scholastic he 
 advanced in wisdom until, in some respects, he surpassed his teacher. 
 Abelard was his superior in genius and knowledge, but not in fervid 
 eloquence, practical piety, courage, and entire devotion to the great 
 cause of elevating humanity. 
 
 Arnold returned to Italy, not as a mystic, to discuss the subtleties 
 of philosophy, but as a fearless champion of the truth, to battle fof 
 
, ARNOLD ATTACKS THE PAPACY. 83 
 
 reform. He beheld the corrupt condition of the ItaHan Church, 
 which resulted from the anomalous union of the spiritual and the 
 temporal. The clergy had become worldly. From the highest eccle- 
 siastic downwards they filled civil offices, presided in the cabinets of 
 princes, imposed taxes, commanded armies, owned extensive domains, 
 and lived in luxury. Arnold was convinced that the immense wealth 
 of the Church was the source of innumerable evils — the profligacy, 
 the ignorance, the wickedness, the intrigues, the wars and bloodshed 
 which cursed the world. His scheme of reform was based on the 
 great truth that the Christian Church was not of this world, and 
 therefore its ministers ought not to accept temporal offices and engage 
 in temporal employments. He maintained that kings and statesmen 
 could discharge these secular duties, and to these civil rulers should 
 be surrendered all the enormous revenues from lands and palaces 
 which had been flowing into the coffers of the ministry and were not 
 necessary to the performance of their spiritual functions. His theory 
 was that the ministry should be supported by the voluntary offerings 
 of their flocks, and not depend upon secular occupations, which con- 
 sumed their time, degraded their office, and corrupted their hearts. 
 
 It was evident that this bold Italian reformer had sat at the feet 
 of a wiser teacher than Abelard, and had drunk from diviner fount- 
 ains than those of the scholastic philosophy. With his monk's cloak 
 around him, and with a countenance stamped with resolution, he 
 stood in the streets of his native Brescia, and in thunder tones an- 
 nounced his proposed reform. His predecessors had demanded a 
 purification of the faith of the Italian Church, but he called for a rec- 
 tification of her constitution. Hence his plan was more radical and! 
 comprehensive than any that had yet been submitted. The towns- 
 men of Arnold gathered round him. All classes were disgusted more- 
 or less with the corruptions of the clergy, and, though they did not 
 manifest a strong desire for spiritual Christianity, they Avelcomed at 
 least an external reformation. The bishop of Brescia was stunned by 
 the sudden and daring assault of Arnold, but soon recovered when; 
 he saw his entire congregation deserting the cathedral and assem- 
 bling in the market-place, and listening with applause to the eloquent- 
 preacher. He resolved to silence the brave monk. 
 
 Arnold, however, continued to denounce the prevailing evils, not 
 only those in his own community, but the more glaring abuses of the 
 proud hierarchy which had its center on the ''Seven Hills " of Rome, 
 and extended its circumference to the extremities of Christendom. 
 He demanded that this apostate system, which had crowned itself 
 
 1 
 
84 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 with temporal dignities and supported itself by temporal arms, should 
 reform and return to the simplicity and purity of the first century. 
 It was not probable that one man, even of Arnold's courage and elo- 
 quence, could produce such a reformation ; but he hoped to arouse 
 the populations of Italy to such an extent that the Vatican would be 
 compelled to yield to the pressure. He was not alone in this cru- 
 sade, men of prominence, such as Maifredus, the consul of Brescia, 
 having sustained his movement from its origin. 
 
 The bishop of Brescia, finding that he could not successfully con- 
 tend against Arnold when in the midst of his numerous followers, 
 presented a complaint to the pope, Innocent II, who convoked a 
 General Council in the Vatican, A. D. 1139, and summoned the 
 offending monk to appear. He went to Rome, and though in the 
 estimation of the hierarchy he had committed the most heinous of 
 crimes in attacking the authority, pleasures, and riches of the priest- 
 hood, yet they must invent other pretexts on which to condemn him. 
 It was said of him that *'he was unsound in his judgment about the 
 sacrament of the altar and infant baptism." Another suspicious cir- 
 cumstance was the heresy of Abelard, his teacher. St. Bernard sent 
 to Innocent II a catalogue of the errors of Abelard, accusing him of 
 ''teaching concerning the Eucharist, that the accidents existed in the 
 air, but not without a subject; and that when a rat doth eat the sac- 
 rament, God withdraweth whither he pleaseth, and preserves where he 
 pleases the body of Jesus Christ." He was accused of rejecting tran- 
 substantiation and baptismal regeneration, and was condemned to 
 perpetual silence and banishment from Italy until permitted to return 
 by the pope. 
 
 After leaving his native land, and passing the Alps, he proceeded 
 to France, where he met an old fellow-student, the papal legate, Guido, 
 afterward Pope Celestinus II ; but he found in Bernard of Clairvaux 
 an unrelenting adversary, who compelled him to seek refuge in Zurich, 
 and then in Constance about A. D. 1140. Otho says, "Arnold set- 
 tled himself in a place of Germany called Turego, or Zurich, belong- 
 ing to the diocese of Constance, where he continued to disseminate 
 his doctrine," the seeds of which no doubt vegetated until the times 
 of Zwinglius. He preached against the abuses of the clergy, and 
 had many favorable hearers. But Bernard traced him there also, and 
 caused the bishop of Constance to banish him. 
 
 Having been informed of the death of Innocent II, which occurred 
 A. D. 1 143, Arnold returned to Rome in the beginning of the pon- 
 tificate of Eugenius III (A. D. 1144-45). It may appear strange that 
 
ARNOLD RETURNS TO ROME. 85 
 
 a man under the condemnation of a pope and council should delib- 
 erately march into the gates of Rome, and defy the power of the 
 Vatican, or, as Gibbon calls it, '^the desperate measure of erecting 
 his standard in Rome itself, in the face of the successor of St. Peter." 
 But this action of Arnold was not as desperate then as it would have 
 been at other times. The Italy of those days, was perhaps the least 
 papal of all the countries of Europe. In speaking of the fifteenth 
 century, M'Crie says: ''The Italians could not, indeed, be said to feel 
 at this period a superstitious devotion to the See of Rome. This did 
 not originally form a discriminating feature of their national character; 
 it was superinduced, and the formation of it can be distinctly traced 
 to cases which produced their full effect subsequently to the era of 
 the Reformation. The republics of Italy in the Middle Ages gave 
 many proofs of religious independence, and singly braved the men- 
 aces and excommunications of the Vatican at a tim^e when all Europe 
 trembled at the sound of its thunder." This remark is equally applic- 
 able to Italy in the twelfth century. Sedition and tumult were com- 
 mon at the gate of the Vatican. Indeed, in no city did rebellion so 
 often break out as in Rome, and no rulers were so ignominiously and 
 frequently driven from their capital as the popes. 
 
 When Arnold entered Rome he found it in the midst of revolu- 
 tion. Lucius II had died of the wounds received in a popular affray, 
 and Eugenius III, a disciple of Bernard, succeeded him in the papal 
 chair, but was driven away from the city by the people and the sen- 
 ate. Arnold put himself at the head of the insurrection, and endeav- 
 ored to direct the agitation in a wholesome channel. With burning 
 eloquence he portrayed the humble and holy lives of the first Chris- 
 tian bishops, and the sufferings of the first Christian martyrs. He 
 urged upon the Romans to arise and unite with him in the effort to 
 restore the glorious times of the past. The primitive simplicity and 
 virtue that once characterized the clergy of Italy would return when 
 the wealth that burdened them was taken aw^ay. The buyers and 
 sellers who had entered the Temple must be expelled. This cour- 
 ageous monk insisted that there should be a separation between the 
 temporal and spiritual jurisdiction, rendering unto the pope the things 
 of the pope, even the government of the Church, and to the emperor 
 the things of the emperor, namely, the government of the state. He 
 believed that the ancient flame of liberty might be revived from its 
 ashes, and the bright form of a pure Christianity cleansed from its 
 corruptions. In glowing terms he described the noble achievements 
 of the patriots and heroes of classic ages, and declared that such 
 
86 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 lofty characters and illustrious deeds might again shine upon Italy. 
 Rome could become once more the capital of the world. "He pro- 
 pounded to the multitude," says Bishop Otho, **the examples of the 
 ancient Romans, who, by the maturity of their senators' counsels, 
 and the value and integrity of their youth, made the whole world 
 their own. Wherefore he persuaded them to rebuild the capitol, to 
 restore the dignity of the senate, to reform the order of knights. He 
 maintained that nothing of the government of the city did belong to 
 the pope, who ought to content himself only with his ecclesiastical." 
 Thus the monk of Brescia demanded the separation of the spiritual 
 from the temporal under the very shadow of the Vatican. 
 
 The multitude in Rome hurried on to excesses v/hich Arnold prob- 
 ably had never contemplated. The houses of the cardinals and nobles 
 were attacked, and the plunder distributed among the revolutionists. 
 Arnold, however, still remained poor ; he really despised wealth, and 
 his morals were irreproachable. For about ten years, A. D. 1145-55, 
 he continued to prosecute his mission in Rome, which was in a state 
 of agitation little differing from anarchy ; at war with the popes and 
 the people of Tibur, and at variance within itself. Bernard, in his 
 epistles, draws a fearful picture of the state of the city at that time. 
 The pontificial chair was repeatedly emptied. The popes of that era 
 were short-lived. They seldom resided in Rome, but more frequently 
 went to Viterbo, or retired to a foreign country. When they ven- 
 tured within the walls of the city, they intrusted their personal safety 
 rather to the gates and bars of their stronghold of St. Angelo than 
 to the loyalty of their subjects. Eugenius III died, A. D. 1153, and 
 his successor, Anastasius IV, followed him to the grave shortly after. 
 Arnold's influence was great, and his party numerous. If the Ro- 
 mans had possessed virtue enough during these ten favorable years, 
 when the city was in their hands, a movement might ha\'e been in- 
 augurated which would have produced important results for the cause 
 of liberty and the Gospel. Arnold labored in vain to recall a spirit 
 that was fled for centuries. Rome was a sepulcher. Her population 
 could be stirred into tumult, not awakened into life. 
 
 The golden opportunity passed. Then came Adrian IV, who 
 was elected pope A. D. 11 54, and was the only Englishman who 
 ever ascended the throne of the Vatican. He was a man of more 
 determined spirit than his predecessors. A cardinal having been 
 attacked and seriously wounded in the streets of Rome, Adrian re- 
 sorted to the bold measure of excommunicating the first city in Chris- 
 tendom, a thing without a precedent. The Romans, who had set at 
 
THE MAR TYRD OM OF ARNOLD. 8 7 
 
 naught the temporal power of the pope, trembled before his spiritual 
 authority. In order to be reconciled to the pontiff they exiled Ar- 
 nold, who took refuge among some friendly nobles in Campania. 
 The portils of the churches, to them the gates of heaven, were again 
 opened to the penitent citizens. But the banishment of Arnold did 
 not appease the anger of Adrian, who bargained with Frederic Bar- 
 barossa, then a visitor in Rome soHciting from the pope coronation 
 as emperor, that the monk should be arrested. Arnold was seized, 
 sent to Rome under a strong escort, and, after being strangled, his 
 body was burned and the ashes thrown into the Tiber ' * to prevent 
 the foolish rabble from expressing any veneration for his dust." 
 This indicated that his followers in Rome were numerous to the last. 
 But they could not resist the tide of iniquity that seemed to increase 
 every day. Alexander III, Adrian's successor, died A. D. 1181, 
 and he was followed by Lucius III, whose reign closed A. D. 1185. 
 Urban III then assumed the reins, but yielded them to Celestine III, 
 A. D. 118;. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 THE FRANCISCANS AND DOMINICANS. 
 
 THE religious condition of Italy in the thirteenth century did not 
 indicate any tendency toward reform. Indeed, the absurd and 
 degrading superstitions which characterized the practice of the 
 Romish Church rather increased than diminished. There were many 
 causes which concurred to render still darker that cloud which con- 
 cealed from the world the divine light of a genuine Christianity. 
 The Roman pontiffs resisted every effort to limit their authority or 
 to encroach upon their prerogatives ; and the theologians, by their 
 intricate distinctions, obscured the plain truths of religion. The pub- 
 lic mind was prepared to accept almost any superstition or usurpa- 
 tion. In the fourth Lateran Council, which was held by Innocent 
 III, A. D. 12 1 5, and composed of an immense number of eccle- 
 siastics and embassadors from almost every court in Christendom, 
 without condescending to enter into any consultation, he produced 
 seventy canons, already prepared, which were read to the assembly, 
 who submissively subscribed the decrees ; in which, however, they 
 had the consolation to find their own powers extended and con- 
 firmed. The first canon contained a confession of faith, in which the 
 
88 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 opinion, which is still maintained by the Romish Church, respecting 
 the eucharist, was pronounced by Innocent to be the only true and 
 orthodox account of the Lord's-supper ; and he had the honor of 
 establishing the use of the term transubstantiation, which was hith- 
 erto almost unknown. Innocent III had also the credit of insti- 
 tuting by his own authorit}^, among the duties prescribed by the 
 divine laws, that of attriadar confession to a priest — a confession 
 which implied not only a general acknowledgment, but also a par- 
 ticular enumeration of the sins and folHes of the penitent. 
 
 The thirteenth century was further distinguished by the institution 
 of two of the most celebrated orders of monks which have ever 
 misled or disturbed the world — the Franciscans and Dominicans. 
 The professed object of these orders was to recover, by means of their 
 humility, poverty, and apostolic zeal, the credit which had been lost 
 to the Church in Italy and elsewhere through the pride, wealth, and 
 indolence of the elder monks. It Avas also claimed that the Church 
 was entering upon a new era, and therefore demanded new services. 
 Preachers were needed to confute the heretics, and this want of the 
 Church was kept in view in the constitution "of the newly created 
 orders. The founders of both were very unlike in their natural dis- 
 position and temper. 
 
 St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscans — Fratres Minoj^es 
 (Younger Brethren), or Minores, as he called them, to signify their 
 humility — was born at Assisi, in Umbria, Italy, A. D. 1182. His 
 father was a rich merchant of that town. The historians of St. 
 Francis relate that certain signs accompanied his birth, which prog- 
 nosticated his future greatness. His mother, when about to be con- 
 fined, appeared to be dying. For many days previous she had 
 experienced severe and prolonged pains. At that crisis an angel, in 
 the garb of a pilgrim, appeared at her door and demanded alms. 
 The charity sought Avas instantly bestowed, and the grateful pilgrim 
 proceeded to tell the inmates what they must do in order that the 
 lady of the mansion might become the joyful mother of a son. She 
 must be carried out in her couch and laid in the stable. The pil- 
 grim's instructions were followed, the pains of labor Avere now 
 speedily ended, and the child first beheld the light among the 
 "beasts." ''This Avas the first prerogative," remarks one of his his- 
 torians, **in Avhich St. Francis resembled Jesus Christ — he Avas born 
 in a stable." Despite this augury recorded by Francesco Fontana, 
 another Avriter, D'Emillianne, says that Francis grcAV up "a debauched 
 youth, and, having robbed his father, Avas disinherited ; but he 
 
THE MONK IN R OME. 89 
 
 seemed not to be very much troubled at it." He was seized with a 
 maHgnant fever, which produced a frenzy that appears never to have 
 wholly left him. When stricken down with disease he was a gay 
 spendthrift and profligate, but when he arose from his bed of sick- 
 ness he was entirely engrossed with the idea that all holiness and 
 virtue consisted in poverty. His subsequent conduct was in har- 
 mony with his belief. He gave away all his property ; he exchanged 
 garments with a beggar whom he met on the highway, and wandered 
 about the country around his native town of Assisi. Emaciated, 
 squalid, covered with rags, and dirt, and his eyes burning with a 
 strange fire, he was followed by a crowd of boys, who believed him 
 to be a madman, and accordingly hooted at him. Having secured 
 seven disciples, he proceeded to Rome to present his plan to the 
 pope. When he arrived there he found Innocent HI promenading 
 on the terrace of the Lateran palace. 
 
 What a scene for an artist ! The haughtiest of the pontiffs — 
 who, like another Jove, had but to nod, and kings were tumbled 
 from their thrones, and nations were smitten down with interdict — 
 was pacing to and fro beneath the pillared portico of his palace, 
 revolving, doubtless, new and mightier projects to illustrate the glory 
 and strengthen the dominion of the papal throne. His eye occasion- 
 ally wanders as far as the Apennines, which rise up like a grand wall 
 around the Campagna. The latter then lay spread out beneath 
 him — not as now, a blackened expanse, but a magnificent garden, 
 sparkling with villas, and gay with vineyards and olive and fig trees. 
 While this glorious prospect was visible from the front of his palace, 
 another very different scene in the opposite direction met the pon- 
 tiffs eye. Extending from the Lateran to the Coliseum was a 
 hideous gap covered with the fragments of what had once been 
 palaces and temples. This unsightly spectacle marred the beauty of 
 the pontifical city, and being a memorial of the war of investiture, 
 would naturally call the thoughts of Innocent back to the times 
 of Hildebrand and the fierce struggles which his zeal for the growth 
 of the papacy had provoked in Christendom. 
 
 During the century which had elapsed since Gregory VII swayed 
 the scepter which Innocent now held, a tide of prosperity had flowed 
 in upon Rome. All the popes, from Gregory to Innocent, had been 
 continuously and successfully engaged in rearing a stupendous Babel, 
 whose height received an addition in every pontificate and in every 
 decade. At this time the papal fabric stood complete. Indeed, it 
 seemed impossible to conceive of a higher advance. Rome was now 
 
go ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 more truly mistress of the world than even in the days of the 
 Caesars, and her influence went deeper into the heart and soul of the 
 nations. Again, she sent forth her legates as of old, her proconsuls 
 to govern the kingdoms that were subject to her authority; again 
 she issued her edicts, which all the world obeyed; again kings and 
 suppliant princes waited at her gates ; again embassadors and suitors 
 from every part of Christendom crowded her highways. The pilgrim 
 and the devotee came from the most distant regions to pray at her 
 holy shrines. From her gates there flowed day and night, without 
 intermission, streams of papal blessings to refresh the faithful through- 
 out the world. . She bestowed with a lavish hand mystic virtues 
 and priestly offices, crosiers and palls, pardons and dispensations, 
 relics and amulets, benedictions and anathemas ; and, in return, she 
 received tribute from all the nations. The thoughts of Innocent, no 
 doubt, were resting on these pleasant subjects as Francis of Assisi 
 approached him. 
 
 The eye of the pontiff is immediately arrested by the strange 
 figure before him. Halting a few moments, Innocent surveys him 
 more closely, and finds him in the garb of a beggar, with haggard 
 looks and fierce eyes ; yet, despite his repulsive appearance, there was 
 something about him that indicated his determination to discharge 
 an important duty. He seemed to say, *'I come with a mission, and 
 therefore do I venture into this presence. I am not here to beg, but 
 to give alms to the popedom." Innocent did not then appreciate 
 the fact ; but this man in rags had come to lay at the feet of Rome 
 greater gifts than most of the kings had it in their power to bestow. 
 The pope, curious to know what his strange visitor had to commu- 
 nicate, permitted him to address him. Francis hurriedly explained 
 the object of his mission ; but Innocent, failing to comprehend the 
 importance of the project, or doubting the ability of Francis to 
 execute it, dismissed the enthusiast, Avho retired disappointed and 
 downcast, believing that his scheme was *' nipped in the bud." 
 
 The mind of the pontiff, however, had been more deeply im- 
 pressed by this incident than he was aware, and while resting on 
 his couch by night the beggar seemed again to stand before him 
 pleading his cause. Innocent dreamed that a palm-tree suddenly 
 sprang up at his feet and became great in stature. In a second 
 dream he beheld the Lateran ready to fall, and Francis stretching 
 out his hand to save it. When the pope awoke he commanded the 
 man of Umbria to be brought before him. The cardinals were im- 
 mediately convened, and, after considering the project, pronounced it 
 
ST. DOMINIC. 91 
 
 good ; and it appeared proper to Innocent and his conclave that the 
 enthusiast who conceived the enterprise should be appointed to exe- 
 cute it. Accordingly, Rome gave her commission to the ragged 
 beggar, A. D. 121 5, and, armed with the pontifical sanction, author- 
 izing him to found, arrange, and put in operation such an order as 
 he had sketched out, Francis went forth to begin his work. The 
 enthusiasm that burned so fiercely in his soul kindled a similar feeling 
 in that of others. In a short time he found a dozen men who were 
 willing to become his followers ; the dozen speedily multiplied into a 
 hundred, and the hundred into thousands, until the increase went on 
 at a rate of which history scarcely affords another example. Before 
 his death St. Francis had the satisfaction of seeing five thousand of 
 his monks assemble in his convent in Italy to hold a general chapter ; 
 and, as each convent sent only two delegates, the convention repre- 
 sented two thousand five hundred convents. The solitary fanatic had 
 become an army; all the countries of Christendom were full of his 
 disciples, whose every idea and object were subordinated to that of 
 their leader, and, united together by their vow, they labored with 
 remarkable zeal to promote the cause to which they had consecrated 
 their lives. The Franciscans have enrolled among their number five 
 popes and forty-five cardinals. 
 
 St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans, was born in Ara- 
 gon, A. D. 1 1 70. He possessed the fiery enthusiasm and intense 
 zeal of Francis, and to these qualities he added a somewhat stern 
 temper, cool judgment, firm will, and great acquaintance with affairs 
 of the world. Having seen the ravages of heresy in the southern 
 provinces of France, he desired the adoption of more effectual meas- 
 ures to arrest its progress. He was convinced of the futility of those 
 splendidly equipped missions which Rome had sent forth from time to 
 tiipe to convert the Albigenses. He saw that these missionaries left 
 more heretics on their departure than they had found on their arrival. 
 Mitered dignitaries, mounted on richly caparisoned mules, were fol- 
 lowed by a sumptuous train of priests, monks, and other attendants, 
 who,^too proud or too ignorant to preach, were only successful in 
 dazzling the gaze of the multitude by the magnificence of their cere- 
 monies. While this pageant most conclusively indicated the wealth 
 of the Romish Church, it did not attest with equal conclusiveness 
 the truth of its doctrines. Instead of bishops on palfreys, Dominic 
 called for monks in wooden soles to preach to the heretics. 
 
 He resolved to visit Rome, and also submit his scheme to Inno- 
 cent, offering to raise an army that would perambulate Europe and 
 
92 ITAL V STjR UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 promote the interests of the *' Holy See." With garb as humble, and 
 habits as austere, and speech as plain as those of the peasants they 
 were to address, these missionaries would soon win the heretics from 
 their errors. Another inducement presented by St. Dominic was 
 that they would live on alms, and ask no support from the papal 
 treasury. Innocent, however, for some reason, refused to sanction 
 the scheme. Having so recently indorsed the Franciscans, he may 
 have considered the one organization sufficient. But Pope Honorius 
 was more favorable, and confirmed the project ; and from beginnings 
 equally small with those of the Franciscans the growth of the Do- 
 minicans in popularity and numbers was equally rapid. 
 
 The Dominicans were divided into two bands, each having its 
 peculiar work. One went forth to preach, while the other was em- 
 ployed in exterminating those who refused to be converted. D'Emil- 
 lianne calls the latter class "a troop of merciless fellows, whom he 
 [St. Dominic] maintained to cut the throats of heretics when he was 
 a-preaching ; he called them the militia of Jesus Christ.'' By this 
 division of labor heresy was refuted and heretics effectually silenced. 
 So rapidly did the number of preaching friars increase that in a few 
 years their voices were heard in almost all the cities of Europe. 
 They were generally ignorant men ; but their enthusiasm made them 
 eloquent, and admiring crowds listened to their harangues. In the 
 centuries before the Reformation the Franciscans and Dominicans 
 accomplished for the papacy what the Jesuits have done for it in the 
 centuries that have followed it. 
 
 These newly organized orders were different in some respects 
 from those which already existed in Italy and elsewhere. The 
 monks of the latter were recluses, who had no relation to the world 
 which they had abandoned, and no duties to perform to it. Their 
 world was the cell, or the inclosure within the walls of the monastery, 
 where their whole time was presumed to be spent in prayer and 
 meditation, thus presenting an example of austere piety for the edi- 
 fication of others. The Franciscans and Dominicans, on the other 
 hand, were not confined to a particular spot. Their convents were 
 not places of seclusion, but rather hotels or temporary abodes, 
 where they could rest on their preaching tours. They perambulated 
 provinces and cities, addressing the people every -where and at all 
 times, on the Sabbath and week-days, and erecting their pulpit in the 
 market, at the street-corner, or in the chapel. The secular or paro- 
 chial clergy seldom preached, because they were too ignorant to 
 prepare a sermon, and too indolent to deliver it, even were it written 
 
THE MENDICANT ORDERS. 93 
 
 for them. Preaching was, therefore, among the lost arts ; and these 
 pastors endeavored to instruct their flocks by ceremonial services, 
 prayers, and litanies in a language which the people could not 
 understand. The friars, on the contrary, visited all classes of the 
 community, and preached to them in their own familiar tongue. 
 
 The new monastic disciples appeared in striking and favorable 
 contrast to the old in regard to their earthly possessions. The latter 
 were very rich, while the former were exceedingly poor, living on 
 alms, and hterally begging as a means of support. The name of 
 mendicants was therefore applied to them, and they accepted it, say- 
 ing that the profession was ancient and holy because Christ and 
 apostles were mendicants. The early monks had taken the vow 
 of poverty ; and, though they could not, as individuals, possess 
 property, yet in their corporate capacity they might and did possess 
 it to an enormous amount. But the Franciscans and Dominicans, 
 individually and collectively, were disqualified by their vow from 
 holding any property whatever. They were not allowed to own a 
 penny, and their profession of poverty was confirmed by their plain 
 garb and frugal diet. With a great reputation for sanctity, which 
 gave them a proportionate influence among all classes, they seemed 
 to be exactly adapted to the age in which they appeared and to the 
 work which was committed to them. They were truly the house- 
 hold troops of the Vatican, or the regular soldiers of the pope, sent 
 throughout Christendom in two bands, yet constituting one united 
 army, which became stronger every day, and which, having nothing 
 to resist its progress, marched victoriously forward against heresy, 
 and extended the fame and dominion of the papal See. 
 
 The habit or dress of these friars consisted of a great hood, a 
 scapulary, a knotted girdle, and a wide cope. The Dominicans wore 
 a white gown of coarse woolen cloth, which was girded by a broad 
 sash. The Franciscans were clad with a similar gown, though brown 
 in color, which was tied with a cord of three knots, which, "they 
 say," writes D'Emillianne," hath virtue to heal the sick, to chase 
 away the devil, and all dangerous temptations, and serve what turn 
 they please." These gowns contained numerous and capacious 
 pouches in which these begging friars deposited amulets, rosaries, 
 little images, square pieces of papers, scraps of bread and cheese, 
 morsels of flesh, and other victuals. But while their humble dress 
 and scanty fare were outward signs of poverty, they also served as a 
 cloak to conceal the secret accumulation of wealth. The more dis- 
 criminating friars could discover a distinction between proprietors and 
 
94 ITALY STRUGGLING IXTO LIGHT, 
 
 steiuards. As the original constitution of the orders remained unal- 
 tered, no member could be a proprietor; but any one might be a 
 steward and possess wealth to any amount, provided it should be 
 dispensed for the benefit of the order. This ingenious distinction was 
 sanctioned by the "Constitution," issued by Nicholas III, in 1^79, 
 in which the rule of St. Francis is explained and confirmed. The 
 gates of their convents, which had been so effectually closed by a 
 most stringent vow of poverty, as yet unrepealed, were unlocked by 
 this new interpretation, and immediately a stream of gold, emanating 
 from their devoted admirers, began to flow into the coffers of the 
 ''mendicants." They refused to become landed proprietors, but the 
 splendor of their edifices surpassed those of the Benedictines and 
 Augustinians. In Italy and other countries they had churches in 
 which the skill of the architect and the genius of the painter were 
 fully displayed, and their convents and cloisters were worth}' to have 
 been the habitations of monarchs. The writer in traveling from 
 Perugia to Terni beheld the convent of St. Francis d'Assisi, which 
 stands on the lower slope of the Apennines, overlooking the vale of 
 the Clitumnus. It is in magnificence a palace, and in size it is almost 
 a small town. In it is the tomb of the man who died under a bor- 
 rowed cloak. 
 
 This wealth produced indolence, insolence, a corruption of man- 
 ners, and a grievous abuse of those vast privileges and powers which 
 the papal see conferred upon these monastic institutions. Their 
 prodigious increase in riches was followed by a corresponding declen- 
 sion, which was even more rapid than former ages had witnessed in 
 the Benedictines and Augustinians. 
 
 During the thirteenth century, am.id the prevailing darkness and 
 superstition, the study of literature and philosophy engaged the 
 attention of a few individuals in Italy. Among the prominent authors 
 were Giuncelh, Ghisheri, Fabricio, Onesto, d'Arezzo, da Lucca, Pis- 
 ano, Sanese, and Fiorentino. Brunetto Latini was the teacher of 
 Dante and the author of // Tesoro, written first in French and after- 
 wards translated into Italian, in which he aimed to give a cyclopaedic 
 view of the state of knowledge at that time. Guido Cavalcanti, one 
 of the best friends of Dante, was styled by Benvenuto da Imola, the 
 second eye of Italian literature, of which Dante was the first. He was 
 a philosophic poet, possessed a deep knowledge of the human heart, 
 and was accustomed to moral reflections. The first book in Italian 
 prose was the CJironica, by INIatteo Spinello, a Neapolitan, relating the 
 history of events from A. D. 1247 to A. D. 1268. The honor of writ- 
 
CO UNTESS MA TILDA. 95 
 
 ing history in a neat style belongs also to Ricordano Malespini, a Flor- 
 entine, who died about A. D. 1281. Pietro Crescenzi, of Bologna, 
 wrote several scientific works. At that time the scholastic divinity 
 and the philosophy and logic of Aristotle pervaded the schools of 
 Italy. Thomas Aquinas, who was born A. D. 1224, stood at the 
 head of these sciences. He was descended from the ancient kings of 
 Sicily, had considerable enthusiasm, and, though a strong Roman 
 Catholic, would not accept the archbishopric of Naples. He took 
 the habit of the Dominicans, A. D. 1241, and, after visiting Paris 
 and lecturing to admiring audiences, returned to Italy, became divin- 
 ity professor to several universities, and at last settled at Naples, 
 ■where he led a chaste and devout life. He was called the angelical, 
 and Bonaventura, another professor, the seraphic, doctor. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 THE GUELFS AND GHIBELINES. 
 
 THE political history of Italy during the thirteenth century pre- 
 sents the sad spectacle of a people comparatively free, but so 
 weakened by hostile factions that they could not resist accepting 
 despotic rule. After the election of Frederick II as emperor of 
 Germany a series of contests occurred during his minority, from A. 
 D. 1 198 to A. D. 1216. Pope Innocent III desired to consolidate a 
 separate prIncipaHty for the "Holy See" in the center of Italy. The 
 real or spurious donations of Constantine, Pepin, Charlemagne, and 
 Louis had given rise to a perpetual claim on the part of the popes 
 to very extensive dominions; but little of this had been effectuated, 
 and in Rome itself they were thwarted by the prefect, an officer who 
 swore fidelity to the emperor, and by the insubordinate spirit of the 
 people. The cities contiguous to Rome were not ruled by the cap- 
 ital, and were probably as much self-governed as those of Lombardy. 
 In reading of the desperate wars between Rome and Tibur or Tus- 
 culum, neither of which was subjugated until the latter part of the 
 twelfth century, we are reminded of the earliest days of the republic. 
 The popes pretended also to have a claim to the duchy of Spoleto, 
 the march of Ancona, and what had been the exarchate of Ravenna. 
 In a former age the famous Countess Matilda, to whose zealous 
 protection Gregory VII had been indebted during his long dispute 
 
g6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 with the emperor, Henry IV, granted the reversion of all her posses- 
 sions to the ''Holy See," first in the life-time of Gregory, and again 
 under the pontificate of Pascal HI. These were very extensive and 
 held by different titles. She certainly could not dispose of her vast 
 imperial fiefs — Mantua, Modena, and Tuscany. "The duchy of 
 Spoleto and march of Ancona, " says Hallam, "were supposed to 
 rest upon a different footing. I confess myself not distinctly to com- 
 prehend the nature of this part of her succession. These had been 
 formerly among the great fiefs of the kingdom of Italy. But If I 
 understand It rightly they had tacitly ceased to be subject to the 
 emperors some years before they were seized by Godfrey, of Lor- 
 raine, father-in-law and step-father of Matilda. To his son, her 
 husband, she succeeded in the possession of those countries. They 
 are commonly considered as her allodial or patrimonial property;- yet 
 it is not easy to see how, being herself a subject of the empire, she 
 could transfer even her allodial estates from its sovereignty. Nor, 
 on the other hand, can it apparently be maintained that she was 
 lawful sovereign of countries which had not long since been imperial 
 fiefs, and the suzerainty over which had never been renounced. The 
 original title of the "Holy See," therefore, does not seem incontestable 
 even as to this part of Matilda's donation. But I state with hesita- 
 tion a difficulty to which the authors I have consulted do not advert. 
 It is certain, however, that the emperors kept possession of the whole 
 during the twelfth century; and treated both Spoleto and Ancona as 
 parts of the empire, notwithstanding continual remonstrances from 
 the Roman pontiffs." 
 
 At the negotiations of Venice, A. D. 1177, Frederick Barbarossa 
 promised to restore the patrimony of Alatilda In fifteen years; but at 
 the close of that period Henry IV was not disposed to execute this 
 arrangement, and granted the county in fief to some of his German 
 followers. His death resulted In producing a condition of affairs 
 favorable to Innocent III. The infant king of Sicily had been 
 intrusted by Constance to his guardianship. The princes of Germany 
 engaged, in a civil war growing out of the double election of Philip, 
 brother of Henry VI, and of Otho, duke of Brunswick, entirely 
 overlooked the claims of young Frederick. As neither party was 
 able to enter Italy, the imperial throne was vacant for several years; 
 but the death of Philip removing one competitor, Otho IV, whom the 
 pope had constantly favored, Avas crowned emperor. During this 
 interval the Italians had no superior; and, of course, Innocent III 
 embraced the opportunity to maintain the pretensions of the "Holy 
 
THE PAPAL PO WER INCREASING. 97 
 
 See," resting his claims upon a questionable document called the will 
 of Henry VI, which was said to have been found among the baggage 
 of Marquard, one of the German soldiers who had been invested 
 with fiefs by the late emperor. In the twelfth century the cities of 
 the ecclesiastical state had their own municipal government, like 
 those of Lombardy; but they were far less able to assert a complete 
 independence. They gladly, therefore, accepted the protection of 
 the **Holy See," which promised to secure them from Marquard and 
 other rapacious partisans without disturbing their internal regulations. 
 Thus Innocent III obtained possession of the duchy of Spoleto and 
 rrarch of Ancona; but he was not sufficiently strong constantly to 
 rule such extensive territories, and some years afterward adopted the 
 wise course of granting Ancona in fief to the marquis of Este. The 
 pontiff" at the same time was careful to maintain his authority at 
 home, and compelled the prefect of Rome to swear allegiance to 
 him, thus ending the regular imperial rule over that city and abridging 
 the privileges of its citizens. This is the proper era of that temporal 
 sovereignty which the bishops of Rome possessed over their own city, 
 though various causes prevented it, for nearly three centuries, from 
 becoming unquestioned and unlimited. 
 
 It was not difficult now to understand the policy of Rome, which 
 was more clearly defined than ever. She resolved to preserve what 
 she had thus suddenly gained, rather by opportunity than by strength, 
 and therefore endeavored to weaken the imperial power, and, conse- 
 quently, to maintain the freedom of the Italian republics. Formerly 
 a marquis of the emperor's appointment ruled Tuscany, though her 
 cities were flourishing, and within themselves independent. Desiring 
 to imitate the Lombard confederacy, and strongly urged by Innocent 
 III, they organized a similar league for the preservation of their 
 rights. Pisa, which was always strongly attached to the empire, did 
 not enter into the combination. The influence of the pope was far 
 more strongly manifested in this league than in that of Lombardy. 
 The latter had been an ally of Alexander III, and was formed dur- 
 ing the height of his dispute with Frederick; )^et so little did this 
 ecclesiastical quarrel intrude ' itself into the struggles for liberty that 
 it is not alluded to in the act of their confederacy. Muratori says 
 that the Tuscan union was expressly established ''for the honor and 
 aggrandizement of the apostolic see. The members bound them- 
 selves to defend the possessions and rights of the Church, and not 
 to acknowledge any king or emperor without the approbation of 
 the supreme pontiff." The Tuscans, therefore, were more strongly 
 
98 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 attached to the Church party than to the Lombards, whose principle 
 was animosity towards the house of Swabia. Hence, when Innocent 
 III subsequently supported Frederick II against the emperor, Otho 
 IV, the Milanese and. their allies espoused the imperial cause, but 
 the Tuscans continued to favor the pope. 
 
 During the wars between Frederick Barbarossa and Milan the 
 cities of Lombardy were divided, and a large number of them were 
 firmly attached to the imperial party. History does not inform us, 
 but it is probable that even at this early period the citizens did not 
 agree upon questions of public policy, and therefore a particular city 
 adhered to the emperor, or to the Lombard league, according as one 
 faction or another controlled its councils. The existence of jealous- 
 ies for a long time between the different classes, and which were only 
 suspended by the termination of the national struggle at Constance, 
 produced new modifications of interests, and new relations towards 
 the empire. About A. D. 1200, or perhaps a little later, the two 
 leading parties which divided the cities of Lombardy were distin- 
 guished by the celebrated names of Guelfs and Ghibelines, the former 
 supporting the papal faction, and the latter, the imperial. These 
 appellations, derived from Germany, where they had been the rally- 
 ing word of party for more than half a century, directed and invigo- 
 rated the prejudices of these cities, whose mutual animosity had not 
 as yet been violently manifested. The Guelfs took their name from 
 a very illustrious family, several of whom had successively been dukes 
 of Bavaria, in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The heiress of the 
 last of these intermarried with a younger son of the house of Este, a 
 noble family settled near Padua, and possessed of great estates on 
 each bank of the Lower Po. They gave birth to a second line of 
 Guelfs, from whom the royal house of Brunswick is descended. The 
 name of Ghibeline is derived from a village in Franconia, whence Con- 
 rad the Salic came, the progenitor, through females, of the Swabian 
 emperors. At the election ofLothaire, A. D. 1125, they were disap- 
 pointed of what they considered almost an hereditary possession ; and 
 at this time an hostility appears to have commenced between them 
 and the house of Guelf, who were nearly related to Lothaire. Henry 
 the Proud, and Henry the Lion, representatives of the latter family, 
 were frequently persecuted by the Swabian emperors : but their for- 
 tunes belong to the history of Germany. Meanwhile the elder branch, 
 though not reserved for such glorious destinies as the Guelfs, con- 
 tinued to flourish in Italy. The marquises of Este were by far the 
 most powerful nobles in Eastern Lombardy, and about the end of the 
 
FREDERICK- AND HONORIUS. 99 
 
 twelfth century began to be considered as heads of the Church party 
 in their neighborhood. Sismondi states that they were frequently 
 chosen to the office of podesta, or chief magistrate, by the cities of 
 Romagna, and the people of Ferrara, A. D. 1208, set the fatal ex- 
 ample of sacrificing their freedom for tranquillity, by electing Azzo 
 VII, marquis of Este, as their lord, or sovereign. 
 
 Otho IV, the son of Henry the Lion, and, consequently, the head 
 of the Guelfs, on obtaining the imperial crown, diverted the preju- 
 dices of Italian factions out of their usual channel. In a short time 
 he and Pope Innocent III were engaged in a bitter controversy, as 
 the latter was hostile to the empire, whoever might be its ruler. 
 Hatred of the house of Swabia, however, prevailed more than jeal- 
 ousy of the imperial prerogatives. In Milan, and generally in the 
 cities which had belonged to the Lombard league against Frederick 
 I, the people adhered to names rather than principles, and supported 
 a Guelf emperor even against the pope. From this period every 
 city, and almost every citizen, gloried in one of these barbarous de- 
 nominations. The imperial party ruled several cities through hatred 
 of their neighbors, who espoused that of the Church. Thus the 
 inveterate feuds between Pisa and Florence, Modena and Bologna, 
 Cremona and Milan divided them into opposite factions. But there 
 was in every one of these a strong party against that which prevailed, 
 and consequently a Guelf city frequently became Ghibeline, or con- 
 versely, according to the fluctuation of the time. 
 
 This change in the politics of the Guelf party lasted only during 
 the reign of Otho IV. When the heir of the house of Swabia had 
 reached manhood. Innocent, who, though his guardian, had taken 
 little care of Jiis interests as long as he flattered himself with the hope 
 of finding a Guelf emperor obedient, placed the young Frederick at 
 the head of an opposition, composed of cities always attached to his 
 family and of such as implicitly followed the see of Rome. He was 
 successful to a considerable extent, both in Italy and Germany, and 
 after the death of Otho received the imperial crown. But he could 
 no longer obtain assistance from the pope who conferred it. Innocent 
 died, and Honorius III, his successor, beheld with apprehension the 
 vast power of Frederick supported in Lombardy by a faction which 
 balanced that of the Church, and menaced the ecclesiastical territories 
 on the other side by the possession of Naples and Sicily. This king- 
 dom, feudatory to Rome, and long her firmest ally, was thrown into 
 the hands of her most dangerous enemy by a fatal connection, which 
 she could not prevent. Hence the temporal dominion which Inno- 
 
lOO ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 cent III labored so earnestly to establish, became a very precarious 
 possession, exposed on each side to the attacks of a power that had 
 legitimate pretensions to almost every province composing it. 
 
 According to a custom observed by every pope, to urge princes 
 into a crusade for the recover}'- of Palestine, Honorius III exacted a 
 vow from Frederick, before he conferred upon him the imperial crown, 
 that he would undertake a similar mission. Frederick evidently was 
 not sincere, because he endeavored afterward to evade the engage- 
 ment. He became by marriage nominal king of Jerusalem ; but his 
 excellent judgment \^as not captivated with so barren a prospect, and 
 at length his delay in the performance of his vow provoked Gregory 
 IX to issue against him a sentence of excommunication. Frederick 
 could not disregard such a thunder-bolt, and sailed the next year for 
 Palestine. Believing that he had not committed a crime, he refused 
 to solicit absolution, and thereby excited the court of Rome to still 
 greater indignation against him, whom they regarded as too profane to 
 conduct a crusade. Upon the arrival of Frederick in Palestine he 
 received intelligence that the papal troops had invaded the kingdom 
 of Naples. He could have abandoned the Holy Land without ac- 
 complishing any thing advantageous; but he made a treaty with the 
 Saracens, which, though not as satisfactory as under all the circum- 
 stances might have been expected, served as a pretext for new cal- 
 umnies against him in Europe. He repelled the charge of irreligion, 
 so easily and successfully propagated, by issuing^ persecuting edicts 
 against heresy that do not honor his memory and availed him little 
 at the time. He ruled his Neapolitan dominions with great rigor, 
 which, perhaps, was rendered necessary by the levity and insubordi- 
 nation of the inhabitants, but which resulted, through the artful 
 representations of Honorius and Gregory, in alarming and alienating 
 the Italian republics. 
 
 Since the peace of Constance a new generation had risen up in 
 Lombardy, and the prerogatives reserved by that treaty to the em- 
 pire were so seldom called into action that few cities were disposed 
 to recollect their existence. They called themselves Guelfs or 
 Ghibelines, according to habit, and out of their mutual opposition, 
 but without much reference to the empire. Those of the former 
 party, and especially Milan, remained hostile to the house of Swabia. 
 If established usage creates a right, Frederick II was entitled to the 
 sovereignty of Italy ; but the Milanese would never acknowledge 
 him, nor permit his coronation at Monza, according to ancient cere- 
 mony, with the iron crown of the Lombard kings. The pope 
 
THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC. lOI 
 
 labored to the extent of his power to foment this disaffected spirit, 
 and encouraged the Lombard cities to renew their former league. 
 While this was in accordance with a provision in the treaty of Con- 
 stance, it was manifestly antagonistic to Frederick, and may be con- 
 sidered as the commencement of a second contest between the 
 republican cities of Lombardy and the empire. But there was a 
 striking difference between this and the former confederacy against 
 Frederick Barbarossa. Almost every city in the league, formed A. D. 
 1 167, seemed to forget all smaller animosities in the great cause of 
 defending the national privileges, and contributed its share of effort 
 to sustain that perilous conflict. The existence of even a transient 
 unanimity in a people so distracted by internal faction as the Lom- 
 bards is the strongest evidence of the justice of their cause. Thejr 
 war against the second Frederick, sixty years afterward, had less of 
 provocation and less of public spirit. It was, in fact, a party strug- 
 gle of Guelf and Ghibeline cities, to which the names of the Church 
 and the empire gave more of dignity and consistence. 
 
 In the thirteeath century the republics of Italy were so numerous 
 and independent, and their revolutions so frequent, that it is difficult 
 to give the history of each in regular order. For convenience, 
 therefore, they may be divided into four clusters or constellations ; 
 not, indeed, unconnected one with another, yet each having its owni 
 center of motion and its own boundaries. The first of these we 
 may suppose formed of the cities in central Lombardy, between the 
 Sessia and the Adige, the Alps and the Ligurian mountains ; it com- 
 prehends Milan, Cremona, Pavia, Brescia, Bergamo, Parma, Piacenza, 
 Mantua, Lodi, Alessandria, and several others less distinguished. 
 These were the original seats of Italian liberty and the principal 
 leaders in the wars of the elder Frederick. Milan was at the head 
 of this cluster of cities, and through her influence the Guelf party 
 obtained the ascendancy ; she had, since the treaty of Constance, 
 rendered Lodi and Pavia almost her subjects, and was in close union 
 with Brescia and Piacenza. Parma and Cremona, however, were 
 unshaken defenders of the empire. In the second class we may place 
 the cities of the march of Verona between the Adige and the fron- 
 tiers of Germany. Of these there were but four worth mentioning: 
 Verona, Viacenza, Padua, and Treviso. The citizens of all the four 
 were inclined to the Guelf interests ; but a powerful body of rural 
 nobility, who had never been compelled, like those upon the Upper 
 Po, to abandon their fortresses in the mountainous country or reside 
 within the walls, connected themselves with the opposite denom- 
 
1 02 ITAL V STR UG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ination. Sismondi says that some of them had great authority in 
 the civil feuds of these four repubHcs ; and especially two broth- 
 ers, Eccelino and Alberic da Romano, of a rich and distinguished 
 family, celebrated for its devotion to the empire. The former by 
 remarkable vigor and decision of character, by dissimulation and 
 violation of oaths, by the intimidating effects of almost unparalleled 
 cruelty, became, after some years, the absolute master of three 
 cities — Padua, Verona, and Vicenza ; and during the continuance of 
 his tyranny the Guelf party was entirely everthrown beyond the 
 Alps. His cruelties excited universal horror, even in an age when 
 inhumanity to enemies was as common as fear and revenge could 
 make it. All over Italy beggars generally resorted to the trick 
 of pretending that the Veronese tyrant had deprived them of their 
 eyes or hmbs. "There is hardly an instance in European his- 
 tory," says Hallam, *'of so sanguinary a government subsisting 
 for more than twenty years." The crimes of Eccelino are well 
 authenticated by the testimony of several contemporary writers, who 
 enter into great details. Sismondi is more full than any of the 
 moderns. Another cluster was composed of the cities in Romagna ; 
 Bologna, Imola, Faenza, Ferrara, and several others. Of these 
 Bologna was far the most powerful, and as no city was more steadily 
 and earnestly devoted to the interests of the Church, the Guelfs 
 usually predominated in this class — a result to which the influence 
 of the house of Este largely contributed. Modena, though not 
 geographically within the limits of this division, may be classed along 
 with it from her constant wars with Bologna. A fourth class will 
 comprehend the whole of Tuscany, separated almost entirely from 
 the politics of Lombardy and Romagna. Florence was at the head 
 of the Guelf cities in this province, Pisa, the Ghibeline. As we have 
 already stated, the Tuscan union was formed by Innocent III, and 
 was strongly in favor of the papal party ; but gradually the Ghibeline 
 acquired its share of influence, and the cities of Sienna, Arezzo, and 
 Lucca shifted their policy according to external circumstances or the 
 fluctuations of their internal factions. The petty cities in the region 
 of Spoleto and Ancona hardly perhaps deserve the name of repub- 
 lics; and Genoa does not readily fall into any of our four classes, 
 unless her wars with Pisa may be thought to connect her with Tus- 
 cany. In this division Piedmont has not been mentioned, because no 
 important events have been transmitted connecting it with the repub- 
 lics already named. It Avas at this time divided between the counts 
 of Savoy and marquises of Montferrat. But Asti, Chieri, and Turin, 
 
FREDERICK II AND GREG ORY IX. 1 03 
 
 especially the two former, appear to have had a republican form of 
 government. They were, however, not absolutely independent. The 
 only Piedmontese city that can properly be considered as a separate 
 state, in the thirteenth century, was Vercelli ; and even there the 
 bishop seems to have possessed a sort of temporal sovereignty. 
 
 The Guelf cities, after several years of transient hostilities and 
 precarious treaties between the Lombard confederacy and Frederick 
 II, engaged in a regular and protracted war with him, or more prop- 
 erly with their Ghibeline adversaries. This contest is not deserving 
 of a detailed historical record. Neither party ever obtained such 
 decisive advantages as had alternately belonged to Frederick Barba- 
 rossa and Lombardy during the preceding century. The emperor 
 defeated the Milanese at Corte Nuova, A. D. 1237; but the next 
 year this victory was balanced by his unsuccessful siege of Brescia. 
 Assisted by the Pisans, he gained a great naval triumph over the 
 Genoese fleet, A. D. 1241 ; but he was compelled to abandon the 
 blockade of Parma, which had renounced the Ghibeline cause, A. D. 
 1248. The tedious struggle, however, ultimately exhausted the 
 strength of the house of Swabia ; the Ghibelines of Italy had their 
 vicissitudes of success, but their country, and even themselves, lost 
 more and more of the ancient connection with Germany. In this 
 resistance to Frederick II the Lombards received the constant support 
 of Gregory IX and his successor, Innocent IV ; and the Guelf party 
 and the Church were used as synonymous terms. The hatred 
 of these pontiffs to the house of Swabia was unquenchable ; their 
 animosity could not be mitigated by any concessions, and they would 
 not favor any reconciliation. 
 
 Frederick II was not without faults, but it is impossible for any 
 one not blindly devoted to the papacy to deny that he was iniqui- 
 tously proscribed by her unprincipled ambition. This is especially 
 exhibited in the contest between him and Gregory IX. No sooner 
 was the latter placed in the papal chair than, contrary to all justice 
 and order, he excommunicated the emperor for deferring his expedi- 
 tion against the Saracens to another year, though that delay was 
 manifestly owing to a fit of sickness which seized that prince v/hen he 
 was ready to embark for Palestine. At length the emperor arrived 
 in the Holy Land, A. D. 1228, and the insidious pontiff, taking 
 advantage of his absence, made war upon his dominions and used 
 his utmost efforts to arm against him all the Furopean powers. 
 When Frederick heard of these violent and perfidious proceedings he 
 returned to Europe, A. D. 1229, defeated the papal army, retook 
 
104 ITALY STRUGGLIXG INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the places he had lost in Sicily and Italy, and in the following year 
 made his peace with the pontiff, from whom he received a public and 
 solemn absolution. But this peace was only temporary. The em- 
 peror's real crime was the inheritance of his ancestors and the name 
 of the house of Swabia, and consequently Gregory would not permit 
 him to enjoy a tranquil reign. On the other hand, Frederick could 
 not tolerate the imperious temper and insolent proceedings of Gregory. 
 He, therefore, resolved to punish the pontiff; and, as we have 
 already stated, he distressed the cities of Lombardy which were in 
 alliance with the Roman See, seized upon the island of Sardinia, 
 which Gregory considered as a part of his spiritual patrimony, and 
 erected it into a kingdom for his son Entius. These, with other 
 measures equally provoking to the avarice and ambition of Gregory, 
 drew the thunder of the Vatican afresh upon the emperor's head, 
 and he was publicly excommunicated, A. D. 1239, with all the cir- 
 cumstances of severity which vindictive rage could invent, accused 
 of the most flagitious crimes and the most impious blasphemies. 
 The exasperated pontiff even sent a copy of these charges to all the 
 courts of Europe. The emperor, on the other hand, defended his 
 injured reputation by solemn declarations in writing, while, by his 
 victorious arms, he avenc^ed himself of his adversaries, maintained 
 his ground, and reduced the pontiff to the greatest distress. 
 
 The emperor found himself able to enter the States of the Church, 
 A. D. 1239, and march upon Rome. In that city his claims were 
 so strongly and loudly advocated that Pope Gregory, perceiving his 
 danger, marched in procession through the streets, preceded by the 
 wood of the true cross and the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
 and called on the multitude to take up arms for the Church. This 
 imposing appeal to superstitious enthusiasm was successful. A cru- 
 sade was preached against Frederick ; and the same indulgences in 
 the line of present license to sin and future deliverance from purga- 
 torial fires were extended to the nevv' crusaders as were formerly con- 
 fined to warriors in the Holy Land. Even the priests enrolled them- 
 selves among the combatants ; and in a single day the pontiff was at 
 the head of an army strong enough to resist all the forces of the 
 emperor. Frederick retired into Apulia ; but he was indignant at 
 the preaching of a crusade against himself, as if he had been an 
 open enemy of religion, which he revenged by ordering all the pris- 
 oners who wore the sign of the cross to be put to death. To extri- 
 cate himself from these difficulties, and to assist his own authority 
 by the voice of the Church, Gregory summoned a general council. 
 
THE PAPAL FLEET CAPl^URED. 105 
 
 and directed all bishops to assemble in Rome at Easter, A. D. 1241. 
 His main purpose was to depose the emperor by the unanimous 
 suffrages of the cardinals and prelates ; and Frederick, anticipating 
 an unfavorable decision from such a council, sent letters to all the 
 sovereigns of Europe protesting against it. Not content with mere 
 protests, he resolved to capture the French bishops, who had sailed 
 from Nice, convoyed by a powerful Genoese fleet. By the orders 
 of Frederick, they were met off the island of Meliora by the fleets 
 of Sicily and Pisa. A bloody battle was fought, in Avhich the Pisans 
 were completely victorious. Four thousand Genoese were sent pris- 
 oners to Sicily, and the unfortunate cardinals and bishops were 
 brought to Pisa. Their treasures were seized, and the reverend 
 fathers themselves were imprisoned and fettered ; but because of 
 their sacred calling and lofty rank they were closely confined in the 
 chapter-house of the cathedral, and their chains were chains of silver. 
 It is not certain, however, that the illustrious captives derived any 
 comfort from this fact. The amount of treasure obtained was so 
 enormous that it was divided among the Pisans and Sicilians by 
 bushels, reminding us of the bushel of gold rings gathered from the 
 soldiers after the battle of Cannae. One prominent result of this 
 sea-fight was the infliction of mortification and grief upon the vener- 
 able pope. This disappointment, attended with others which gave 
 an unhappy turn to his affairs and blasted his most promising expec- 
 tations, dejected and consumed the despairing pontiff', and contrib- 
 uted probably to his death, which occurred within three months, 
 A. D. 1241. 
 
 Geoffry, bishop of Milan, who succeeded Gregory IX, under the 
 title of Celestine IV, died before his consecration, and for about two 
 years the papal chair was vacant. During this interregnum there 
 was much wrangling and fighting between the aristocrats and ple- 
 beians in many of the Italian cities. In Milan a dispute arose with 
 respect to the election of an archbishop ; and the chapter agreed to 
 refer the question to the decision of one "Brother Leo," a holy 
 man, who was represented to be entirely free from terrestrial ambi- 
 tion. Brother Leo accepted the responsibility ; but after long delib- 
 eration he announced that he could think of no one so fit to fill the 
 office as himself, and forthwith, to the astonishment and disgust of 
 both parties, stepped into the position. 
 
 Senibald, one of the counts of Fiesque, was raised to the pontif- 
 icate, A. D. 1243, and assumed the title of Innocent IV. His eleva- 
 tion offered at first a prospect of peace, as he had formerly been 
 
I06 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 attached to the interests of the emperor ; and accordingly conferences 
 were opened, and a reconcihation was proposed. But the terms 
 offered by the new pope were too imperious and extravagant not to 
 be rejected with indignation by the emperor. After these futile 
 attempts at negotiation, Innocent, affecting a dread of personal 
 violence from Frederick, and not esteeming himself safe in any part 
 of Italy, left his palace at night in disguise, and, departing from 
 Genoa, the place of his birth, succeeded in reaching Lyons safely, 
 A. D. 1244. In the following year he there convened the general 
 council, which the capture of the French bishops a few years before 
 had postponed. The emperor was represented by Peter de Vencis 
 and Thaddaeus de Suessa. At the opening of proceedings Thaddaeus 
 offered on his master's part, if he might be reconciled to the Holy 
 Father, to recall the Greek Empire to the unity of the Romish 
 Church, to undertake a new crusade at his own expense, and to 
 restore to the Church the possessions he had taken from it — the ful- 
 fillment of these provisions to be guaranteed by the kings of France 
 and England. But Frederick had sinned too deeply to be forgiven. 
 Innocent adroitly avoided the settlement. Said he: *'I shall not 
 accept his offer ; for, did he fail in the fulfillment of his contract (as 
 I have not the slightest doubt he would), I should have to fall back 
 on his securities ; and then the Church would have three enemies of 
 unequaled power instead of one." 
 
 At that time Lyons was an imperial city; but Frederick could 
 no longer retain his supremacy over it. In this assembly, where one 
 hundred and forty prelates appeared, the question whether Frederick 
 ought to be deposed was solemnly discussed. He submitted to 
 defend himself by his advocates ; and the pope, in the presence, 
 though without formally collecting the suffrages, of the council, pro- 
 nounced a sentence by which Frederick's excommunication was 
 renewed, the empire and all his kingdoms taken away, and all his 
 subjects absolved from their fidelity. Matthew Paris says, ' ' The 
 pope and the prelates sitting round him in council, with lighted 
 tapers thundered forth dreadful sentence against the Emperor Fred- 
 erick, whilst his agents retreated in confusion." As soon as these 
 proceedings were reported to their object he burst into a violent 
 rage. ''Has the pope, then, deprived me of my crown?" he 
 shouted. ''Bring me my jewel-case. " He seized his crown, set it 
 on his head, and, with a voice almost inarticulate with passion, 
 exclaimed: "No pope or council shall take it from me without a 
 bloody struggle. I am better off than I was before the sentence. 
 
THE PENITENT EM PER OR. 1 0/ 
 
 Then I was bound in some things to obey — at least, to respect him ; 
 but now I am released from all obligation." This is the most pom- 
 pous act of usurpation in all the records of the Church of Rome ; 
 and ''the tacit approbation of a general coyncil," says Hallam, 
 ' * seemed to incorporate the pretended right of deposing kings, 
 which might have passed as a mad vaunt of Gregory VII and his 
 successors, with the established faith of Christendom." 
 
 After the emperor had been deposed, and the imperial throne 
 declared vacant, the effect of the sentence was soon manifested in 
 cowardly plots for the assassination of Frederick, some of which 
 were known to the pope. The consciousness of these plots and a 
 life of incessant anxiety began to break down the hitherto uncon- 
 querable spirit of the emperor. His protracted war with the Church 
 wearied him, and he resolved to renew his efforts for a reconciliation. 
 In the garb of a penitent he set out on a friendly visit to the pope ; 
 but while on the way to Rome he heard that the pope's adherents 
 had excited a revolt against him in Parma. Frederick, postponing 
 his penitence till a more convenient season, rapidly collected an army, 
 and besieged the rebellious city. The siege was maintained for some 
 months ; but on one occasion the besieged, taking advantage of the 
 emperor's absence at hawking, made a sally into the German Winter- 
 quarters, and completely routed the besieging army, taking three 
 thousand prisoners. Frederick, returning from hawking, met his 
 army retreating before the victorious Parmese, and was compelled to 
 accompany them. He now returned to the obligations of his tardy 
 penitence, but without avail, the haughty pontiff scornfully repuls- 
 ing him. 
 
 Frederick next determined to establish the Ghibeline party in 
 Florence by the expulsion of the Guelfs. These two factions were 
 of almost equal strength in that city, and for thirty -two years the 
 beautiful streets of Florence had been seldom free from civil war. 
 Certain portions of the town formed the battle-fields where the rival 
 families contended. Movable barricades, or chevaitx-de-frise, called 
 serragli, which could at a moment's notice be thrown across the 
 streets, were kept in readiness at the proper places. A hasty word, 
 as is aptly illustrated in "Romeo and Juliet," was often enough to 
 cause an appeal to arms ; in an instant the streets were blocked by 
 the serragli, and the town was soon filled with the dead and dying. 
 At night-fall the battle ceased to rage, and each party collected their 
 slain. Next day, while peace reigned, the victims of the skirmish 
 were buried ; and but few days were permitted to elapse without a 
 
I08 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 repetition of the same terrible work. Frederick ended this state of 
 things in Florence by expelling the Guelf faction utterly from the 
 city, and thus giving his own party the predominance. 
 
 About the same time the Bolognese attacked Modena, a city in 
 alliance with the empire. The number of the jModenese was so small 
 that, shutting themselves within their fortifications, no provocation 
 could induce them to take the field. The Bolognese devised an ex- 
 pedient, which has at least the merit of originality. Taking the body 
 of an ass, they ornamented it with silver fetters, and projected it from 
 a powerful catapult into the middle of the town. The donkey unfor- 
 tunately alighted in the center of the handsomest fountain in the city. 
 The Modenese were so infuriated at this insult that they could no 
 longer restrain themselves ; they made a furious sally, and smashed to 
 atoms the obnoxious engine. Soon after this incident the city sur- 
 rendered and was lost to Frederick. The latter, whose firm and 
 heroic spirit had supported him through these cruel vicissitudes, at 
 length yielded to the conqueror of all, and died, A. D. 1250. His 
 life was wasted in an unceasing contention with the Church and with 
 his Italian subjects whom she excited to rebellion against him. 
 While this prince was a patron of letters, and possessed many emi- 
 nent qualities, he was very ambitious and practiced dissimulation; 
 but we must remember that in every period of his reign he was com- 
 pelled to act on the defensive almost constantly against the aggres- 
 sions of others. But if he had been a model of virtues, such men 
 as Honorius III, Gregory IX, and Innocent IV, the popes with whom 
 he had successively to contend, would not have given him respite 
 while he remained master of Naples as well as the empire. Indeed, 
 the hatred of bigoted popish writers has hardly subsided at the 
 present day. Tiraboschi commended him very moderately, but the 
 Roman editor contradicted the statement. IMuratori shows sufficient 
 prejudice against the emperor's character, and yet a fierce Roman 
 bigot becomes furious in his animadversions of every syllable that 
 looks like moderation. Giannone, who suffered for his boldness, has 
 highly eulogized Frederick, perhaps too extravagantly, in the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth books of the civil history of Naples. 
 
 Pope Innocent IV of course received the tidings of his death with 
 exceeding joy, bursting into songs of praise: "Let the heavens 
 rejoice and let the earth be glad ; for the storm Avhich the Almighty 
 has so long allowed to impend over us is changed by this man's 
 death to refreshing zephyrs and fertilizing dews." At this juncture 
 the pope thought that the kingdom of Naples would be a valuable 
 
MILAN WELCOMES THE POPE— CONRAD—MANFRED. 109 
 
 addition to the patrimony of St. Peter, and hence wrote as follows 
 to the Neapolitans, impudently ignoring their right to any voice in 
 the government of their city. He says: "We have taken your per- 
 sons, your property, and your town itself, under the protection of 
 the ''Holy See;" and we have decreed that Naples shall remain 
 henceforth under our immediate jurisdiction ; and we guarantee that 
 the Church shall never make over the sovereignty, or any right over 
 Naples, to any emperor, king, duke, prince, or count, or any person 
 w^homsoever. " Innocent, upon the death of his formidable and mag- 
 nanimous adversary, returned into Italy, hoping now to enjoy with 
 security the fruits of his ambition. His progress through Lombardy 
 was one long triumphal procession. The Milanese especially received 
 him with unbounded enthusiasm. He remained with them two 
 months, and manifested his gratitude in a somewhat singular manner. 
 The city finances being at this time in a depressed condition, the 
 Milanese resolved to make a final effort to stave off national bank- 
 ruptcy, and accordingly requested the pontiff to appoint a foreign 
 magistrate, with the title of podesta, with absolute and unlimited 
 power of levying taxes from themselves, by every method which his 
 brain could conceive. For four years Gozzadini, the officer appointed, 
 exhibited an ingenuity which Avould excite the envy of a modern 
 secretary of the treasury. At the end of this period the suppressed 
 wrath of the people boiled over, and Gozzadini^was killed in a tumult. 
 Upon the death of Frederick II, which occurred in Apulia, on the 
 13th of December, A. D. 1250, he left to his son Conrad a contest 
 to maintain for every part of his inheritance, as well as for the im- 
 perial crown. But the vigor of the house of Swabia no longer 
 remained ; Conrad was compelled to fight for the kingdom of Naples, 
 the only succession he could hope to secure against the troops of In- 
 nocent IV, who still pursued his family with implacable hatred, and 
 claimed that kingdom as forfeited to its feudal superior, the '' Holy See.'* 
 After Conrad's premature death, which happened A. D. 1254, the 
 throne was filled by his illegitimate brother, Manfred, who retained 
 it by his bravery and address, in opposition to the popes, till they 
 were compelled to invoke the aid of a more powerful arm. 
 
no ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 / 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 THE GROWTH OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 THE death of Conrad brought to a close that period in ItaHan 
 history which was nearly coextensive with the greatness of 
 the house of Swabia. Perhaps Italy never displayed more national 
 energy and patriotism than she did at that time. A Florentine" or 
 Venetian may recur with pleasure to later days ; but a Lombard Avill 
 cast back his eye across the desert of centuries till it reposes on the 
 field of Legnano. In the light of modern events the successful re- 
 sistance of the Lombard cities to such princes as both the Fredericks 
 appears strange to the student of history. But a closer examination 
 of the facts gives a satisfactory explanation. The feudal army was 
 enlisted only for a short term of service, and was reluctantly main- 
 tained in the field at its own cost. It could not, therefore, be effec- 
 tually controlled, and besides, many German princes regarded the 
 house of Swabia with peculiar distrust and disaffection. Nor did the 
 kingdom of Naples, almost always in agitation, yield any material 
 aid to the second Frederick. The principal cause, however, of that 
 triumph which crowned the efforts of Lombardy was the intrinsic 
 energy of a free government. The cities became virtually republican 
 in the eleventh century, and from that period they began to put forth 
 those vigorous shoots which are the growth of freedom alone. The 
 fierce assaults of their national enemies, their mutual wars, and their 
 domestic feuds did not check their strength, their wealth, or their 
 population; but the republics of Italy were rendered more vigorous 
 and courageous by the conflicts they sustained, as the limbs of the 
 human body are nerved by labor and hardship. In order to appre- 
 ciate the changes produced in Italy by the growth of its cities, we 
 must remember what savage license prevailed during the ages preced- 
 ing their rise. Penal laws were inadequate because it was impossible 
 to execute them. Feudal nobles were then little different from 
 robbers, the industrial arts were held in contempt, and rapine and 
 violence reigned supreme. During the twelfth century, when the 
 cities of Lombardy were in the first stage of their independence, they 
 were convulsed by dissensions; but the evils resulting from them ap- 
 pear slight and momentary in comparison with the blessings of the 
 
THE WEALTH OF ITALIAN CITIES. 1 1 1 
 
 new regime. Industry was now protected, injustice controlled, and 
 emulation awakened. 
 
 There are only a few authentic testimonies as to the domestic 
 improvement of the free Italian cities while they still deserved the 
 name. But history declares that their power and population, accord- 
 ing to their extent of territory, were almost unprecedented. Galvan- 
 eus Flamma, a Milanese writer, gives a curious statistical account of 
 that city, A. D. 1288, a date about thirty years after the overthrow 
 of its liberties by usurpation. The inhabitants are reckoned at two 
 hundred thousand ; the private houses, thirteen thousand ; the nobil- 
 ity alone dwelt in sixty streets ; eight thousand gentlemen, or heavy 
 cavaVy {militates) y might be mustered from the city and its district, 
 and two hundred and forty thousand men capable of arms ; a force 
 sufficient, the above-named writer observes, to crush all the Saracens. 
 There were in Milan six hundred notaries, two hundred physicians, 
 eighty school-masters, and fifty transcribers of manuscript. In the 
 district were one hundred and fifty castles, with adjoining villages. 
 If such was its prosperity after the destruction of its liberties, it must 
 have previously reached a higher degree of advancement, even if we 
 make allowance, as probably we should, for some exaggeration. At 
 this period the territory of Milan was not large, being bounded at a 
 little distance on almost every side by Lodi, or Pavia, or Bergamo, 
 or Como. It is possible, however, that Flamma may have intended 
 to include some of these as dependencies of Milan, though not strictly 
 united with it. The state of cultivation must have been flourishing 
 in the district of Milan when it not only drew no suppHes from any 
 foreign land, but exported part of its own produce. It Avas in the 
 best age of their liberties, immediately after the battle of Legnano, 
 that the Milanese commenced the great canal, which connects the 
 waters of the Tesino to their capital, a work very extraordinary for that 
 time. During the same period these cities advanced in architecture, 
 the solidity and magnificence of which may yet be seen, indicating 
 the internal prosperity of the Italian republics in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury. France and England, perhaps, had more splendid ecclesiastical 
 edifices, but neither country, according to Sismondi and Tiraboschi, 
 could equal Italy in palaces and public buildings, streets flagged with 
 stone, bridges of the same material, and commodious private houses. 
 These cities possessed means of defense which inspired security 
 and made them courageous, and sometimes insolent. From- the time 
 of the Romans to that when the use of gunpowder prevailed, very 
 little change was made, or perhaps could be made, in that part of 
 
( 
 
 1 1 2 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 military science which relates to the attack and defense of fortified 
 places. According to Muratori, there were the same engines of 
 offense, the cumbrous towers from which arrows were shot at the 
 besieged, the machines from which stones were discharged, the bat- 
 tering-rams which assailed the walls, and the basket-work covering 
 (the vinea or testudo of the ancients, and the gattus or chatchateil of 
 the Middle Ages) under which those who pushed the battering engines 
 were protected from the enemy. On the other hand, a city was for- 
 tified with a strong wall of brick or marble, with a tower raised upon 
 it at intervals and a deep moat in front. Sometimes the anti-mural 
 or bftrbacan was added ; a rampart of less height, which impeded the 
 approach of the hostile engines. The gates were guarded with a 
 portcullis, an invention which, as well as the barbacan, was borrowed 
 from the Saracens. Having such means of defense, a numerous and 
 brave body of burghers, could resist a powerful army ; and it is not 
 surprising, therefore, that so many besieged towns exhibited such 
 desperate bravery when they knew the terrible consequences that 
 would follow capture, and while resistance was seldom hopeless. 
 Unless compelled by famine or treachery, few large towns were ever 
 taken. Tortona did not submit to Frederick Barbarossa till the 
 besiegers had corrupted with sulphur the only fountain that supplied 
 the citizens ; nor Crema till her walls were overtopped by the batter- 
 ing engines. Ancona nobly endured the pressure of extreme famine. 
 Brescia tried all the resources of a skillful engineer against the second 
 Frederick, and would not yield when that prince, adopting the atro- 
 cious policy of his grandfather, at the siege of Crema, exposed his 
 prisoners upon his battering engines to the stones that were hurled 
 by their fellow-citizens upon the walls. These sieges, which Sismondi 
 so forcibly describes, exhibit the military spirit of the Italian people 
 during the Middle Ages. 
 
 It is impossible to give a definite sketch of the government which 
 existed in the republics of Italy during the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries. The historians of those times are few and barren in details, 
 and, like contemporaries, rather intimate than describe the civil polity 
 of their respective countries. If it were even possible it would be 
 tedious to delineate the constitutions of thirty or forty little states 
 which were in perpetual fluctuation. When, the most of them first 
 began to throw off the jurisdiction of their count or bishop, they 
 elected rhagistrates called consuls, a word of great significance to the 
 Italians, since, in the darkest ages, tradition must have preserved 
 some knowledge of the republican government of Rome. The earliest 
 
THE PODESTAS in LOMBARD Y. 
 
 113 
 
 mention of these magistrates was by Landulf the younger, whose 
 history of Milan extends from A. D. 1094 to A. D. 1 133. These 
 consuls were elected annually and were intrusted with the command 
 of the national militia in war, the preservation of public order and 
 the administration of justice; their number was various — two, four, 
 six, or even twelve. The Lombards, in their legislative and delib- 
 erative councils still copied the Roman constitution, or perhaps 
 naturally adopted the form best calculated to unite sound discretion 
 with the exercise of popular sovereignty. There was also a council 
 of trust and secrecy (della credenza), which was composed of a small 
 number of persons who managed public affairs, and may be called 
 the ministers of the state. But the general council decided all impor- 
 tant matters, making treaties of alliance, declaring war, and choosing 
 consul or embassadors. This tribunal, it appears, was not uniformly 
 constituted in every city, and, according to its composition, the gov- 
 ernment was more or less democratical. "An ultimate sovereignty, 
 however," says Hallam, ''was reserved to the mass of the people; 
 and a parliament or general assembly was held to deliberate on any 
 change in the form of constitution." 
 
 About the close of the twelfth century a new and singular species 
 of magfstracy was introduced into the Lombard cities. During the 
 tyrannical reign of Frederick I he had appointed officers of his own, 
 called podestas instead of the elective consuls. Instead of exciting 
 insuperable alarm and disgust in the free republics, as might be 
 expected, this memorial of despotic power was, on the contrary, 
 almost universally revived after the peace of Constance. They had 
 abrogated it when they first rose in rebellion against Frederick, but 
 subsequently favored its restoration. As their domestic factions inter- 
 fered with the administration of justice, the republics, in order to 
 avoid partiality, adopted the plan of electing a citizen of some neigh- 
 boring state, and under the title of podesta he became their general, 
 their criminal judge, and preserver of the peace. For the performance 
 of the last duty, which was often arduous, a vigorous and upright 
 magistrate was needed. During the Middle Ages offenses against 
 the laws and security of the commonwealth were more frequently 
 committed by the rich and powerful than by the lower class of 
 society. From Villani's "History of Florence," and Stella's "Annals 
 of Genoa," we have many dark pictures of family feuds, rude and 
 licentious manners, and private revenge. This state of society ren- 
 dered the execution of criminal justice a necessary protection to the 
 poor against oppression. When a magistrate pronounced sentence 
 
1 14 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 upon a powerful offender, a tumult generally followed, and in almost 
 every case force was necessary to execute it. The relatives of a con- 
 victed criminal did not consider him disgraced, but imputing his 
 sentence to iniquity, or glorying in an act which the laws of his 
 fellow-citizens, but not their sentiments, condemned, his circle of 
 friends were ready to defend him. The law was often enforced, not 
 against a family, but a faction, not perhaps against a local faction, 
 but the whole Guelf or Ghibeline name, which might become interested 
 in the quarrel. The podesta, therefore, was compelled to arm the 
 republic against the refractory citizen, besiege and raze his house to 
 the ground, and overcome his defenders by force. Accustomed to 
 outrage and homicide under the rule of their magistrates, the people 
 were disposed to repeat such scenes whenever their passions insti- 
 gated them. 
 
 The podesta was sometimes chosen in a general assembly, and 
 sometimes by a select number of citizens. His office was annual, 
 though in peculiar emergencies it Avas prolonged. He was invariably 
 a man of noble family, even in those cities which excluded their own 
 nobility from any share in the government. He received a fixed sal- 
 ary, and was compelled to remain in the city after the expiration of 
 his office for the purpose of answering such charges as might be 
 brought against his conduct. He was neither allowed to marry a 
 native of the city nor have any relation resident Avithin the district; 
 and so great was their jealousy that he was not even permitted to eat 
 or drink in the house of any citizen. These foreign magistrates did 
 not have the same authority in all cities. In some it appears that he 
 superseded the consuls and commanded the armies in war. In others, 
 as Milan and Florence, his authority was merely judicial. Muratori 
 refers to old annals in which the years are headed by the names of 
 the podestas, as by those of the consuls in the history of Rome. 
 
 The fatal effects which these discordant elements produced in the 
 republics of Lombardy w^ere not entirely confined to national interests 
 or to the grand distinction of Guelf and Ghibeline. In every city 
 dissensions prevailed and became more fierce and irrepressible as the 
 danger of foreign war diminished. The feudal, system rested upon 
 the principle of territorial aristocracy, and maintained the pride of 
 rank. When, therefore, they came into the cities to reside, the rural 
 nobility preserved the ascendancy of birth and riches. These advan- 
 tages were naturally respected by the people, who divided all the 
 offices of trust among the nobles. It seems that the inferior citizens 
 had the right of choosing their own magistrates by free suffrage from 
 
CA USES OF THE FEUDS. 1 1 5 
 
 a large body of these nobles. As a form of government this limited 
 aristocracy has its commendable features, and affords some security 
 against anarchy and oppression. During the eleventh and twelfth 
 centuries such a system as this prevailed in most of the Lombard 
 cities. A civil war occurred at Milan, A. D. 1041, between the 
 capitanei, or vassals of the empire, and the plebeian burgesses, which 
 was appeased by the mediation of Henry III. The nobility were 
 compelled to leave Milan and carry on the conflict in the adjacent 
 plains, and one of their number, named Lanzon, moved either by 
 ambition or by real indignation against tyranny, espoused the cause 
 of the people. From this period until after the peace of Constance 
 dissensions among the two orders are rarely mentioned, and, even 
 admitting the defective character of contemporary history, it is evi- 
 dent that such disturbances were neither frequent nor serious. There 
 was a schism between the nobles and people at Faenza, A. D. 1185, 
 and a prolonged civil war occurred between them at Brescia, A. D. 
 1200. The domestic tranquillity of other cities was subsequently 
 interrupted by mutual jealousies, and about A. D. 1220 the question 
 of aristocratical or popular ascendancy was tried by arms in Milan, 
 Piacenza, Modena, Cremona, and Bologna. 
 
 It would be unprofitable for a writer of the present age to discuss 
 the merits of these feuds, which the meager historians of that period 
 seldom attempted to elucidate, and then they permitted their preju- 
 dices to control their opinions. Why should we recall the forgotten 
 animosities of the past, and, like a partial contemporary, record the 
 failings of one or another faction ? It is not necessary to have posi- 
 tive testimony in order to become acquainted with the general tenor 
 of their history. A nobility is always insolent and a populace is 
 always intemperate ; and we may safely presume that the former 
 began, as the latter ended, by injustice and abuse of power. At one 
 time the aristocracy endeavored to exclude the bulk of the citizens from 
 suffrage because they selected the annual magistrates from the body 
 of the nobles. At another the merchants, whose riches made them 
 proud and confident of their strength, sought the honors of the state 
 which had been reserved for the nobility. Commercial wealth inevi- 
 tably produces such a result ; and the same is true of freedom and 
 social order, which are the parents of wealth. In the progress 
 of civilization there comes a time when the possessors of exclusive 
 privileges must yield, or be overthrown along with their usurpa- 
 tions. **In one or two cities," says Hallam, "a temporary compro- 
 mise was made through the intervention of the pope, whereby offices 
 
 9 
 
1 1 6 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of public trust, from the highest to the lowest, were divided in equal 
 proportions or otherwise between the nobles and the people." This 
 expedient was very efficacious in appeasing the dissensions of Rome. 
 
 In all these turbulent scenes, whether the contest was between 
 the nobles and people, or the Guelf and Ghibeline factions, the con- 
 querors exhibited no mercy. The defeated were deprived of their 
 fortunes and homes ; and, retiring to other cities, where their own 
 party was in the ascendancy, waited for the opportunity of revenge. 
 In a popular tumult the houses of the vanquished were often leveled 
 to the ground, not from a '* senseless fury," which Muratori con- 
 demns, but because these fortified residences were used to inflict 
 injury upon the lower citizens. Proscription and forfeiture excite the 
 most deadly hatred in men toward their own country ; and no wonder 
 Italy was afflicted with calamities when every defeated faction was 
 pursued into banishment with unrelenting bitterness. When the 
 Ghibelines were returning to Florence, after the overthrow of the 
 Guelfs, A. D. 1260, they proposed to demolish the city itself which 
 had expelled them ; and but for the persuasion of one man, Farinata 
 degl'Uberti, their revenge would have thus extinguished all patriotism. 
 Yet Dante placed this patriot in one of the worst regions of his 
 Inferno. This vindictive feeling moved them to invoke assistance 
 from every side, and to accept even servitude for the sake of retal- 
 iating upon their adversaries. 
 
 The citizens of an Italian state, besides their animosities arising 
 from different views of their form of government and their relation 
 to the empire, were divided by other causes, insignificant, and yet 
 mischievous. The quarrels of private families in every city became 
 the foundation of general schism, sedition, and proscription. Some- 
 times these were identified with the great names of Guelf and Ghib- 
 eline ; sometimes they were more distinctly conspicuous. Imilda de 
 Lambertazzi, a noble young lady at Bologna, was discovered by her 
 brothers in a secret interview with Boniface Gieremei, whose family 
 had long been the inveterate enemy of her own. She had just time 
 to escape while the Lambertazzi pierced her lover with their poisoned 
 daggers. When she returned she found his body still warm ; and, 
 entertaining some hope of his recovery, she sucked the venom from 
 his wounds ; but it permeated her own veins, and her attendants 
 found both lifeless by each other's side. This cruel outrage mad- 
 dened the Gieremei, and they formed alliances with the neighboring 
 republics. The Lambertazzi adopted the same measures ; and, after 
 a conflict of forty days' duration, they were driven out of the city. 
 
GIOVANNI DI VICENZA. II7 
 
 with all the Ghibellnes, their political associates. Sismondi states 
 that twelve thousand citizens were condemned to banishment, their 
 houses razed, and their estates confiscated. This contest between 
 the Gieremei and the Lambertazzi suggests the story of "Romeo and 
 Juliet," which was founded upon an Italian novel, and is not an un- 
 natural delineation of Italian manners. 
 
 Florence was at rest until A. D. 121 5, when the assassination of 
 an individual produced a mortal feud between the families Boundel- 
 monti and Uberti, in which all the cities took part. In the earlier 
 stages of the Lombard republics their differences, both mutual and 
 domestic, had been often settled by the mediation of the emperors ; 
 and the Avant of this salutary influence was greatly felt in the thir- 
 teenth century, when Italy was emancipated from foreign rule. The 
 popes sometimes endeavored to interfere, and their authority, though 
 not so direct, was held in greater veneration ; but as they were not 
 always free from selfishness and revenge, they did not accomplish 
 permanent good. Considering the Ghibelines as their own peculiar 
 enemies, they labored to secure the triumph of the Guelfs. Gregory 
 X and Nicholas III, whether from benevolent motives, or because 
 they were jealous of Charles of Anjou, while at the head of the 
 Guelfs, advocated the revival of a Ghibeline party as a counterpoise 
 to his power. The reign of these pontiffs was distinguished by the 
 enforcement of measures of reconciliation in all Italian cities ; but 
 their successors returned to the ancient policy and prejudices of Rome. 
 
 Fra Giovanni di Vicenza, a Dominican friar, who began his career 
 at Bologna, A..D. 1233, created a profound sensation by preaching 
 the forgiveness of injuries and the cessation of war. This singular 
 individual, though far less elevated in station than popes or emperors, 
 persuaded men to lay down their instruments of warfare and embrace 
 their enemies. Tiraboschi, in his account of this new apostle, says 
 that several republics implored him to settle their differences and to 
 reform their laws. A general meeting was called in the plain of 
 Paquara, upon the banks of the Adige. The Lombards came from 
 Romagna and the cities of the March; Guelfs and Ghibelines, nobles 
 and burghers, free citizens and tenantry of feudal lords, stationed 
 around their carroccios, eagerly listened to the illusive promise of 
 universal peace which the preacher eloquently presented. The masses 
 under a popular government are proverbially susceptible of moment- 
 ary impulses, and they accordingly submitted to the dictation of Fra 
 Giovanni. He arranged terms of agreement or a mutual amnesty ; 
 but when reputation and power are suddenly obtained they are gen- 
 
1 1 8 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 erally transitory, and the star of this pacificator soon disappeared 
 below the horizon. He was not content with being the legislator 
 and arbiter of Italian cities, but desired to become their master, and 
 was transformed from an apostle into a usurper, abusing the enthu- 
 siasm of Vicenza and Verona to acquire a grant of absolute sov- 
 ereignty. 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 DECLINE OF THE IMPERIAL PO WER IN ITAL Y. 
 
 AFTER the death of Frederick H the distinctions of Guelf and 
 Ghibeline had no real significance. The former party favored 
 the nominal but indefinite sovereignty of the empire, and the latter 
 party was not disposed to interfere ; yet these fanatical enthusiasts 
 of faction continued to be mutually hostile. The most bitter hatreds 
 were engendered, and the most fearful crimes were constantly per- 
 petrated. 
 
 In the fall of the house of Swabia the Guelfs achieved a great 
 triumph; and although the Ghibelines were able for a short time to 
 maintain themselves, and even to advance in the north of Italy, yet 
 two events, which soon after occurred, restored their adversaries to 
 power. The first of these was the defeat of Eccelino da Romano, 
 A. D. 1259, whose victories followed one another in such rapid 
 succession that both Guelfs and Ghibelines feared the establish- 
 ment of a cruel despotism, and formed a temporary union, which 
 resulted in his overthrow. The atrocities of this tyrant have been 
 incidentally mentioned in the previous chapter. He was one of those 
 monsters of mankind whose actions render still darker the record of 
 the weakness and wickedness of humanity. The details of the crimes 
 of ''Eccelino the Ferocious" are so horrible that they have not 
 been published by later historians. He was originally a soldier of 
 fortune, and possessed that unconquerable energy which at length 
 made him ruler of the north of Italy. Alexander IV preached a 
 crusade against him, an act sufficient to extenuate many unholy 
 actions of the *' Holy See." The crusade was first preached in ^Venice, 
 where large numbers of Paduans who had escaped from the tyranny 
 of Eccelino were harbored. It was difficult for them to reach this 
 city of refuge, because the frontiers were strictly guarded ; and those 
 
ECCELINO DA ROMANO. II9 
 
 detected in an attempt to cross were punished by the loss of their 
 legs or eyes. The Venetians, jealous of the increasing power of the 
 tyrant, readily joined the crusade. The first attempt was on the city 
 of Padua. Eccelino's Heutenant, in order to check the advance of 
 the Venetian fleet, turned the waters of the river Brento into another 
 channel. The pope's army, taking advantage of this brilliant ma- 
 neuver, marched across the dry bed of the river, beat back the out- 
 posts of the Paduan army, and established themselves in the suburbs. 
 On the following day the city was assaulted. The besieged set on 
 fire the vinea of the storming party. The crusaders then pushed the 
 burning mass against the wooden gate of the town ; the gate was 
 consumed, and the city captured. A week's pillage ensued. For 
 eighteen years it had groaned under Eccelino's tyranny; and now the 
 scanty remnants which his avarice or cruelty had spared were seized 
 by their liberators. Yet the city was filled with rejoicing, because it 
 had been delivered from oppression. A multitude of ghastly people 
 emerged from the dungeons of Eccelino. The sight of aged men 
 and women, young girls exhausted with torture, and young children 
 barbarously mutilated and blinded, enraged the crusading soldiery, 
 and excited in them an inextinguishable passion for revenge on the 
 monster. In the mean time he heard of the fall of Padua, and was 
 maddened with rage. To satisfy his thirst for vengeance Eccelino 
 commanded all the Paduan soldiers in his army to be disarmed, and 
 they were deposited in his numerous dungeons. Of the whole num- 
 ber — about eleven thousand men, or one-third of all his force — only 
 two hundred escaped. Some perished on the scaffold, others were 
 burned to death, and the great mass of the unhappy wretches died 
 of cold and hunger in prison. 
 
 The priests persisted in conducting the crusade, which, owing to 
 their incompetence, was prolonged three years. Eccelino's last 
 atrocity was committed at Friola. He had besieged and captured 
 this town. By his orders, every man, woman, and child had their 
 legs and noses cut off, and if they survived this horrible treatment 
 they were turned out to beg their bread along the roads. Two 
 months after this barbarity he was attacked by the papal forces, his 
 army routed, and he, desperately wounded, captured. In a few days 
 he died from the effects of his wounds, all regretting his honorable 
 fate in dying a soldier's death. 
 
 The second and far more important event which contributed to 
 the ascendancy of the Guelfs was the change of dynasty in Naples. 
 The fact that Pope Innocent IV sent a paternal letter to the Neapoli- 
 
120 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 tans proposing to take their kingdom under his protection, has already 
 been stated. Its reception excited a fierce rebelHon against the 
 house of Swabia — that is, the family of the late emperor; but Conrad 
 and Manfred, sons of Frederick, speedily suppressed it. The pope 
 soon discovered that he could not, by his own unaided force, wrest 
 their dominions from these young men, and he therefore determined 
 to assign the kingdom of the Two Sicilies (that is, Sicily and Naples) 
 to some other prince who would be powerful enough to conquer it, 
 and sufficiently humble to acknowledge himself as the pope's vassal. 
 The offer, however, was not very tempting, and it was difficult to find 
 any one to accept it. It was first offered to the earl of Cornwall ; 
 but that prince said that the pope's grant was of about as much 
 value as if he were to say, " Here is a grant of the moon, climb up 
 and take it." At this crisis in the history of the kingdom Conrad 
 died, leaving an infant son, Conradin, in the care of his younger 
 brother, Manfred, and of Berthold, his general. After the death of 
 the energetic Conrad, the pope changed his tactics. He collected a 
 large army from the Guelf cities, and marched into the Neapolitan 
 territories. Manfred, while reserving his own and his nephew's 
 riiirhts, saw that resistance would be in vain, and he himself con- 
 ducted the pope across the frontier, holding his horse's bridle. In a 
 short time a quarrel arose between Manfred and his escort, and 
 his personal enemy, Borello, attended by a similar escort. In the 
 conflict Borello was slain, and Manfred was immediately summoned 
 to appear before the pope on the charge of murder. He applied for 
 a safe-conduct, and being refused, he began to appreciate his extreme 
 danger, and fled to the Saracen colony of Lucera, whose soldiers had 
 always been faithful to his family. When he arrived there, he rode 
 forward boldly to the gates with only three servants. The governor 
 was absent from the town, and his lieutenant, Marchisio, was in com- 
 mand, with orders from his chief to keep the gates constantly shut. 
 ''Here is your prince," cried out Manfred's attendants in Arabic; 
 *'he trusts your loyalty, throw open your gates." When the 
 Saracens heard that the son of their late king had arrived, they were 
 filled with enthusiasm, and shouted, "Let him in, let him in, before 
 the governor hears of his arrival." They rushed against the gate, 
 burst it open, admitted Manfred, and carried him in triumph to the 
 palace. Bowing before him they took the oath of allegiance to him, 
 and he became master of the town. Lucera contained the imperial 
 treasures, and Manfred, obtaining these, took a large number of troops 
 into his pay. The situation of affairs was now reversed. He expelled 
 
URBAN IV AND ST. LO UIS. 1 2 1 
 
 the pope's soldiers from the Capitanata, and they, in full retreat, 
 reached Naples just as the pope died — happy to have died too soon 
 to hear of this reverse of fortune. 
 
 The weak reign of Alexander IV closed A. D. 1261, and that 
 of Urban IV began. The new pope remembered how Manfred, son 
 of the late Frederick, had frustrated the ambitious schemes of the 
 preceding popes, and, with great cunning, inspired by bitter hostility, 
 he commenced to checkmate this successful enemy of the " Holy See. " 
 The pontiff felt himself no stronger than his predecessors, but he 
 resolved to adopt the plan of Innocent IV, and endeavor to find 
 some one who would be glad, with the help of the Church's moral 
 support, to win the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and hold it as the 
 pope's vassal. His choice was Charles of Anjou. But a difficulty 
 in the way was St. Louis, Charles's brother, honorably distinguished 
 among the kings of the earth for integrity of life and scrupulousness 
 of conscience. Both the nature of his objections, and the methods 
 by which they were overcome, may be ascertained from the fol- 
 lowing letter of the pope: *'We have received your letter, from 
 which, among other things, we perceive that our dear son in Jesus 
 Christ, the illustrious king of France, lends a credulous ear to the 
 crafty speeches of those who would gladly frustrate the negotiations 
 which we have intrusted to you. They would persuade him that 
 Conradin, grandson of Frederick, has some right to the kingdom of 
 Sicily ; or, even admitting that he has been lawfully deposed, that his 
 right has passed by concession of the *'Holy See" to Edmund, son of 
 our very dear son in Jesus Christ, the king of England. Thus he 
 hesitates, although he sees that the nomination of his brother would 
 be conducive to the honor and happiness of the Roman Church. We 
 will be especially on our guard to preserve his fair fame from scan- 
 dal ; his soul, intrusted to our keeping, from damnation ; his person 
 and his state from danger. He should believe that both ourselves 
 and our brethren are anxious, with God's help, to keep our con- 
 sciences pure, and save our souls before the Author of salvation ; and 
 that Ave know, of certain knowledge, that nothing that we would do 
 i, to the prejudice of Conradin or of Edmund, or of any other man." 
 
 Having overcome the scruples of St. Louis, Urban dealt next 
 with those of Charles. But they were of a different kind. A too 
 scrupulous conscience was not among his weaknesses. He was very 
 anxious to be king of Sicily, but he wished to pay as little as 
 possible for an empty title and the pope's patronage. A bargain 
 was finally made that Charles was to pay his holiness the town of 
 
1 22 ITAL V 577? [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Benevento, and an annual tribute of ten thousand ounces of gold. 
 Charles rapidly collected an army of thirty thousand men, and invaded 
 the Neapolitan territory. He met Manfred's army drawn up in 
 battle array on the plain of Benevento. Manfred made some attempt 
 at negotiation, but Charles sent back his envoys with the message: 
 "Tell him that I am resolved on battle; and this day I will either 
 send him to hell or he shall send me to heaven." At first Manfred's 
 army had the advantage, but the treacherous flight of his reserve, at 
 a critical moment, turned the fortune of the day. He resolved not 
 to survive his defeat. As he was putting on his helmet, the crest, a 
 silver eagle, fell off his saddle-bow. ^' Hoc est signiim dei,'' said he 
 to his barons; '*I fastened on this crest myself, and no mere acci- 
 dent has loosed it." He rushed into the milee^ and, fighting there 
 without any royal insignia, perished by an unknown hand. 
 
 Charles had not been long on the throne when the nobles, who 
 had deserted Manfred, began to groan beneath the heavy hand of 
 the invader. Charles, like all others who are promoted by military 
 power, was compelled to purchase the continued favor of the authors 
 of his success by unlimited munificence. He bestowed upon his 
 high officers the confiscated estates of the barons, and he indefinitely 
 increased the number of subordinate government officials in order to 
 provide for the inferior soldiery. Under the former government 
 there were various petty civil officers, and to each class of these 
 Charles added the corresponding functionaries of the French admin- 
 istration. He also rigorously exacted all the taxes which had been 
 imposed at any time during the reign of Manfred. Where one 
 tax had been repealed in order that another might be substituted, 
 both were now levied alike. The people were fearfully oppressed, 
 and the pope, by writing to Charles an unavailing letter of cen- 
 sure for his misgovernment, made but slight and tardy atonement 
 for his perfidy. 
 
 Another claimant to the throne which Charles occupied was Con- 
 radin, Manfred's nephew. He was only sixteen years of age, and his 
 sensible mother was not willing that the inexperienced stripling should 
 take the field against such a veteran as Charles. But the Ghibeline 
 party was in need of a champion. They represented to Conradin 
 that the Sicilians hated the French because they were rapacious and 
 licentious. They assured him that all sects and parties would rally 
 around the lawful successor to the throne of Frederick. Conradin 
 was encouraged by this assurance, and by promises of assistance 
 from several of the Lombard princes. He therefore resolved to 
 
CONRAD IN DEFEA TED. 1 23 
 
 avenge the persecutions of his ancestors, and in a few weeks gath- 
 ered a large army, which he commanded. 
 
 Charles marched forward to meet him, but was compelled to 
 return to his kingdom, being recalled by tidings of a dangerous revolt. 
 The pope, as usual, was ready with a letter of counsel. It said: ** I 
 know not for what reason I address you as king, seeing you do not 
 appear to trouble yourself about your kingdom. Established first by 
 brigands, your ministers, it is now devoured by your enemies — the 
 caterpillar destroys what has escaped the locust. If you lose your 
 crown do not imagine that the Church will renew her labor and 
 expense in order to replace it on your head. Perhaps you think that 
 your virtues entitle you to a miracle of God on your behalf; or, it 
 may be, you are relying on the sagacity you imagine you possess, 
 and which you prefer to the good advice of others." 
 
 Meanwhile, the senate of Rome declared in favor of Conradin, 
 and the young prince advanced towards that city. By this time the 
 youthful warrior had been excommunicated by his holiness with all 
 pomp and solemnity. The arrival of Conradin at Rome was cele- 
 brated with the magnificence usually given to the emperor alone. 
 After resting his troops there for a few days, he set out for Naples 
 with five thousand soldiers enlisted under his standard. He marched 
 without opposition as far as the plain of Tagliacozzo, where he 
 encountered Charles and his army. The main portion of Charles's 
 forces was in sight, but he himself, with eight hundred picked men, 
 was concealed in a small valley in the rear. Conradin attacked the 
 Neapolitan forces and soon routed all whom he saw. His army of 
 Germans supposing that the battle was decided, dispersed, as usual, 
 for pillage. As soon as the whole army had broken their ranks, 
 Charles emerged from his hiding-place, his eight hundred men rushed 
 into the field, and easily cut to pieces the scattered troops. 
 
 Conradin escaped from the field of battle, but was captured within 
 a few days. At the court which was assembled for his trial Charles 
 himself acted as prosecutor. He accused his conquered rival of 
 rebellion against the legitimate sovereign, of contempt of the Church's 
 sentence, of his alliance with the Saracens, and of the plunder of 
 the monasteries. It was urged in defense that Conradin was a pris- 
 oner under protection of the laws of war ; that his title to the crown 
 was at least plausible ; and that, even if the merits of the case were 
 against him, his youth ought to protect him. The judges were 
 under the immediate influence of Charles ; but they had neither the 
 courage to condemn nor acquit him, and sat there in cowardly 
 
1 24 ITAL V STJ^ [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 silence. Only one spoke, giving his verdict for death ; and on the 
 authority of that one vote, Charles passed sentence of death on Con- 
 radin and his companions. The unhappy youth was led into the 
 market-place of Naples. A scaffold was erected on the shore, while 
 Charles, from an eminence, looked down upon the dying boy. The 
 multitude sympathized most intensely with their rightful prince, but 
 a bristling fence of French spears divided them from him. The judge 
 who had voted for death stepped forward to read the sentence. 
 "But," says Professor Jones, a writer on Italian history, "the days 
 of the unjust judge were numbered. Robert, of Flanders, Charles's 
 own son in-law, rushed up to him, and exclaiming, ' It beseems not 
 thee to condemn a noble prince to die,' buried his sword in his 
 breast, and the judge fell dead at the king's feet. Charles did not 
 dare to avenge this wild act of justice, though it did not arrest the 
 execution. Conradin kneeled in prayer. Rising, he said, 'What 
 bitter grief will this day's tidings bring thee, my mother!' while the 
 people, and even the soldiery, were dissolved in tears. Five of his 
 adherents perished on the same scaffold. All the bodies were bur- 
 ied by the seashore in unconsecrated ground ; but long afterwards 
 a Carmelite church was built over the place where their remains 
 were buried." 
 
 The voice of those rude ages, as well as of a more enlightened 
 posterity, has united in branding with everlasting infamy the name 
 of that prince, who did not hesitate to purchase the security of his 
 own title by the public execution of an honorable competitor, or 
 rather a rightful claimant to the throne, he had usurped. With the 
 death of Conradin, A. D. 1268, the house of Swabia was extin- 
 guished ; but Constance, the daughter of Manfred, had transported 
 his right to Sicily and Naples into the house of Aragon, by her mar- 
 riage with Peter III. The tide of faction was turned over all Italy 
 by the success of this monarch, whom the Roman pontiffs selected 
 as their champion. He expelled the Ghibelines from Florence, which 
 had been completely in their possession since the memorable victory 
 a few years before upon the river Arbia. After the fall of Conradin, 
 that party was every-where discouraged, Germany did not promise 
 any substantial support, even when the imperial throne, which had 
 long been vacant, should be occupied by one of her princes. The 
 populace in almost every city were attached to the Church and to 
 the name of Guelf The popes, by their excommunications, and the 
 kings of Naples, by their arms during the remainder of the thirteenth 
 century, rendered the name of Ghibeline a term of proscription in 
 
THE AMBITIOUS CHARLES. 1 25 
 
 the majority of Lombard and Tuscan republics. Pope Clement IV 
 constituted Charles, who was already master of Provence, Naples, 
 Sicily, and head of the Guelf party in Italy, vicar-general in Tuscany. 
 
 This was a new pretension of the Roman pontiffs to name the 
 lieutenants of the empire during its vacancy, though their consent 
 was generally obtained. It soon appeared, however, that Charles 
 aimed at the sovereignty of Italy. Some of the popes themselves, 
 Gregory X and Nicholas IV, became jealous of their own creature. 
 Sismondi states that at the Congress of Cremona, A. D. 1269, it was 
 proposed to confer upon Charles the seigniory of all the Guelf cities; 
 but the greater part were prudent enough to choose him rather as a 
 friend than a master. Several, how^ever, including Milan, took an 
 oath of fidelity to him the same year. A few years later, A. D. 
 1273, he was lord of Alessandria and Piacenza, and received tribute 
 from Milan, Bologna, and most Lombard cities. He e\'idently in- 
 tended to avail himself of the vacancy of the empire, and either to 
 acquire that title himself, or at least to stand in the same relation as 
 the emperors had done to the Italian states; which, according to the 
 usage of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, "left them," says Hal- 
 lam, * * in possession of every thing that we call independence, Avith 
 the reservation of a nominal allegiance." 
 
 At the latter end of the thirteenth century there were almost as 
 many princes in the north of Italy as there had been free cities in 
 the preceding age. They were often annoyed with domestic revolu- 
 tions, which rendered their seat unsteady, and thus prevented them 
 from encroaching on each other. Gradually, however, they decreased 
 in number, many obscure tyrants were overthrown in the smaller cities, 
 and the people, careless or hopeless of liberty, gladly exchanged the 
 rule of mean, petty usurpers for that of more powerful and distin- 
 guished families. 
 
 Milan was the most prominent city in supporting both wars against 
 the house of Swabia, and manifested the strongest attachment to 
 republican institutions, but in a few years after the death of Frederick 
 II it was the first to sacrifice them. It had been convulsed for a con- 
 siderable time by civil dissensions between the nobility and inferior 
 citizens. These parties were about equally divided, and their victories 
 were consequently alternate. Each had its own podesta as a party 
 leader distinct from the legitimate magistrate of the city. Fra Leon 
 Perego, the archbishop of the nobility, was selected as their champion, 
 while the people appointed Martin della Torre, who belonged to a 
 noble family which had ambitiously supported the democratic faction. 
 
120 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The two parties became involved in a civil war, A. D. 1257, which 
 originated from the crime of a nobleman, who had murdered one of 
 his creditors. The conflict was carried on with various success, and, 
 though temporary peace prevailed several times, the unhappy dispo- 
 sition of the belligerents would not allow the strife to terminate. At 
 the end of two years, however, the aristocracy were completely 
 defeated, and Martin della Torre was elected chief and lord {capitano 
 e signore) of the people. While the Milanese did not probably intend 
 to renounce the sovereignty which resided in their general assembHes, 
 yet they soon lost the republican spirit. Five of the family Della 
 Torre reigned in succession in Milan, each having been formally 
 elected, but with an implied recognition of a kind of hereditary title. 
 Twenty years afterward the Visconti, a family of opposite interests, 
 supplanted the Torriani at Milan, and the rivalry between these great 
 houses did not end until the final establishment of Matteo Visconti, 
 A. D. 1313. 
 
 The victories of Charles of Anjou infused vigor into the Guelf 
 party, but they were not very durable. He was soon involved in a 
 protracted and unfortunate controversy with the kings of Aragon, to 
 whose protection his revolted subjects in Italy had recurred. On the 
 other hand, the Ghibeline interests in Lombardy, and even in Tus- 
 can cities, were retrieved by several men of energetic character. The 
 Visconti were acknowledged heads of that faction. The Della Scala, 
 a family early established as lords of Verona, espoused the same 
 cause between the Adige and the Adriatic. Castruccio Castrucani, 
 an adventurer of remarkable ability, became prince of Lucca, and by 
 his influence the imperial party received a large accession from the 
 heart of the Guelfs in Tuscany. After his death, however, the an- 
 cient order of things was restored. The inferior tyrants were partly 
 Guelf, partly Ghibeline, according to local revolutions; but upon the 
 whole the latter obtained a gradual ascendancy. Those, indeed, who 
 favored the independence of Italy, or cared for their own power, 
 **had far less to fear," says Hallam, '^from the phantom of imperial 
 prerogatives, long intermitted, and incapable of being enforced, than 
 from the new race of foreign princes, whom the Church had substi- 
 tuted for the house of Swabia." 
 
THE WALDENSIAN DOCTRINES. 127 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 THE DOCTRINES AND USAGES OF THE WAIDENSES. 
 
 IN ages so remote events appear dim, and, in the absence of his- 
 torical records, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory account of the 
 remarkable people called the Waldenses, who now attracted the atten- 
 tion of Europe by their resistance to the papacy. From a variety of 
 sources we can glean some interesting facts, sufficient to form a pic- 
 ture, though not complete, of their venerable Church. For many 
 centuries preceding the Reformation they were the only representa- 
 tives of evangelical Christianity of which we have any knowledge. 
 We learn from the Nobla Leycon, and other ancient documents, that 
 this school of early Protestant theology was presided over by barbes, 
 or pastors, who preached the saving doctrines of the Bible. Their 
 theological system was not as clear, well-defined, and comprehensive 
 as that which the sixteenth century gave to the world ; it was only 
 what the faithful men of the Lombard Churches had been able to 
 save from the wreck of primitive Christianity. As true religion is a 
 revelation, it was perfect in the beginning ; yet it is necessary in this, 
 as in every other, branch of knowledge to search after its various 
 parts and systematically arrange them. It is only by patient effort 
 and thorough investigation that man can come into the full possession 
 of the truth. The cardinal doctrine of the Waldensian theology was 
 the atoning death and justifying righteousness of Christ. In the 
 Nobla Ley^oUy or ** Noble Lesson," we find a tolerably clear presen- 
 tation of the doctrine of the Trinity, the fall of man, the incarnation 
 of the Son, the perpetual authority of the Decalogue as given by 
 God ; the need of divine grace in order to good works, the necessity 
 of holiness, the institution of the ministry, the resurrection of the 
 body, and the eternal bliss of heaven. The professors of this evan- 
 gelical creed exemplified it in lives of peculiar virtue. Indeed, the 
 blamelessness of the Waldenses passed into a proverb, and if any one 
 abstained to a limited extent from the prevailing vices, he was sus- 
 pected of being a Vaudois. Dr. Wylie quotes the following passage 
 from the Nobla Leycon: " If there be an honest man who desires to 
 love God and fear Jesus Christ, who will neither slander, nor swear, 
 nor lie, nor commit adultery, nor kill, nor steal, nor avenge himself 
 
128 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of his enemies, they presently say of such a one, He Is a Vaudois, 
 and worthy of death." 
 
 If any doubt concerning' the rehglous tenets of the Waldenses 
 existed, it would be removed by the charges which their enemies 
 have brought against them. It is evident from these accusations that 
 the men of the "Valleys" held substantially what the apostles before 
 their day, and the reformers after, taught. The indictment against 
 them included a formidable list of " heresies," among which was Man- 
 icheism, but the declaration in the Nohla Leycon that they believe in 
 the "perpetual authority of the Decalogue" was a sufficient refuta- 
 tion of the charge. They affirmed that there had not been a true 
 pope since the days of Sylvester ; that ministers of the Gospel should 
 not accept temporal offices and dignities; that the pardons bestowed 
 by the pope were a sham; that purgatory was a fable; that relics 
 were simply rotten bones which had belonged to some unknown per- 
 son ; that pilgrimages accomplished only one result — the emptying of 
 the purse; that flesh might be eaten any day if the appetite demanded 
 it ; that holy water was not any more efficacious than rain water ; 
 and that prayer in a barn was as effectual as if offered in a church. 
 The Romanists also accused the Vaudois of having scoffed at the 
 doctrine of transubstantiatlon, and of having spoken blasphemously 
 of Rome as the "harlot" of the Apocalypse. The Jesuit Reynerius, 
 Avho wrote A. D. 1250, charged upon them numerous heresies and 
 blasphemies, which the historian Allix has published. 
 
 It appears from recent historical researches that the Waldenses 
 possessed the New Testament in the vernacular. The ^^ Lingua 
 Ro?na7za," or Romaunt tongue, was the common language of the 
 south of Europe from the eighth to the fourteenth century. During 
 the Dark Ages the troubadours and men of letters used It, and into 
 it the first translation of the whole of the New Testament was made 
 so early as the twelfth century. Dr. Gilly, in his work, ^'The 
 Romaunt Version of the Gospel accoi^ding to John,'' has diligently labored 
 to establish this fact. By a patient investigation into all the evidence, 
 and a great array of historic documents, he reached the following 
 conclusions: That all the books of the New Testament were trans- 
 lated from the Latin Vulgate into the Romaunt; that this was the 
 first literal version since the fall of the empire; that it was made in 
 the twelfth century, and was the first translation available for popular 
 use. There were numerous earlier translations, but only of parts of 
 the Bible, and many of these were rather paraphrases or digests of 
 Scripture than translations, and on account of their bulk and cost 
 
THE WALDENSIAN SYNODS AND CLERGY. 1 29 
 
 were entirely beyond the reach of the common people. This Romaunt- 
 version was the first complete and literal translation of the New 
 Testament of Holy Scripture. Dr. Gilly shows, by a chain of proofs, 
 that it was probably made under the superintendence and at the 
 expense of Peter Waldo, of Lyons, not later than A. D. 11 80, and 
 is, therefore, older than any complete version in German, French, 
 Italian, Spanish, or English. It was widely circulated in the south 
 of France and in the cities of Lombardy, and was also in general use 
 among the Waldenses of Piedmont. Its preservation and dissemina- 
 tion by these mountaineers was no insignificant part of the testimony 
 which they gave in behalf of the truth. Only six copies of the 
 Romaunt New Testament now remain, one at each of the four fol- 
 lowing places: Lyons, Grenoble, Zurich, and Dublin; and two copies 
 at Paris. These volumes are small, plain, and portable, contrasting 
 with those magnificent and ponderous folios of the Latin Vulgate, 
 written in gold and silver characters, richly illuminated, and having 
 bindings decorated with gems. But their splendor and size awakened 
 admiration rather than a desire for study, and prevented them from 
 being used by the people. 
 
 In the simplicity of its constitution the Church of the Alps may 
 be considered a reflection of the Church of the first centuries. The 
 entire Waldensian territory was divided into parishes, in each of 
 which was placed a pastor who watched over his flock, preaching, 
 dispensing the sacraments, visiting the sick, and catechising the 
 young. A consistory of laymen was associated with him in the gov- 
 ernment of his congregation. The synod, which met once a year, was 
 composed of all the pastors with an equal number of laymen, and its 
 most frequent place of meeting was the secluded, mountain-engirdled 
 valley at the head of Angrogna. Sometimes as many as a hundred 
 and fifty barbes, with the same number of laymen, would assemble. 
 In imagination -we behold them seated — it may be on the grassy slope 
 of the valley — a venerable company of humble, learned, and earnest 
 men, presided over by a simple moderator. While deliberating con- 
 cerning the affairs of their Churches and the condition of their flocks, 
 they did not neglect to offer their praises and prayers to the living 
 God, in whom they trusted for wisdom. Their assembly was solemn 
 and imposing without the pageantry of mystic rites, and, though no 
 magnificent fane towered above them, the majestic snow-clad peaks 
 rose up in the silent firmament with a grandeur that no human arch- 
 itecture can produce. 
 
 The Bible was the text-book used by these young men who 
 
I30 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 received instruction from the naore venerable and learned of their 
 barbcs. They not only studied the sacred volume, but they were 
 required to commit to memory and be able accurately to recite whole 
 Gospels and epistles. This accomplishment was almost indispensable 
 to public instructors in those days when printing was unknown and 
 copies of the Bible were rare. They devoted a part of their time to 
 the work of transcribing the Holy Scriptures, or portions of them 
 which they were to distribute when they went forth as missionaries. 
 Through this and other agencies the seed of divine truth was scat- 
 tered more widely throughout Europe than is commonly supposed. 
 This result was produced by a variety of causes. At that time a 
 general impression prevailed that the world would soon end. Disor- 
 der reigned in almost every nation, and many men believed that the 
 signs of the times indicated the speedy termination of earthly things. 
 In view of the luxury, pride, and profligacy of the clergy, not a few 
 laymen asked whether more competent spiritual guides could not be 
 obtained. Many of the troubadours were religious men who wandered 
 from country to country, singing lays which were often setmons in 
 poetry. The hour of deep and universal slumber had passed away, 
 and a period of unusual activity was inaugurated. The serf was 
 demanding personal freedom from his seigneur, and the city waged 
 war with the baronial castle for civic and corporate independence. 
 The appearance of the New Testament, and, as we learn from inci- 
 dental notices, portions of the Old, in a language which was under- 
 stood alike in the court as in the camp, in the city as in the rural 
 hamlet, was opportune, having received a cordial welcome from many 
 at that period. Indeed, the truths of the Bible were more widely 
 promulgated then than they had been at any time since the publica- 
 tion of the Vulgate by Jerome. 
 
 The Waldensian youth, after remaining a certain time in the 
 school of the barbes, usually went to the seminaries in the great cities 
 of Lombardy, or to the Sorbonne at Paris, where they became 
 acquainted with other customs, were initiated into other studies and 
 enjoyed a wider horizon of observation than they did in the seclusion 
 of their native valleys. Many of them became expert dialecticians, 
 whom the priests of Rome did not desire to meet in argument. These 
 Waldensian missionaries often made converts of the rich merchants 
 with whom they traded, and the landlords in whose houses they 
 lodged. The Vaudois were not satisfied with merely maintaining the 
 truth in their own mountains, but realized their responsibility to 
 spread the Gospel abroad and reconquer the kingdoms of Christen- 
 
THE VENDERS OF RARE GEMS. 13 1 
 
 dom, which the Romish hierarchy had overwhelmed with moral 
 darkness. The Waldensian Church was not only evangelical, but 
 evangelistic. Among its old laws was one which required that all' 
 who took orders in the Church should serve three years in the mission 
 field before they could be eligible to a home charge. It was not 
 necessary for them to cross oceans in order to perform mission work. 
 The extensive region at the foot of their own mountains afforded the 
 Vaudois youth, upon whose heads the assembled barbes had laid their 
 hands, an important field, which would bestow upon them not a rich 
 benefice, but a possible martyrdom. By assuming the guise of a 
 secular profession, most commonly that of merchants or peddlers, they 
 concealed their real character. Going forth two and two they carried 
 silks, jewelry, and other articles which at that time could not be 
 easily purchased, except at distant marts, and they were welcomed 
 as merchants where they would have been rejected as missionaries. 
 The door of the cottage and the portal of the baron's castle stood 
 equally open to them. The gems and silks procured them entrance, 
 but they were also venders of rarer and more valuable merchandise — 
 portions of the Word of God — usually their own transcription, which 
 they carried with them carefully concealed among their wares or 
 about their persons. While displaying their goods to the inmates of 
 the dwelHng they would also direct attention to the manuscripts, and 
 donate them when desired to those who were unable to purchase. 
 Thus the truth was disseminated by these humble instrumentalities, 
 and struggling Italy received more light. 
 
 10 
 
f^kftlll. 
 
 PAPAL DARKNESS RELIEVED. 
 
 CENTURY XIV-XIX. 
 
 Chapter L 
 
 ITALY DURING THE PAPAL SCHISM. 
 
 THE fourteenth century dawned upon Italy, revealing the exist- 
 ence of small tyrannies, established upon the ruins of republican 
 government. The cities of Lombardy, both Guelf and Ghibeline, by 
 force or stratagem, or free consent, had, with few exceptions, fallen 
 under the yoke of some prominent citizen, who became the lord (sign- 
 iore), or, in the Grecian sense, tyrant, of his country. The career of 
 Eccelino beyond the Adige should have naturally inspired the Italians 
 with more universal abhorrence of despotism; but in the eyes of 
 exasperated factions every danger seemed trivial when compared with 
 the ascendancy of their enemies. The conflicts between these adver- 
 saries were constant and unprofitable, inflicting alternately disaster 
 upon either party, until liberty, wearied and disgusted, withdrew from 
 a people who disgraced her name. Strange as it may appear, the 
 brave, tumultuous, and intractable Lombards were anxious to sub- 
 mit themselves to a master, and became patient under the heaviest 
 oppression. Sometimes tyranny passed beyond the limits of forbear- 
 ance, and the reigning prince was expelled by seditious parties ; but 
 the revolution simply placed the impotent people under a different 
 and perhaps worse despotism. "In many cities," says Hallam, ''not 
 a conspiracy was planned, not a sigh was breathed in favor of repub- 
 lican government, after once they had passed under the sway of a 
 single person. The progress, indeed, was gradual though sure, from 
 limited to absolute, from temporary to hereditary power, from a just 
 and conciliating rule, to extortion and cruelty." Before the middle 
 of the fourteenth century, all those cities which had indignantly 
 132 
 
ROBERT, KING OF NAPLES—NICOLA DI RIENZI 133 
 
 rejected the invitation to submit to imperial rule lost even the recol- 
 lection of self-government, and were bequeathed, like an indisputable 
 patrimony, among the children of their new lords. 
 
 Though divided into several hostile factions, the victorious popu- 
 lar party in the Italian cities was able to frustrate the efforts of the 
 German emperor, Henry VII, who, A. D. 13 12, attempted to regain 
 the dominion of Italy. Robert, king of Naples, was more successful. 
 Like his grandfather, Charles I, he almost openly aspired to a real 
 sovereignty over Italy. When the Guelf cities were engaged in war 
 he offered his assistance upon the condition that they should submit 
 to his rule. Many yielded to his demands, and even Florence twice 
 bestowed upon him a temporary dictatorship. He was (A. D. 13 14) 
 acknowledged lord of Lucca, Florence, Pavia, Alessandria, Bergamo, 
 and the cities of Romagna. The Guelfs of Genoa, A. D. 13 18, being 
 unable to overcome the Ghibeline emigrants, who were under their 
 walls, resigned their liberties to the king of Naples for the term of 
 ten years, which was afterwards extended six more. All these ambi- 
 tious measures were sanctioned by the Avignon popes, especially John 
 XXII, who entertained the most bitter hatred to the Emperor Louis 
 of Bavaria, and the Visconti family. But the death of Robert, and 
 the disturbances in his kingdom, rendered these measures unsuccessful. 
 
 After the secession of the popes to Avignon (A. D. 1308), Rome, 
 their own city, was far more demoralized than before. Disorders of 
 every kind, tumult and robbery prevailed in the streets. The Roman 
 nobility were engaged in perpetual war with each other. They were 
 not satisfied with their own fortified palaces, but converted the sacred 
 monuments of antiquity into strongholds, causing greater destruction 
 than time or conquest had ever done. At no period had the city re- 
 ceived such irreparable injuries. Indeed, the contemptible feuds of 
 the Orsini and Colonna families were more disastrous to the capital 
 than the downfall of the Western Empire. Government existed only 
 in form, and whether administered by a legate from Avignon, or by 
 the municipal authorities, did not restrain these powerful barons. In 
 the midst of this degradation and wretchedness (A. D. 1347) Nicola 
 di Rienzi, an obscure man, resolved that he would restore good order 
 to Rome, and render her great as in ancient times. His education 
 was advanced for one of such humble birth, and his mind was enriched 
 with the study of the best writers. He harangued the people on 
 many public occasions; but the nobility, blinded by self-confidence, 
 made no effort to repress the excitement which prevailed. An insur- 
 rection suddenly broke out, and soon obtained complete success. 
 
134 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Under the title of tribune, Rienzi was placed at the head of a new 
 government, and had almost unlimited power. The first effects of 
 this revolution were wonderful. All the nobles submitted, though 
 with great reluctance ; robbers no longer infested the roads ; tranquil- 
 lity was restored at home, and by severe examples of justice, offend- 
 ers were intimidated. Indeed, all the people regarded the tribune as 
 the destined restorer of Rome and Italy. 
 
 The court of Avignon could not indorse this usurpation, but it was 
 wise enough not directly to oppose it. Most of the Italian republics, 
 and some of the princes, sent embassadors and recognized the pre- 
 tensions of the ostentatious Rienzi. The king of Hungary and queen 
 of Naples submitted their quarrel to his arbitration, but he did not 
 undertake to decide it. He was intoxicated by his sudden exaltation, 
 and exhibited weaknesses which were entirely incompatible with his 
 elevated station. Rienzi possessed really great talents, and, if he had 
 lived in our own age, they would have found their proper orbit. His 
 character, as described by Sismondi, Tiraboschi, Petrarch, and other 
 writers, was that of a literary politician — "a combination of knowl- 
 edge, eloquence, and enthusiasm for ideal excellence, with vanity, 
 inexperience of mankind, unsteadiness, and physical timidity." These 
 latter qualities became so conspicuous that his virtues were overlooked 
 and his benefits forgotten. He was finally compelled to abdicate his 
 government and retire into exile. After an absence of several years, 
 some of which he passed in the prisons of Avignon, he was brought 
 back to Rome with the title of senator, and under the command of 
 the legate. The Romans, still cherishing some of the spirit of insub- 
 ordination, gladly welcomed their favorite tribune, and rallied around 
 his standard for a few months ; but after that time they ceased alto- 
 gether to respect a man who so little respected himself in accepting 
 a station where he could no longer be free. During a sedition in the 
 city he was killed. 
 
 It is difficult to form a correct opinion of Rienzi's history. That 
 great Italian writer, Petrarch, was so blindly infatuated \\'ith the 
 romantic life of his hero that he indulged in the most glowing pane- 
 gyrics concerning him. Hallam regards some of these enthusiastic 
 utterances as extravagant and absurd, and commends the sensible and 
 proper estimate of Rienzi given by Giovanni Villani, of Florence, a 
 strong republican. An illustrious female author, Madame de Stael, 
 of France, in her " Corinne," an Italian novel, by a single stroke has 
 portrayed the character of Rienzi, Crescentius, and Arnold of Brescia, 
 the fond restorers of Roman liberty: ''Qiii out pris les soiivcnh's pour 
 
THE BANNERETS. 1 3 5 
 
 les esp^rances.'' Not long after the death of Rienzi, the freedom of 
 Rome appears to have revived in repubhcan institutions, though the 
 names associated with the movement are not calculated to inspire 
 peculiar recollections. At the head of the commonwealth, magis- 
 trates called bannerets were placed. They were chosen from the thir- 
 teen districts of the city, with a miUtia of three thousand citizens at 
 their command. This new organization was instituted to intimidate 
 the Roman nobility, who, in the total absence of government, had 
 committed intolerable outrages. The execution of several of them the 
 first year, by order of the bannerets, produced a good effect. The 
 citizens, however, entertained no serious thoughts of renouncing their 
 allegiance to the popes, but simply provided for their own safety. 
 It seems strange that they should be obedient to pontiffs who, after 
 abandoning the holy city, continued to demand their support, though 
 denying them protection. But they were ready to acknowledge and 
 welcome back their bishop as their sovereign. Without waiting for 
 their return, they surrendered their republican constitution, and per- 
 mitted the legate of Innocent VI .to assume the government. Some 
 years afterward the institution of bannerets was revived and possessed 
 full authority. During the schism of the Church, Rome probably 
 enjoyed some degree of political freedom; but its internal history is so 
 obscure that it is difficult to ascertain, amid the licentious tumults 
 of the barons or populace, when their privileges were legitimate. 
 The Romans formally took away the government from Eugenius IV, 
 and elected seven seigniors, or chief magistrates, like the priors of 
 Florence. But this revolution was only temporary. On the death 
 of Eugenius the citizens deliberated upon proposing a charter to the 
 future pope. One of their principal instigators was a man of good 
 family, named Stephen Porcaro, who Avas animated by a strong spirit 
 of liberty. The people, however, were not equally patriotic, and 
 nothing was accomplished. Afterward Porcaro was engaged in a 
 fresh conspiracy, and, having been detected, was put to death under 
 the pontificate of Nicholas V. 
 
 The Romans attributed all their troubles to the absence of the 
 popes from the "Eternal City." This was no doubt the cause of 
 their pecuniary embarrassments, for the presence of the pontiffs there 
 attracted crowds of strangers from all parts of Europe, and the 
 expenditures of these visitors, and of the papal court, were a source 
 of considerable wealth to the citizens. Hence they exerted them- 
 selves to the fullest extent to persuade the popes to return to their 
 city. Finally Gregory XI returned to Rome, A. D. 1377, and it 
 
1 36 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 once more became the religious center of the world. Gregory died 
 the next year, and the Romans took up arms to compel the cardi- 
 nals to conduct the election for his successor at Rome, and choose an 
 Italian pope, or, at least, one who would remain in Rome. They 
 even invaded the hall where the conclave had assembled, shouting, 
 "A Roman pope! We will have a Roman pope!" Though per- 
 suaded to retire, they crowded the streets for two days and threatened 
 the cardinals with death if they refused to comply with their demands. 
 In the midst of these exciting scenes, the trembling cardinals elected 
 the archbishop of Bari, an Italian, to the papal throne. At this very 
 moment, the mob, still shouting their demands, made a fierce attack 
 upon the hall and were determined to handle the cardinals violently. 
 The frightened ecclesiastics induced the venerable cardinal of St. Pe- 
 ter's to appear as the newly chosen pontiff. He presented himself at 
 the window ''hastily attired in what either was or seemed to be 
 the papal stole and miter. There was a jubilant and triumphant cry, 
 ' We have a Roman pope ! the cardinal of St. Peter's. Long Hve 
 Rome ! Long live St. Peter!' " The mob, now wild with joy, could 
 not be restrained, but burst into the hall. ''The supposed pope 
 was seized by his enthusiastic friends, his gouty and swollen hands 
 and feet were pressed and kissed with such fervor that he shrieked 
 with pain, and swore to them in very emphatic language that he was 
 not the pope." 
 
 The archbishop of Bari was hastily proclaimed, and commenced 
 to reign under the title of Urban VI. He was a violent and savage 
 man, and, though he sought to reform the abuses of the Church, he 
 did so by the severest measures. He seemed utterly incapable of 
 conciliating the affections of his opponents, or even of retaining his 
 particular adherents. By his intolerable arrogance and harshness he 
 soon raised up a formidable opposition to him among people of all 
 ranks, and especially among the leading French cardinals. The latter, 
 unable to endure his insolence, withdrew from Rome to Anagni, and 
 thence to Fondi, a city of the kingdom of Naples, where they elected 
 to the pontificate Robert, count of Geneva, who took the name of 
 Clement VII. The seceding cardinals declared that the election of 
 Bartholomew de Pregnano, archbishop of Bari, was a mere ceremony, 
 which they had been compelled to perform in order to calm the tur- 
 bulent rage of the populace. Urban remained at Rome, and Clement 
 retired to Avignon, in France. All the prominent kingdoms, except 
 France and Naples, supported Urban. 
 
 The union of the Latin Church under one head was destroyed at 
 
DANTE. 137 
 
 the death of Gregory XI, and was followed by that deplorable dis- 
 sension commonly known by the name of the great Western schism. 
 Upon the death of Urban, A. D. 1389, the Italian cardinals pro- 
 ceeded to the election of Boniface IX, a Neapolitan ; and Clement 
 VII aying, A. D. 1394, the French cardinals raised to the papal 
 throne a Spaniard, who assumed the name of Benedict XIII. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 THE REVIVAL OF LETTERS IN ITALY. 
 
 AS the three centuries preceding the fourteenth witnessed a rapid 
 revival and growth of architecture and the arts in Italy, so the 
 close of the thirteenth and the whole of the fourteenth century saw 
 the sudden blossoming of Italian literature. Dante (Alighieri), the 
 greatest of Italian poets, rose like a sun, and shone on his native 
 land with an unparalleled splendor, imparting to it a new life. He 
 was born of a respectable family at Florence, A. D. 1265, but his 
 writings belong almost exclusively to the fourteenth century. At- 
 tached to the Guelf party, which had then obtained a final ascendancy 
 over its rival, he might justly promise himself the natural reward of 
 talents under a free government — public trust, and the esteem of his 
 compatriots. But the unhappy division of the Guelfs into the 
 Bianchi and Neri factions was unfortunate for Dante, as he was con- 
 nected with the former, which proved to be the unsuccessful one. 
 He filled the office of one of the priori, or chief magistrates, at 
 Florence, A. D. 1300; and having manifested in this, as was alleged, 
 some partiality toward the Bianchi, a sentence of proscription passed 
 against him about two years afterward, when it became the turn of 
 the opposite faction to triumph. Banished from his country, and 
 baffled in several efforts of his friends to restore their fortunes, he 
 had no resource but at the courts of the Scalas at Verona and other 
 Italian princes, attaching himself in adversity to the imperial interests, 
 and ''tasting, in his own language, the bitterness of another's bread." 
 While in this state of exile he finished, if he did not commence, 
 his great poem, the " Divina Commedia," or the Divine Comedy, a 
 representation of the three kingdoms of futurity, hell, purgatory, and 
 paradise. This masterpiece, incomparably the greatest of Italian 
 epics, is divided into one hundred cantos, and contains about four- 
 
138 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 teen thousand lines. It was so called because he conceived that there 
 were three kinds of style — the sublime, the middle, or comic, and 
 the lowest of all, which he designated the elegiac ; and he selected 
 the second of these for his poem. Even in this finest product of his 
 genius he supported the emperor and the Ghibeline party against 
 their enemies, the Guelfs. He depicted an inferno, in which were 
 placed those petty tyrants and chieftains who had filled Italy with 
 the horrors of civil war. He described a purgatory, in which those 
 men were punished who with too little heroism and firmness had 
 maintained the cause of justice and their country. He finally pic- 
 tured a paradise, in which those were rewarded who had devoted 
 themselves only to virtue, and had labored for the commonwealth 
 with strong hearts and magnanimous deeds. There he imagined a 
 throne to be raised, and a crown upon it, as a reward for that Henry 
 who he hoped would restore Italy to her ancient power and splendor. 
 This political aim of the ''Divina Commedia " was only incidental to 
 its moral and religious meanings. The work displays an immense 
 amount of theological as well as philosophical and historical knowl- 
 edge, and contains some ingenious scientific views, which were fully 
 developed and understood only after several centuries. It is for these 
 that Redi, Magalotti, and other scientific writers quoted from him in 
 preference to any other poet. To every succeeding age the poem 
 has been a mine of elegant quotations ; anjd in some of the descrip- 
 tions the reader feels transported by the force and solemnity of the 
 phrases, as if it were the work of a prophet. 
 
 The unfinished ''Convito" of Dante is called by Monti the first 
 sober and sound prose writing that Italian literature can boast, and 
 the first on moral philosophy. He abandoned the Latin language, 
 in which he had begun to write, for the Italian, which he raised from 
 comparative rudeness to the highest refinement, believing that its 
 perfection and embellishment would be of great advantage toward 
 uniting Italy. In his Latin treatise, '*De Vulgaro Eloquio," he 
 maintained that no one of the Italian dialects merited the name of 
 the Italian language, which was spoken in all the cities, without 
 belonging to any one in particular. Dante is among the very 
 few who have created the national poetry of their country. For, 
 notwithstanding the polished elegance of some earlier Italian verse, 
 it had been confined to amorous sentiments ; and it was yet to be 
 seen that the language could sustain, for a greater length than any 
 existing poem except the ''Iliad," the varied style of narration, 
 reasoning, and ornament. "Of all writers," says Hallam," he is 
 
THE POETR V OF DANTE. 1 39 
 
 the most unquestionably original. Virgil was, indeed, his inspiring 
 genius, as he declares himself, and as may sometimes be perceived in 
 his diction ; but his tone is so peculiar and characteristic that few 
 readers would be willing at first to acknowledge any resemblance. 
 He possessed in an extraordinary degree a command of language, 
 the abuse of which led to his obscurity and licentious innovations. 
 No poet ever excelled him in conciseness and in the rare talent of 
 finishing his pictures by a few bold touches ; the merit of Pindar in 
 his better hours. How prolix would the stories of Francesca or of 
 Ugolino have become in the hands of Ariosto, or of Tasso, or of 
 Ovid, or of Spenser!" 
 
 In the first part of the **Divina Commedia " this excellence is 
 strikingly exhibited. Dante, after forming his plan so as to give an 
 equal length to the three regions of his spiritual world, found him- 
 self unable to vary the images of hope or beatitude, and the * * Para- 
 dise" is a continual accumulation of descriptions, separately beauti- 
 ful, but uniform and tedious. While images derived from light and 
 music are the most pleasing, and enjoyed longer in poetry than any 
 others, yet their frequent repetition detracts from their sweetness, and 
 makes the intermixture of sharper flavors desirable. In this third 
 part of Dante's poem there are detached passages of great merit; and 
 even in the long theological discussions, which occupy the larger pro- 
 portion of its thirty-three cantos, it is impossible not to admire the 
 enunciation of abstract positions with remarkable energy, concise- 
 ness, and sometimes perspicuity. The first twelve cantos of the 
 ** Purgatory" are an almost continual flow of soft and brilliant 
 poetry. The last seven are also very splendid ; but there is some 
 heaviness in the intermediate parts. Fame has justly given the pref- 
 erence to the "Inferno," which displays throughout a more vigorous 
 and masterly conception ; but the mind of Dante can not be thor- 
 oughly appreciated without a perusal of his entire poem. 
 
 While he was so peculiarly happy in his power of expression, he 
 sometimes introduced coarse idioms, and employed a word to com- 
 plete his measure or his rhyme, even when the sense of the passage 
 did not warrant it. Indeed, as a writer, Dante had many faults ; but 
 he composed his poem in the infancy of a language which he assisted 
 in creating, and therefore could not know that words, which he bor- 
 rowed from the Latin and from the provincial dialects, would by 
 accident, or through the timidity of later writers, lose their place in 
 the classical idiom of Italy. The phrases which now appear bar- 
 barous, and are at least obsolete, might have been fixed by use in 
 
140 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 poetical language if Petrarch, Bembo, and a few more, had not aimed 
 at purity rathdr than copiousness. 
 
 Elevation of sentiment is the characteristic feature of this great 
 poem, and its compressed diction and the emphatic cadences of its 
 measure contribute largely to that result. The reader does not find 
 in Dante the amusing poet, but rather the master of moral wisdom, 
 who inspires the mind with reverence and awe. He studied closely 
 and seriously the truths of philosophy, and, learning in the severer 
 school of experience, made his poem a mirror of his heart and hfe, 
 the register of his solicitudes and sorrows, and of the speculations in 
 which he sought to escape their recollection. The banished magis- 
 trate of Florence, the disciple of Brunetto Latini, and the statesman 
 accustomed to trace the varying fluctuations of Italian faction, 
 always appears to the reader. While a prodigal display of erudition 
 seems inappropriate in an epic poem, yet in the '^Divina Commedia" 
 it is not objectionable. Except Milton, he was much the most learned 
 of all the great poets, and, relatively to his age, far more learned 
 than Milton. How sad that one so highly endowed by nature, and 
 profound through instruction, should be filled with a resentment 
 which exile and poverty rendered perpetually fresh. His heart was 
 naturally sensitive, and even tender; his poetry abounds with simple 
 comparisons from rural life, and the sincerity of his early passion for 
 Beatrice pierces through the veil of allegory which surrounds her. 
 "But the memory of his injuries," says Hallam, ''pursues him into 
 the immensity of eternal light ; and in the company of saints and 
 angels his unforgiving spirit darkens at the name of Florence." 
 
 Dante's Avonderful production was received in Italy with that 
 enthusiastic admiration which works of genius awaken in an age too 
 rude to listen to the envy of competitors or the fastidiousness of 
 critics. Almost every hbrary in that country contains manuscript 
 copies of the "Divine Comedy," and an account of those who 
 have abridged or commented upon it would swell to a volume. It 
 was thrice printed A. D. 1472, and at least nine times within the 
 fifteenth century. The city of Florence, A. D. 1373, with a magna- 
 nimity which almost redeems her original injustice, appointed a 
 public professor to read lectures upon Dante ; and it was hardly less 
 honorable to the poet's memory that the first person selected for this 
 office was Boccaccio. The universities of Pisa and Piacenza imitated 
 this example ; but, according to Tiraboschi, Dante's abstruse philos- 
 ophy was often more regarded in their chairs than his higher excel- 
 lences. Italy, indeed, and Europe had reason to be proud of such 
 
DANTE DENOUNCES THE PAPACY. 141 
 
 a master. Since Claudian there had been seen for nine hundred 
 years no considerable body of poetry, except the Spanish poem of 
 the **Cid," of which no one had heard beyond the Peninsula, that 
 could be said to pass mediocrity; and we must go much farther back 
 than Claudian to find any one capable of being compared with Dante. 
 His appearance made an epoch in the intellectual history of modern 
 nations, and dissipated the discouraging suspicion, which long ages 
 of lethargy tended to excite, that nature had' exhausted her fertility 
 in the great poets of Greece and Rome. "It was," says Hallam, 
 *'as if, at some of the ancient games, a stranger had appeared upon 
 the plain, and thrown his quoit among the marks of former casts, 
 which tradition had ascribed to the demigods." The admiration of 
 Dante gave a general impulse to the human mind, and inaugurated 
 that ''revival of letters " which prepared the way for the Reformation. 
 
 The "Divina Commedia" abounds with complaints of the corrup- 
 tions of the Roman Church, and Dante, with his great mind sur- 
 charged with the truths of the Bible, denounced the papacy, foretelling 
 retributions, and, like Daniel and St. John, picturing the doom of 
 anti-Christ. He was one of those poets in whom the vates and rhap- 
 sodist co-exist, and transfusing himself into the heart of Italy, from 
 which the Bible was shut out, he became the leaven that leavened 
 the whole lump, and finally created, in the nineteenth century, a 
 united Italy. In his ''Monarchia" he pleads, indeed, for a Utopian 
 empire, but he does so under the idea that by gathering all nations 
 under a single imperial scepter, the clashing interests of petty king- 
 doms would be removed, and the rise and perils of -wars be obviated. 
 Co-existing with this monarchy, which was to be an embodiment of 
 the reign of the ''Prince of Peace," Dante desired to see a universal 
 Church, united, indeed, under one chief, who must be thoroughly 
 spiritual, working in harmony with human government, and never 
 advancing beyond that limitation of Christ, "Render unto Caesar 
 the things that are Caesar's." Deep in the midnight of the papal 
 despotism, and long before the cock-crowing was heard from the little 
 hamlet of Lutterworth, in England, Dante struck the key-note of his 
 immortal song in the following words: "The Church of Rome, 
 mixing tzvo govenmients that ill assort, hath missed her footing, fallen 
 into the mire, and there herself and burden much defiled." 
 
 The poet appears to have had no faith in the infallibility of either 
 popes or general councils. While he freely bestows the keys on St. 
 Peter, and speaks honorably of his early successors, he expresses 
 himself doubtfully, in the second chapter of the " Inferno," concerning 
 
DANTE. 
 
PAPAL CORRUPTIONS EXPOSED. 1 43 
 
 Rome's claim to be the mistress of Christendom. By his advice, 
 *' Think on what succeeds," he did not encourage those who went into 
 purgatory, and reminded them that no power on earth could avail 
 them but what "riseth up from heart which lives in grace." In the 
 twenty-seventh chapter of the "Inferno" he reduces priestly absolu- 
 tion to a conditional declaration of pardon, asserting that ''no power 
 can the impenitent absolve ;" and in the twenty-fourth chapter of the 
 "Paradiso" he describes an imaginary interview between himself and 
 St. Peter, in which, at the request of the latter, he makes a confess- 
 ion of his faith. When asked by the apostle from what source he 
 derived his faith, he answers : ' * From that truth it cometh to me 
 rather, which is shed through Moses, the rapt prophets, and the 
 Psalms, the Gospel ; and what ye yourselves did write, when ye were 
 gifted of the Holy Ghost." When asked how he knew these to be 
 the Word of God, he does not reply by appealing to the, authority 
 of the Church or tradition ; he says, ' * The works that follow evidence 
 their truth." He then proceeds to consider the early triumphs of 
 Christianity as proofs of its divine character, and says to St. Peter : 
 ''E'en thou wentest forth in poverty and hunger to set the goodly 
 plant, that from the vine it once was is grown unsightly bramble." 
 It is impossible to pronounce a clearer and more decisive judgment 
 on one of the most prominent and important points of controversy 
 between Protestantism and Romanism than Dante has given in this 
 part of his poem. 
 
 In the "Divine Comedy" a simple adherence to the Bible, in 
 opposition to the human inventions and fables, then so prevalent, is 
 repeatedly inculculated. "E'en they," says the poet, "whose office 
 is to preach the Gospel let the Gospel sleep, and pass their own inven- 
 tions off instead." After having given some specimens of this, he 
 adds : ' ' The sheep meanwhile, poor, witless ones, return from pas- 
 ture fed with wind ; and what avails for their excuse, they do not see 
 their harm?" Dante has strikingly exhibited, in his pictorial style, 
 the indecent -buffoonery Avhich disgraced the pulpit in that age ; and 
 he treated the credulity of the people with almost as much severity 
 as the impudence and imposture of the priests and friars. He cele- 
 brated the virtues of St. Francis and St. Dominic, but pronounced a 
 severe censure on the degeneracy of their respective orders. He 
 is warm in his praises of the Virgin, but puts them into the 
 mouth of St. Bernard, the great opponent of those who ascribed to 
 her the honors due to Christ. His Jiell, as well as his purgatory, are 
 peopled with Romish clergy, from popes down to mendicant friars. 
 
144 ■ ^'^^L ^ ^'^^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 He did not hesitate to compare modern Rome to the idolatrous 
 Babylon of the Apocalypse. In describing the avarice and luxurious 
 living of the priests he sometimes seemed to be at a loss whether to 
 employ the language of ridicule or of indignation ; but in the twenty- 
 first chapter of the ''Paradiso" he combined them in a passage, 
 which he imagined to be the utterance of a cardinal, who, by a rare 
 fate, had escaped both purgatory and hell. These were not the miere 
 effusions of poetical exaggeration, but the honest declarations of a 
 noble spirit who was deeply impressed Avith the corruptions of the 
 Romish Church, of which he was a member. In his ' ' Monarchia " he 
 is even more severe on the abuses of the Church than in his poems ; 
 and that treatise, which so boldly assailed tradition, the main pillar on 
 which the papacy rests its claims to spiritual authority, has a place 
 in the ''Index Prohibitorius " of Rome, A. D. 1559. The influence 
 of Dante upon the religious, intellectual, and political destiny of Italy 
 can not be estimated. He conceived a poem which is admitted to 
 be one of the firtest creations of the human mind, charmed a people 
 yet groping in ignorance and barbarism by the sweetness, beauty, 
 and grandeur of his delineations, compelling them to listen to the 
 dictates of morality and Christianity, and also proclaimed the prin- 
 ciples which alone could deliver his country from the desolation of 
 civil wars. He closed his earthly career at Ravenna, A. D. 1321. 
 
 In the same year that Dante was expelled from Florence a 
 notary, named Petracco, was involved in a similar banishment. 
 Retiring to Arezzo, he there became the father of Francis Petrarch, 
 who was born A. D. 1304. This great man shared, of course, during 
 his early years, in the adverse fortunes of his family, which he was 
 reluctant to restore, according to his father's Avish, by the profession 
 of jurisprudence. He was strongly inclined by nature to polite letters 
 and poetry. These are seldom the fountains of wealth ; yet they 
 would, perhaps, have been to Petrarch a source of revenue, if his 
 temper could have borne the sacrifice of liberty for any Avorldly 
 acquisitions. At the city of Avignon, where his parents had latterly 
 resided, his graceful appearance and the reputation of his talents 
 attracted one of the Colonna family, then bishop of Lombes, in Gas- 
 cony. In him, and in other members of that great house, never so 
 illustrious as in the fourteenth century, he experienced the union of 
 patronage and friendship. This, however, was not confined to the 
 Colonnas. Unlike Dante, no poet was ever so liberally and sincerely 
 encouraged by the great. This social atmosphere had its perils, but 
 Petrarch was independent, and, to a considerable extent, free from 
 
PETRAR CH RECEIVES PAPAL FA VORS. 1 45 
 
 interested adulation. He praised his friends lavishly because he 
 loved them ardently; but he was easily offended, and possessed much 
 of that restlessness and jealousy of reputation which is, perhaps, the 
 inevitable failing of a poet. In a letter to Boccaccio he detracts 
 from the merit of some writer whose popularity had evidently filled 
 him with envy. It was believed by many that he refers to Dante, 
 but others assert that Zanobi Strata, a contemporary Florentine poet, 
 was meant ; but whichever was intended, the letter shows the irritable 
 humor of Petrarch. Yet, in his writings he declares that envy did 
 not rule him. But no matter how prominent his faults, they were 
 overlooked in a man who was the acknowledged boast of his age 
 and country. 
 
 Clement VI conferred one or two sinecure benefices upon Pe- 
 trarch, and would probably have raised him to a bishopric if he had 
 chosen to adopt the clerical profession. But he never took orders, 
 his ecclesiastical tonsure being a sufficient qualification for holding 
 canonries. The same pontiff even afforded him the post of apos- 
 tolical secretary, and this was repeated by Innocent VI. It was 
 either magnanimity or policy that caused Clement VI to favor the 
 poet, because the latter made the residence of the popes at Avignon 
 and the vices of their court the topic of invectives too well founded 
 to be despised. A letter written by him, and dropped in the con- 
 sistory at Rome, was read in the presence of Clement VI and his 
 whole court. It was inscribed, ''Leviathan, prince of darkness, to 
 Pope Clement, his vicar and the cardinals, his counselors and good 
 friends;" contained an enumeration of the crimes committed by the 
 prelates of the courts, for which he expressed his thanks, exhorting 
 them to continue in the same course, by which they would merit 
 more and more his favor ; and concluded with these words : ' ' Given 
 at the center of Hell, in the presence of a crowd of demons." In his 
 confidential letters Petrarch seems at a loss for words to express his 
 detestation of the sins of the papal court. "I am at present," says 
 he to a friend, *'in the western Babylon, than which the sun never 
 beheld any thing more hideous, and beside the fierce Rhone, where 
 the successors of the poor fishermen now live as kings. Here the 
 credulous crowd of Christians are caught in the name of Jesus, but 
 by the arts of Belial, and being stripped of their scales are fried to 
 fill the belly of gluttons. Go to India, or wherever you choose, but 
 avoid Babylon if you do not wish to go down alive to hell. What- 
 ever you have heard or read of as to perfidy and fraud, pride, inconti- 
 nence, and unbridled lust, impiety and wickedness of every kind. 
 
146 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 you will find here collected and heaped together. Rejoice and glory 
 in this, O Babylon, situated on the Rhone, that thou art the enemy 
 of the good, the friend of the bad, the asylum of wild beasts, the 
 whore that hast committed fornication with the kings of the earth ! 
 Thou art she whom the inspired evangelist saw in the Spirit ; yes, 
 thee and none but thee, he saw, 'sitting upon many waters.' See 
 thy dress — 'a woman clothed in purple and scarlet.' Dost thou 
 know thyself, Babylon ? Certainly, what follows agrees to thee and 
 none else — 'Mother of fornications and abominations of the earth.' 
 But hear the rest, 'I saw,' says the evangelist, *a Avoman drunk with 
 the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.' 
 Point out another to whom this is applicable but thee." 
 
 In this strain Petrarch continues his comment on the description 
 of the apocalyptic Babylon, and inveighs against the monstrous vices, 
 heresies, and false miracles of the papal court. Several of his Latin 
 eclogues are concealed satires on the popes and their clergy. In his 
 sonnets the satire is avowed, and the " Holy See" is characterized as 
 "impious Babylon," "avaricious Babylon," "the school of error," 
 "the temple of heresy," "the forge of fraud," and " the hell of the liv- 
 ing." The Abbe de Sade, in his copious "Memoirs of Petrarch," 
 complains that the Protestants "have in their declamations against 
 the Church of Rome abused certain secret letters which the poet 
 wrote to his friends, in which he opens his heart with a little too 
 much freedom." But the only way in which the Protestants have 
 "abused" them is by quoting them, which the abbe has prudently 
 avoided amidst his numerous extracts; and when he calls the letters 
 "secret" he seems to have forgotten that Petrarch himself had care- 
 fully collected them into a volume by themselves, intended for public 
 use, as appears from his preface, and his having suppressed the names 
 of the persons to whom they were written. The poet, in referring 
 to the residence of the papal court at Avignon, in France, where it 
 continued during his hfe-time, sometimes deplores its transference 
 from Rome under the name of a captivity. But the chief part of his 
 description is borrowed from that of Dante, which preceded that 
 event ; and he himself traces the sad change on the face of the Church 
 to a much higher period. Petrarch supported the project of Nicola 
 di Rienzi, which aimed at the deliverance of the city of Rome from 
 the temporal sovereignty of its bishop. Notwithstanding these bold 
 utterances against the corruptions of ttre Church and his support of 
 Rienzi, the poet was popular among the most respectable Italian 
 princes, Avho sought his society and friendship. Besides these were 
 
lAura de sade. 147 
 
 Robert, king of Naples, and Andrew Dandolo, the famous doge of 
 Venice, both of whom greatly admired his genius. He was also a 
 special fa'^orite among the Visconti, the Correggi of Parma, and the 
 Carrara family of Padua, under whose protection he spent the latter 
 years of his life. 
 
 But Petrarch's popularity Avas not confined to the nobility, but 
 extended to the humbler classes. A goldsmith of Bergamo, named 
 Henry Capra, an enthusiast in literature, earnestly requested the 
 honor of a visit from the poet. The house of this good tradesman 
 was full of representations of the distinguished writer and of inscrip- 
 tions with his name and arms. No expense had been spared in 
 copying all his works as they appeared. He Avas received by Capra 
 with a princely magnificence, lodged in an apartment hung with 
 purple, and a splendid bed on which no one before or after him was 
 permitted to sleep. According to the Abbe de Sade, who narrated 
 this incident, goldsmiths in those days were opulent persons ; yet the 
 friends of Petrarch endeavored to dissuade him from this visit as 
 derogatory to his own elevated station. 
 
 Some of the events of the poet's life were rather singular, particu- 
 larly his devotion to Laura de Sade. He first saw this beautiful 
 woman A. D. 1327, after he had fixed his residence at Vaucluse, 
 near Avignon, and immediately became infatuated. But though the 
 soft passion was expressed in the softest language of poetry, the 
 heart of the fair one was by no means moved. To divert the mel- 
 ancholy which ensued, he traveled through various countries and was 
 at last persuaded to enter into the service of Pope John XXH. But 
 Petrarch was unhappy, and abandoning the pleasures of curiosity and 
 of greatness fled to the shades of Vaucluse to converse with his 
 beloved Laura. He again devoted his hours to studious pursuits 
 and to the amatory efifusions of his muse. Twenty years of unre- 
 quited and almost unaspiring love were lightened by song, and, 
 though the idolized Laura did not heed his poetry, the Avorld did ; 
 and Rome, Paris, and Naples, at the same moment, invited him to 
 come and receive the poetical crown. Rome prevailed, and in that 
 famed seat of empire and of genius Petrarch's broAV was entwined 
 with the resplendent honor, A. D. 1341. His solemn coronation, as 
 poet laureate was the most conspicuous testimony of public esteem 
 he had received; but it is a singular fact that, previous to the cere- 
 mony, he had not composed any remarkable works entitling him to< 
 such distinction. 
 
 He was occasionally drawn from his favorite residence on public 
 
 II 
 
148 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 business, and it was during an absence, A. D. 1348, that he was 
 informed of Laura's death, which affected him with the deepest gloom 
 and changed his affection into an intenser feehng, a sort of celestial 
 adoration. The poet's purity in this romantic affair has been main- 
 tained by some and denied by others, and in the midst of so many 
 conflicting opinions it is difficult to determine the question. It is 
 generally believed that before the time of his first accidental meeting 
 with her, Laura was united in marriage with another, probably 
 Hugues de Sade, a fact which, besides some more particular evi- 
 dence, appears deducible from the whole tenor of Petrarch's poetry. 
 Unquestionably such a passion was not innocent, and can not be 
 defended or palliated, though the manners of that age were not of 
 the highest moral type. Like other great and good men, the poet 
 had an infirmity of character which induced him both to obey and to 
 justify the emotions of his heart. The lady, too, concerning whose 
 virtue and prudence a difference of opinion exists, appears to have 
 tempered the light and shadow of her countenance so as to preserve 
 her admirer from despair, and consequently to prolong his sufferings 
 and servitude. 
 
 There was combined in the moral character of Petrarch all the 
 elements of a great poet, the emotions of love and friendship, of 
 glory, of patriotism, and of religion. To these impulses he gave full 
 ■rein, and nearly every page of his writings shows traces of these dis- 
 positions or affections. But he possessed a noble delicacy and peculiar 
 tenderness of heart, which made him distinctively the poet of love 
 and gave the greatest celebrity to his name. As the father of Italian 
 lyric he treated all the passions, hopes, and memories of love. With 
 equal power and pathos he lamented the evils of his country and 
 preached peace and union. His various lyrical pieces, sonnets, songs, 
 and triumphs abound in favorite quotations, and his language was so 
 choice that every word 'employed by him is said to have remained in 
 use from that time to the present. In this department he surpassed 
 all his predecessors and has been equaled by none of his numerous 
 imitators. His name also deserves to be revered by philosophers, 
 archaeologists, political orators, and all men who honor and cherish 
 learning and patriotism. Both by precept and example he labored 
 to deliver his native land from intestine discords and to elevate it to 
 a worthier life. His principal philosophical treatises are in Latin. In 
 one of them he consoles a friend suffering under calamities ; in another 
 he defends a life of solitude for purposes of study, introducing illus- 
 trious examples from the ancients and the Fathers of the Church ; in 
 
PETRARCH'S STYLE. 149 
 
 a dialogue on the contempt of the world he makes fine reflections on 
 the object of life and the destiny of man ; and in another he ridicules 
 the conceit of some young men who, on a visit to him, had taken 
 pains to display their skill in disputation. His various Latin treat- 
 ises and poems demonstrate his erudition, justness of philosophical 
 thought, and exquisite skill in Latin composition. 
 
 Among the general excellences of Petrarch's writings are his 
 command over the music of his native language, his correctness of 
 style, his elegance of diction, improved by the constant study of 
 Virgil, and, far above all, that tone of pure and melancholy sentiment 
 which has something in it unearthly, and forms a striking contrast to 
 the amatory poems of antiquity. Most of these are either licentious 
 or uninteresting, and those of Catullus, a man endowed by nature 
 with deep and serious sensibility, and a poet of greater and more 
 varied genius than Petrarch, are contaminated, above all the rest, 
 with the most degrading sentiments. It is worthy of remark that 
 nothing gross or unchaste can be found in the writings of the poet of 
 Vaucluse, whose strains, diffused and admired as they have been, 
 impart to the imaginations of youth an elevation and refinement 
 which criticism can not estimate. ''The great defect of Petrarch," 
 says Hallam, ''was his want of strong original conception, which 
 prevented him from throwing off the affected and overstrained manner 
 of the Provencal troubadours and of the earlier Italian poets. Among 
 his poems the Triumphs afe perhaps superior to the Odes, as the 
 latter are to the Sonnets; and of the latter those written subsequently 
 to the death of Laura are in general the best. But that constrained 
 and laborious measure can not equal the graceful flow of the canzone 
 or the vigorous compression of the terza rhna. The Triumphs have 
 also a claim to superiority as the only poetical composition of Petrarch 
 that extends to any considerable length. They are in some degree, 
 perhaps, an imitation of the dramatic Mysteries, and form at least the 
 earliest specimens of a kind of poetry not uncommon in later times, 
 wherein real and allegorical personages are intermingled in a masque, 
 or scenic representation." 
 
 Petrarch lived in different cities, honored as a poet by various 
 courts, until he was found dead in his library with his head resting 
 on a book, and was said to have passed from the serenity of study 
 to that of death, A. D. 1374, at the age of seventy. He will ever 
 be regarded as one of the restorers of classical learning, and more 
 perhaps than any other person as the father of modern poetry. He 
 displayed all the powers of genius and poetical inspiration, not only 
 
i;o 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 in his own native language, but also in Latin. His sonnets are 
 esteemed the sweetest, most elegant, and most highly finished verses 
 ever written in Italian; and his songs possess uncommon beauty and 
 
 grace, indicating that the poet had a most charming fancy. He 
 deserves credit, not only for his own writings and scholarship, but 
 also for his services in promoting the revival of learning in Italy; and 
 
BO CCA CCia S WRITINGS. 1 5 1 
 
 the aim of his whole hfe may be said to have been to seek to 
 accompHsh the true mission of hterature. 
 
 A less versatile author was Giovanni Boccaccio, who was born, 
 A. D. 1313, at Certaldo, in Tuscany. He abandoned successively com- 
 merce and law for literature, studied with ardor the "Divina Comme- 
 dia," and cherished the friendship of Petrarch, from whom he received 
 early instruction, and to whom he looked as a patron. After spend- 
 ing- some time abroad he returned to his native village, and devoted 
 the remainder of his days to literary pursuits. A prose romance and 
 an epical poem were his earliest compositions, and were written to 
 please, and indirectly to praise, a lady of whom he was enamored. 
 The poem, ''La Teseide, " is in the ottava nma, or strophe of eight 
 verses, of which he has therefore been called the inventor, but which 
 was previously known in Sicily. He wrote several works in Latin, 
 and made an expensive collection of Greek manuscripts, but is chiefly 
 known as the author of the " Decamerone," and thereby as the father 
 of Italian prose. The ' ' Decamerone, " or ten days, is so-called because 
 each of the ten persons introduced into it — seven ladies and three 
 young men — relates ten stories each day, one hundred stories being 
 thus told in ten days. The scene is a villa in the vicinity of Florence, 
 whither they had fled from the plague, A. D. 1348, and the descrip- 
 tion of that pestilence, with which the work opens, is admired as a 
 masterpiece of eloquence. Its avowed aim was only to furnish enter- 
 taining narratives, but its real object seems to have been to present 
 a picture of the whole human family, and to encourage virtue by 
 commendation and to correct vice by ridicule. The style of the 
 romance varies with wonderful ease as the occasion requires, and is 
 in turn grave and elevated, most jocose or deeply pathetic, tragic, 
 comic, or satirical. While it touches upon whatever in human affairs 
 may delight or instruct, its beauty of composition is sometimes 
 expended upon the most indelicate subjects. 
 
 Despite the unchaste blemishes in it, the general tone of this 
 elegantly written story is wholesome. The poems of Boccaccio are 
 not equal to those of Petrarch, but his prose is unrivaled for its sim- 
 plicity and grace. He possessed uncommon learning, and shares with 
 Dante, Petrarch, and a few others the honor of contributing to the 
 revival of letters in Europe. His constitution was weakened by his 
 close application to study, and he died, A. D. 1375. 
 
1 5 2 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 WARS OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 THE republics of Italy, in the early part of the fifteenth century, 
 were disturbed by \^'ars carried on by rival governors. The 
 death of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, A. D. 1404, was followed by a 
 remarkable crisis in Lombardy. His two sons, Giovanni Maria and 
 Filippo Maria, both young, were placed under the care of a mother 
 who was not competent to train them for usefulness. Through her 
 misconduct, and the selfish ambition of some military leaders, who 
 had commanded Gian Galeazzo's mercenaries, that extensive domin- 
 ion was soon broken into fragments. Bergamo, Como, Lodi, Cre- 
 mona, and other cities, revolted, submitting themselves in general to 
 the families of their former princes, the earlier race of usurpers, who 
 had for nearly a century been crushed by the Visconti. A Guelf 
 faction revived, after the name had long been proscribed in Lombardy. 
 
 Francesco de Carrara, lord of Padua, availed himself of this revo- 
 lution, and seized Verona, at the same time menacing all the cities 
 beyond the Adige. No family was so odious to the Venetians as 
 that of Carrara, and they gladly made an alliance with the lord of 
 Mantua against Padua, their old enemy. Both Padua and Verona 
 were reduced, and, after surrendering the latter city, Francesco de 
 Carrara, with his two sons, was sent to Venice, where all three were 
 put to death by order of the ' ' Council of Ten, " a cruelty perfectly char- 
 acteristic of that government. This w^ar placed Venice in possession 
 of Treviso, Feltro, Verona, Vicenza, and Padua, and, by thus giving 
 her a considerable territory on the main-land, raised her to the dig- 
 nity of a leading Italian state. Notwithstanding the deranged con- 
 dition of the Milanese, no further attempts were made by the senate 
 of Venice for twenty years. They had not yet acquired that decided 
 love of war and conquest which soon began to influence them against 
 all the rules of their ancient policy. Some cautious statesmen of the 
 old school still remained to check ambitious designs. 
 
 Sanuto has preserved an interesting account of the wealth and 
 commerce of Venice in those days. The doge, Mocenigo, is repre- 
 sented as dissuading his country, with his dying words, from under- 
 taking a war against Milan, declaring that peace was more profitable. 
 
WEALTH OF VENICE, 
 
 153 
 
 He stated that three thousand merchant-ships were employed in car- 
 rying on tne trade of the repubHc ; and that forty-three galleys and 
 three hundred smaller vessels, manned by nineteen thousand sailors, 
 constituted its naval power. Ten millions of ducats were invested in 
 
 THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS. 
 
 mercantile business in different parts of the world, and the annual 
 profits to the traders from this amount of capital was four millions 
 of ducats. From the Milanese dominions alone the republic obtained 
 
1 54 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 one million of ducats in coin, and the value of almost a million 
 more in cloths — the profit upon this traffic being about six hundred 
 thousand ducats. Mocenigo reminded the Venetians that, having 
 acquired this great wealth, they would become the masters of all the 
 gold in Christendom, but warned them that unjust wars would lead 
 infallibly to ruin. *'You have many -among you," he said, "men 
 of probity and experience ; choose one of these to succeed me ; but 
 beware of Francesco Foscari. If he is doge you will soon have war, 
 and war will bring poverty and loss of honor." 
 
 Mocenigo died, and Foscari became doge. The prophecies of 
 his predecessor Avere neglected ; and it can not Avholly be affirmed 
 that they were fulfilled. Yet Venice is described by a writer, thirty 
 years later, as somewhat impaired in opulence by her long warfare 
 with the dukes of Milan. The latter recovered a great part of their 
 dominions as rapidly as they had lost them. Giovanni Maria, the 
 elder^ brother, a monster of guilt, even among the Visconti, having 
 been assassinated, Filippo Maria assumed the government of Milan 
 and Padua, almost his only possession. He was weak and unwarlike 
 himself; but he had the good fortune to employ Carmagnola, one of 
 the greatest generals of that military age. Most of the revolted 
 cities had become tired of their new masters ; and Carmagnola, by 
 his eminent talents and activity, made this disaffection contribute to 
 the welfare of the house of Visconti, which soon reassumed its former 
 ascendancy from the Sessia to the Adige. It might have obtained 
 greater conquests if Filippo Maria had not rashly and ungratefully 
 offended Carmagnola, who retired to Venice, and inflamed the war- 
 like disposition which the Florentines and the duke of Savoy had 
 already excited. The Venetians had previously gained some impor- 
 tant, advantages in another quarter by reducing the country of Friuli, 
 with part of Istria, which for many centuries had depended on the 
 temporal authority of a neighboring prelate — the patriarch of Aqui- 
 leia. They entered into this new alliance, which was in the end 
 very profitable to the republic. Carmagnola commanded their armies, 
 and in two years (A. D. 1426) Venice acquired Brescia and Bergamo, 
 and extended her boundary to the river Adda, which she was des- 
 tined never to pass. 
 
 Florence, the most illustrious and fortunate of Italian republics, 
 rapidly descended from her rank among free commonwealths, though 
 shining with unusual luster. Ever since the insurrection, A. D. 1382, 
 she had been ruled by an oligarchy, composed of the old Guelfic 
 famihes and the new '' popolani grossi,'" or rich men of the people. 
 
THE G O VERNMENT OF FL ORENCE. 1 5 5 
 
 During these fifty years this ancient aristocracy, or party of the 
 Albizzi, suppressed every attempt at rebeUion, and banished the prin- 
 cipal leaders. The populace and inferior artisans were discouraged 
 by these failures, and their rulers, rendered still more tyrannical, did 
 not hesitate to violate the ancient constitution of the republic. They 
 assembled a parliament, A. D. 1393, after a partial movement in 
 behalf of the defeated faction, and established what was technically 
 called at Florence a ''Balia," composed of a considerable number of 
 citizens, to whom was delegated, for a limited time, a certain degree 
 of sovereignty, having the authority during their dictatorship to ban- 
 ish suspected individuals and to name the magistrates instead of 
 drawing them by lot. This was a dangerous precedent, and at length 
 resulted fatally to themselves and to the freedom of their country. 
 A council of two hundred, consisting only of those who had enjoyed 
 some of the higher offices within the past thirty years, was formed, 
 A. D, 141 1, and through this every proposition must pass before it 
 could be submitted to the two legislative councils. It was evident 
 that the Albizzi were jealous of the people, and if they had continued 
 to govern the republic of Florence more innovations would have been 
 introduced until the constitution would have become, in legal form 
 and substance, an instrument entirely favorable to the aristocracy. 
 
 But while crushing with great severity their adversaries, the ruling 
 party did not disturb the Medici family, whose prudence, wealth, and 
 popularity had saved them from persecution. They were among the 
 most prominent of the new or plebeian nobility, and from the first 
 years of the fourteenth century their name often occurs in the domes- 
 tic and military annals of Florence. Salvestro de Medici was partially 
 implicated in the democratic revolution that occurred in the latter 
 part of the fourteenth century; but, the Guelf party having revived, 
 he Avas not proscribed, though some of his family were afterward 
 banished. During the long period of depression, through which the 
 popular faction passed, they always regarded the house of Medici as 
 their consolation and their hope. The leader of the opposition was 
 a rich merchant named Cosmo de Medici, Avhose genial and affable 
 disposition made him popular in Florence. Albizzi disliked this 
 wealthy and generous citizen, and succeeded in procuring his banish- 
 ment, A. D. 1433; but the next year Cosmo was recalled by the 
 Florentines, welcomed with great enthusiasm, and hailed as the 
 ** Father of his Country." The Medici soon placed themselves at 
 the head of the state, and secured a power which they never afterward 
 entirely lost. Neither Cosmo nor his successors assumed any partic- 
 
1 56 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ular title. ''Their power was of a different kind from that of the 
 lords or tyrants, either in old Greece or in other cities of Italy. Nor 
 was it such a power as that of Pericles at Athens, as it passed on from 
 father to son. It was more like the power of Augustus and the other 
 Roman emperors who respected the forms of the commonwealth." 
 
 The party opposed to Cosmo fled to Milan and induced the duke, 
 Filippo Maria Visconti, who was already at war with Pope Eugenius 
 IV, to attack Florence. The pope sought refuge in the latter city, 
 and was sustained by both the Florentines and Venetians. The duke 
 of Milan was defeated, and Francesco Sforza, the papal general, was 
 acknowledged by the Milanese as their ruler, simply because they 
 could not prevent it. The middle of the century saw Italy divided 
 among four great temporal powers — the kingdom of Naples, the 
 duchy of Milan, and the republics of Venice and Florence. A fifth 
 power — the papacy — now began to assume its true place among the 
 Italian states. It was weakened, however, by the "Great Schism," 
 which continued until A. D. 1416. The successor of Boniface IX 
 was Innocent VII, who commenced to reign, A. D. 1404. After his 
 removal by death, A. D. 1406, Gregory XII, was elected by the 
 Roman faction. Benedict XIII, Avho ruled at Avignon, fled from 
 France, and the cardinals of both parties held a council at Pisa, on 
 the twenty-fifth of March, A. D. 1409, in order to heal the divisions 
 of the Church. Alexander V was chosen as a compromise; but Ihe 
 followers of Benedict and Gregory would not accept him, and hence 
 there were three rival pontiffs. They were deposed, however, by the 
 Council of Constance, A. D. 141 6, and Martin V became the true 
 pope, whom all acknowledged. He was followed by Eugenius IV, 
 A. D. 1 43 1, who reigned sixteen years. His successor, Nicholas V, 
 was one of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs. He built the mag- 
 nificent palace of the Vatican, and adorned Rome with splendid 
 churches. By his efforts the peace of Lodi (A. D. 1454), between 
 Venice, Milan, and Naples, was secured. After his death (A. D. 
 1458), Pius II mounted the papal throne, and occupied it six years. 
 Cosmo de Medici died, A. D. 1464, leaving his son, Pietro, to govern 
 Florence. The latter reigned until A. D. 1469, and then joined his 
 illustrious father in the realm of the departed. His sons, Lorenzo 
 and Giuliano, became his successors; but the former soon obtained 
 the entire control, which he held until A. D. 1492. 
 
SAVONAROLA. 157 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 SA VONAROLA—MICHAEL ANGELO—RAPHAEL. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of the fifteenth century, or A. D. 1452, when 
 the papal throne was occupied by a man of the most profli- 
 gate character, and the spirit of freedom had almost departed from 
 the Italian republics, the birth of Girolamo Savonarola occurred at 
 Ferrara. He was descended from an illustrious family, originally 
 belonging to Padua, and at an early age distinguished himself in 
 his studies. It is said that from his childhood he was an enthu- 
 siast in religious matters, and directed his attention chiefly to the- 
 ology. His parents desired that he should become a physician, 
 but he resolved to accept the monastic life, and in the twenty- third 
 year of his age entered the Dominican convent at Bologna, as some 
 have asserted, contrary to the wishes of his father. The superiors of 
 the order, observing his deep piety and brilliant talents, appointed 
 him to read lectures on philosophy. He won great distinction in 
 the academical chair; but his first efforts as a pulpit orator were 
 unpromising. A harsh and feeble voice and an ungraceful and un- 
 pleasant address were defects that detracted from his efficiency, and 
 he resolved to conquer them. Encouraged by the example of the 
 renowned Athenian orator, he began, with the same enthusiastic per- 
 severance, to overcome these obstacles. In A. D. 1488, after six 
 years of earnest effort, he succeeded, and both surprised and delighted 
 his former hearers by addressing them with a voice deep-toned and 
 well modulated, accompanied with a remarkable gracefulness of action. 
 He had now become a popular orator and a profound scholar. 
 
 Savonarola, fearing that his eloquence would give him a popularity 
 which might diminish his piety, determined to return to his cloister, 
 and redouble his monastic austerities. In a short time he was again 
 within the convent walls, renewing his self-denial and his penances 
 with increased rigor, and prosecuting his studies, especially those of 
 theology and metaphysics, with new zeal. It has been said that this 
 event in his history first suggested to him the idea of his divine mis- 
 sion. In A. D. 1484 he commenced to preach on the Book of 
 Revelation at Brescia, and in a series of discourses which he delivered 
 he attacked the vices and luxury of the inhabitants, and boldly de- 
 
158 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 LORENZO DE MEDICI. 
 
 clared to them that the walls of their city would one day be deluged 
 with blood as a divine punishment for their sins. His followers 
 believed that this threatening was accomplished, and the prediction 
 remarkably fulfilled two years after his death, when Brescia was taken 
 and sacked by the French. 
 
 In A. D. 1489 Savonarola went to Florence, and resided in the 
 Convent of St. Mark, which belonged to his order. Lorenzo de 
 Medici admired his talents, and, knowing that he exerted a great 
 
REFORMS A CCOMPLISHED. 1 5 9 
 
 influence over the public mind, endeavored to attach him to his 
 cause; but the monk refused all the offers presented to him, and 
 would not even visit the man Avhom he regarded as the usurper and 
 destroyer of his country's liberties. Lorenzo had so much confidence 
 in his piety that, when on his dying bed, he sent for him. Savon- 
 arola this time obeyed the summons, and went to the ducal palace. 
 He propounded to the dying man three very important questions: 
 Whether he had entire confidence in the mercy of God? Whether 
 he was willing to make restitution of all the goods which he had pro- 
 cured unlawfully? And whether he was prepared to restore the 
 Florentine republic to its former libei'ty? To the first two Lorenzo 
 replied in the affirmative ; but, as to the third, he was silent. Where- 
 upon Savonarola left him without administering the rite of absolution. 
 The accuracy of this statement is disputed by Roscoe in his ''Life 
 of Lorenzo de Medici," but it is affirmed by the impartial Sismondi 
 in his admirable "History of the Italian RepubUcs." The latter 
 had access to all the authorities, and is therefore far more accurate 
 and fair than the former writer, who has done great injustice to 
 Savonarola. 
 
 During the government of Pietro, the proud and luxurious succes- 
 sor of Lorenzo, the influence of Savonarola increased, and his enthu- 
 siasm became more intense as his popularity advanced. Admiring 
 thousands were attracted by his fervid eloquence to every church in 
 which he preached, and he addressed them in the name of Heaven 
 concerning the calamities that were approaching. With all the power 
 of his vivid Italian imagination he described the immorality and 
 luxury which prevailed among all classes of the citizens, the corrup- 
 tions of the prelates, the disorders of the Church, the troubles of the 
 state, and the tyranny of its rulers. He announced to the people the 
 coming judgments of God, and summoned them to speedy repentance. 
 His denunciations produced a great effect, because, at that time, 
 there were rumors of the invasions of Italy by Charles VIII, of 
 France, whom Savonarola declared to be the monarch employed by 
 Providence to punish the inhabitants for their vices, to introduce a 
 salutary reform into the Church, and to deliver the country from 
 political bondage. An extraordinary reformation followed the preach- 
 ing of this stern and faithful monk. The people of Florence were 
 strongly influenced by his exhortations; luxury was repressed, the 
 women were governed in their dress by the rules of modesty, general 
 immorality was greatly diminished, and a change of manners became 
 visible over the whole city. After the expulsion of the Medici, 
 
l6o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Savonarola gave all the weight of his authority to those who estab- 
 lished a popular government in Florence, and he had the satisfaction 
 of beholding it rise on the ruins of the despotic and ambitious house 
 of the Medici. His influence was all in favor of the re-establishment 
 of the republic, and his advice was a controlling power in its counsels. 
 But his greatest efforts were directed to that moral reform which he 
 regarded as absolutely necessary to the perpetuity of the new gov- 
 ernment as to individual happiness and salvation. 
 
 It was evident that a crisis was rapidly approaching. Savonarola 
 had many enemies in Florence among the Franciscans, the Augustin- 
 ians, the secret adherents of the house of Medici, and the dissolute 
 portion of the citizens, who impatiently submitted to the freedom of 
 his reproofs and the severity of the laws which he had procured. 
 These various parties devised different means to destroy his influence, 
 and finally succeeded by accusing him of disloyalty to the pope. 
 Savonarola had preached that reform should commence with the head 
 of the Church; and in his invectives he had not spared the then 
 reigning pontiff, the infamous Borgia, Alexander VI. The Florentine 
 monk publicly denounced the crimes which, in A. D. 1497, disgraced 
 the family of the pope and scandalized all Italy. Alexander feared 
 that these reforms introduced into Florence would make the corrup- 
 tions at the court of Rome appear more prominent, and, moved also 
 by personal resentment, he accused Savonarola of heresy, interdicted 
 him from preaching, and finally hurled a bull of excommunication at 
 him. The Florentine republic was likewise threatened if it permitted 
 the heretic to speak, and, at the request of the senate, he desisted 
 for some time from the exercise of his office, seeking to pacify the 
 irritated pontiff But Savonarola's courage soon returned, and, desir- 
 ing to manifest his disregard for the papal tribunal, he came forth 
 from his cloister, appeared in public, and declared that the unjust 
 sentence of the pope was invalid. He denounced him as an usurper, 
 destitute of piety, and, therefore, unworthy to be a Christian bishop. 
 Asserting that the Church had no human head, the brave monk 
 announced that he was absolved, by divine command, from all obe- 
 dience to the corrupt court of Rome. After celebrating mass he 
 conducted a solemn procession round the convent, and then preached 
 in the cathedral to greater crowds than ever. 
 
 It required no gift of prophecy to foretell the fate of Savonarola. 
 Defeated in every attempt to silence the object of his hatred, Alex- 
 ander VI resolved to send Francesco de Pouille, a Franciscan and a 
 preacher of the Minor Observantines, to Florence. This deputy from 
 
THE FIER V TRIAL. 1 6 1 
 
 Rome publicly denounced the monk as a hereslarch, who had seduced 
 the republic, and threatened the government with immediate interdic- 
 tion and die confiscation of the property of its merchants in foreign 
 countries unless the senate should prevent him from preaching any 
 more. The Florentines were alarmed at the prospect of a conflict 
 with the pope, and, despairing of the help of France, yielded to 
 Alexander, and Savonarola was silenced. Pursuing his advantage, 
 Pouille next declared from the pulpit that he understood that the 
 heresiarch desired to confirm his false doctrines by a miracle. He 
 therefore challenged him to submit the truth to the test of fire, and 
 offered to walk with him through the flames. Savonarola, beheving 
 that this was a snare devised by his enemies, declined the fiery con- 
 test; but Bonvicini, one of his disciples, accepted the challenge. 
 Pouille refused to go through the proposed ordeal with any one 
 except the heresiarch himself, and another Franciscan, named Ron- 
 dinelli, appeared as his substitute. The whole city, as well as the 
 government, made preparations for the strange aflair. The pope 
 wrote to the Franciscans of Florence, commending their zeal for the 
 honor of the ''Holy See," and declaring that the memory of the 
 glorious event would be imperishable. 
 
 On the 7th of April, A. D. 1498, the combustibles being pre- 
 pared, the champions appeared on the spot, surrounded by an 
 immense crowd of eager spectators, consisting of the inhabitants of 
 the city and adjoining territories. The religious ceremonies had been 
 performed, the flames were already kindled, and the multitude waited 
 in breathless anxiety; but the Franciscans began to waver and sug- 
 gest difficulties. First, they urged that the Dominican, Bonvicini, 
 might be an enchanter, and therefore insisted that he should be 
 divested of his raiment and clothed with a suit of their own selection. 
 This demand having been complied with, they then objected to their 
 opponent taking the host along with him, considering it impious to 
 expose the body of Christ to the risk of being consumed by the flames. 
 But on this point Savonarola was inflexible, and declared that it 
 was unreasonable to deprive his friend of that which was the comfort 
 of all Christians in their trial and the pledge of their safety. There 
 was a protracted dispute on this point, which continued to a late 
 hour ; and while it was yet undecided, a violent and unexpected 
 shower of rain came on and extinguished the fire. The senate then 
 dismissed the assembly to the satisfaction, it may be presumed, of 
 both parties. But the multitude were disappointed. Their curiosity 
 had been excited to the highest point, but it was now converted into 
 
1 62 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 indignation and ridicule. They were ignorant of the real ground of 
 dispute between the monks, which had prevented the spectacle ; 
 but, hearing that Savonarola had refused to comply with some con- 
 dition required by the opposite party, the fickle, dissatisfied crowd 
 insulted him. On reaching his convent he addressed the people, and 
 explained the w^iole affair. An unfavorable impression, however, 
 had already been made upon their minds, and he discovered that his 
 influence over the masses was gone. Oh the following day he 
 preached with great unction his last sermon, and, at its close, as if 
 foreseeing his approaching doom, took farewell of his audience, and 
 announced himself ready to sacrifice his life for the cause of Christ. 
 The enemies of Savonarola, taking advantage of the prevailing 
 dissatisfaction, irritated the public mind against him, by calling him a 
 false prophet, who, at the moment of danger, declined to give the 
 proof of his mission. Having collected in the cathedral church that 
 same night, they raised the cry during divine service, "to arms! to 
 St. Marc !" Instantly an infuriated mob rushed with hatchets and 
 lighted torches to the convent, forced open its gates, and seizing 
 Savonarola and two other monks, conducted them to prison amidst 
 hisults and threatenings. While the excitement was intense, the 
 conspirators led the mob through the city, killed many of the popular 
 party, and compelled others to abdicate their places, which were 
 immediately filled with persons belonging to the libertine faction. 
 The institution of the carnival and the renewal of the sports that had 
 been suppressed for several years indicated that the government 
 had passed into different hands. A sudden revolution had indeed 
 occurred, the republic was overthrown, and the Medici restored. 
 The insurgents immediately sent a courier to the pope to inform him 
 of the imprisonment of Savonarola. Alexander demanded that he 
 and his companions should be brought to Rome and tried, and, in 
 order to obtain the request, promised to grant indulgences to the people 
 of Florence, with authority to reconcile to the Church all who had in- 
 curred excommunication by listening to the sermons of the heretical 
 monk. The senate insisted, however, that the trial should be con- 
 ducted in Florence, and requested the pope to send two ecclesiastical 
 judges from Rome to take charge of it. On their arrival the process 
 commenced with the torture, and Savonarola, having a feeble constitu- 
 tion, which had been further weakened by labors and austerities, could 
 not long endure the rack. He was, therefore, forced to acknowledge 
 that his prophecies were only simple conjectures ; but when his depo- 
 sition was afterwards read to him, he declared that it was extorted 
 
THE PA TRIO T MAR TYR. 1 63 
 
 by bodily agony, and maintained anew the truth of his revelations 
 and of the doctrines he had preached. A second trial of the devoted 
 monk, of which Roscoe has given an incorrect account, resulted as 
 before, and the tribunal, finding them still heretical, condemned 
 Savonarola and his two companions to the flames. He spent the 
 interval in composing a commentary on the fifty-first Psalm, which, 
 in lecturing on the Psalter, he had passed by, saying he would reserve 
 it for his own calamity. On the 23d of May, A. D. 1498, a pile 
 of fagots was erected on the spot where the voluntary trial by fire 
 was to have occurred a few weeks before ; and the monks, after hav- 
 ing been degraded, were bound to the stake. When the presid- 
 ing bishop declared them separated from the Church, Savonarola 
 exclaimed, ''From the militant!" intimating that they were about to 
 enter the Church triumphant. He spoke no more. The fire was 
 immediately applied to the pile by one of his enemies, who took 
 upon him the office of the executioner, and soon the bodies of the 
 three monks were reduced to ashes, which, by order of the magis- 
 trates, were gathered up and thrown into the Arno. Some relics 
 were preserved by the soldiers, who guarded the place, and are still 
 shown at Florence for the adoration of the devout. 
 
 There are conflicting opinions concerning the character of Savon- 
 arola. The Roman Catholic historians, without exception, and the 
 ardent admirers of the house of Medici, have represented him as a 
 turbulent, ambitious fanatic and demagogue, who endeavored to excite 
 the people against their civil and ecclesiastical rulers, by claiming to 
 possess the gift of prophecy, and to have immediate intercourse with 
 heaven. These interested advocates of the Romish Church pro- 
 nounced him a vile impostor, who pretended to have supernatural 
 powers, so that he could humble and rule his superiors. On the 
 other hand, his name has been enrolled among the bold witnesses 
 for the truth before the Reformation, and some have called him the 
 Luther of Italy, a glorious reformer and martyr. It is evident that 
 a true estimate of his character can not be obtained by adopt- 
 ing either of these representations. The best and most inteUigent 
 men of his age testify to his integrity, sanctity, and patriotism ; but 
 there is no satisfactory evidence that he was an Italian Luther. 
 Indeed, it is not certain that he taught the doctrines concerning justi- 
 fication, the communion under both kinds, and others which were 
 afterwards called Protestant. He labored to secure a thorough 
 reformation of the manners of the people and of the clergy, rather 
 than of the doctrines and ritual of the Church. While he believed 
 
 12 
 
1 64 ITAL Y STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that the profligate court of Rome was the fountain whence flowed the 
 corruptions which prevailed in the community, yet he did not seem 
 to understand the true method of securing a radical reform in society. 
 Instead of purifying the fountain by seeking a change in the erro- 
 neous doctrines and practices of the Romish Church, he endeavored 
 to cleanse the streams. It must be admitted that he was an earnest 
 and, to some extent, a successful representative of those of his 
 countrymen who, as Christians, lamented the corrupt condition of the 
 Church, and as citizens resisted the encroachments made on their 
 politlcal rights. The fervor of his zeal led him into extravagance, 
 and, in prosecuting his plans of reform, he sometimes yielded to the 
 illusions of an overheated imagination, and deluded himself by believ- 
 ing that he possessed supernatural gifts. This was probably one of 
 the effects of his monastic life. But, admitting all this, there is abun- 
 dant evidence that he was a good man, and sincerely desired to 
 remedy the glaring evils of his times. Certainly there were few 
 men of the fifteenth century to be compared with him, either as a 
 Christian or patriot. 1 
 
 While Italy produced in this century a Savonarola to reform 
 Church and state, she also gave to the world, at the same period, a 
 Michael Angelo and a Raphael Sanzio, to purify and elevate art. 
 The former was born near Florence, A. D. 1474. His great genius 
 showed itself in his earliest childhood. The ruler of Tuscany, 
 Lorenzo de Medici, a liberal patron of the arts, was so pleased with 
 the boy's simple manners, as well as by his devotion to art, that he 
 invited him to reside entirely in his house, where he remained three 
 years, treated with the greatest kindness. When Lorenzo died his 
 brother, Pletro de Medici, continued to patronize Michael Angelo, 
 but in a different spirit. Treating art as a toy, he employed the 
 artist during a severe Winter to make a statue of snow. A few years 
 after Pietro's banishment from Florence, which occurred, A. D. 1494, 
 Michael Angelo made the celebrated statue of a *' Sleeping Cupid," 
 which was sent to Rome ; where, without the sculptor's consent, it 
 was shown as a piece of sculpture dug up from a vineyard, pro- 
 nounced to be a genuine antique, superior to any thing which 
 the art of the day had been able to produce. When the trick was 
 discovered, Michael Angelo's reputation was so increased by it that 
 he was invited to Rome, where he devoted himself to close study, 
 and executed several marvelous works. By the novelty and grandeur 
 of his style he created quite a new era in the arts. He designed the 
 celebrated church of St. Peter's, at Rome, the largest and most magnifi- 
 
THE SCULPTOR'S LABORS. 
 
 16S 
 
 MICHAEL ANGELO. 
 
 cent in the world. As early as the fourth century a church had been 
 erected by Constantine the Great upon the site of the circus of Nero, 
 to commemorate the spot which had been hallowed to the Christian 
 world as the burial-place of St. Peter, and the scene of many of the 
 early martyrdoms. This church having fallen into decay in the 
 course of eleven centuries, Nicholas V resolved to erect another in 
 its place, which should rival the glories of Solomon's temple. When 
 Michael Angelo was appointed architect he adopted the plan of the 
 
l66 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Greek cross, and designed the dome, the tribune, and the transepts 
 substantially as they now are ; and down to the beginning of the sev- 
 enteenth century the spirit of this great man presided over the work 
 and ruled it from his tomb. 
 
 The artist also executed the splendid monument of Pope Julius 
 II's tomb. While this latter work was in progress his patron, the 
 same pope, delighted to come and inspect it. His next grand tri- 
 umph was his painting of the roof of the Sistine Chapel, in the 
 Vatican, which he completed in a year and six months. When 
 Raphael saw it, struck with admiration, he immediately changed his 
 own style, and with the candor of a great mind thanked God that he 
 had been born in the same age with such a remarkable artist. Pope 
 Leo X treated Michael Angelo badly, even compelling him to hew 
 rocks and excavate roads. Afterwards this extraordinary man with- 
 drew to Venice, where he designed the Rialto Bridge. Returning to 
 Rome he finished Julius IPs monument, and proceeded with his pic- 
 ture of the "Last Judgment," also for the Sistine Chapel, an im- 
 mense work, which occupied him eight years. The career of Michael 
 Angelo is an example of the splendid results produced by great 
 powers when joined with great opportunities. He spent the closing 
 years of his life in the construction of the mighty fabric of St. Peter's 
 Church, directing fortifications, adorning the city with superb build- 
 ings, finishing the Farnese palace, and executing many other impor- 
 tant works. Old age, with its infirmities, came upon him, but he 
 retained the vigor of his mental faculties to the end. He died, A. D. 
 1563, in his eighty-ninth year. His last words were: ''In your pas- 
 sage through this life remember the sufferings of Jesus Christ." 
 He was buried at Rome, but his remains were afterwards removed to 
 the Church of the Santa Croce at Florence, where so many of the 
 illustrious men of Italy have found their resting-place. 
 
 Raphael Sanzio, or Santi, was the son of Giovanni Santi, and 
 was born at Urbino, A. D. 1483. By studying the best mas- 
 ters in painting, he soon rose to eminence, and merited the appel- 
 lation of the "Divine Raphael." He is the Achilles of art; but 
 beautiful as are his works, none excel the perfect picture of his life. 
 Contemporary writers dwell with enthusiasm upon the gentle grace 
 of his manners, the sweetness of his temper, his freedom from envy, 
 and the readiness with which he communicated his knowledge to 
 others. He breathed the atmosphere of love and admiration. By 
 general consent he is acknowledged to have been the prince of paint- 
 ers, and was also an architect, performing some important work in 
 
LITERARY CELEBRITIES. 
 
 167 
 
 St. Peter's Church at Rome. He died, A. D. 1520, at the early age 
 of thirty- seven. 
 
 The writers of the fifteenth century were not distinguished, Hke 
 Dante and Petrarch, for creative genius, but dehghted rather in 
 reproducing and commenting 
 on the authors of antiquity. 
 The printing press, invented in 
 Germany, was most usefully 
 employed in Venice, Bologna, 
 and Rome, in multiplying cop- 
 ies of the ancient authors, 
 corrected by learned scholars. 
 Only the first steps had been 
 taken by Petrarch and Boccac- 
 cio toward a new civilization. 
 The introduction of the mari- 
 ner's needle by Flavio Gioja 
 had opened the ocean to the 
 Europeans ; the travels of Marco 
 Polo had awakened that curios- 
 ity concerning the way to the 
 East Indies which led Colum- 
 bus to the discovery of the new 
 world; the Arabic numerals had 
 been substituted in Italy for the 
 Roman ; academies were estab- 
 lished to nurture the love of letters, and courts became an asylum for 
 the most distinguished men ; and the popes in Rome, the Medici in 
 Florence, the houses of the Visconti and Sforzas in Milan, and of the 
 Gonzagas and Estes in Mantua and Ferrara, became protectors of lit- 
 erature and the arts. Pope Nicholas V is especially celebrated for the 
 encouragement which he gave to every branch of learning, and for 
 the generous sacrifices which he made in collecting books. Alfonso 
 of Aragon, king of Naples, is also eminent among these patrons of 
 literature and science. Ludovico, surnamed the Moor, invited to his 
 court in Lombardy many learned men, painters and architects, among 
 whom were Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante, founded the Univer- 
 sity of Pavia, granting it many privileges, and opened schools in 
 Milan, to which most renowned professors gave distinction. The 
 name of the Estes should be written in letters of gold among the 
 protectors of literature in Italy. Gian Francesco Gonzaga, marquis 
 
1 68 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of Mantua, opened a school, which attracted young men from 
 Greece, Germany, and France. The example of the houses of Este 
 and Gonzaga was imitated by the dukes of Savoy, who founded the 
 University of Turin. But the most illustrious of the patrons of 
 letters was Cosmo de Medici, who rose to pre-eminence among the 
 
 noble families of Eu- 
 rope. He founded 
 one library in Venice 
 and three in Florence, 
 and established the 
 first academy for the 
 study and promulga- 
 tion of the Platonic 
 philosophy. During 
 his administration of 
 affairs, the beautiful 
 dome of the cathedral 
 of Florence was built, 
 and the city adorned 
 with works of art. 
 Pico della Mirandola 
 was almost unrivaled 
 in erudition, being 
 profoundly versed in 
 various languages. 
 But Lorenzo the Magnificent may be considered the reviver of 
 Italian literature, and was even called its father. He enriched libra- 
 ries, reopened the University of Pisa, promoted the study of the 
 popular poetry, and wrote, himself, many admired pieces for the 
 popular taste. Under him Florence became a new Athens. Polizi- 
 ano, Burchiello, Benivieni, and Pulci were among the poets who 
 flourished at that period. Two names that belong to the fifteenth 
 century are illustrious, especially in the eyes of Americans — Amerigo 
 Vespucci and Christopher Columbus. The former was a native of 
 Florence, and the latter of Genoa. Their discoveries shed a halo 
 of imperishable glory upon Italy, and opened a new era in the history 
 of mankind. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
OPPOSITION TO THE WALDENSES. 169 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 FIRST PERSECUTIONS OF THE WAIDENSES. 
 
 IT has been truly said that the Waldenses occupy a unique posi- 
 tion, not only on the surface of Europe, but also in the history 
 of the Christian world. God selected them to accomplish a great 
 work, and in the performance of it they stood alone. As the snow- 
 clad peaks amid which they dwell look down upon the plains of Italy 
 on the one side, and the provinces of France on the other, so this 
 remarkable people are equally related to ancient and modern times. 
 It is an undeniable fact that they existed many centuries before the 
 birth of Protestantism. All the histories and countries of mediaeval 
 Europe present proofs and monuments of the antiquity of the Wal- 
 densian faith and worship, in which was the germ of the Reformation. 
 Indeed, the doctrines of Protestantism are as old as the Waldenses, 
 who simply preceded Luther in discovering them in the Bible. 
 
 The peculiar and bitter hostility that Romanism has ever mani- 
 fested toward this holy and venerable community is readily explained. 
 If the Church of the Alps is old, the Church of Rome must be new ; 
 if the former is pure, then the latter is corrupt ; and if the one has 
 retained the faith of the apostles, it inevitably follows that the other 
 has departed from it. It is natural, therefore, that the Romish hier- 
 archy should wish to destroy this overwhelming proof of her apos- 
 tasy, and silence a witness whose testimony so conclusively confirms 
 the position of Protestantism. The growth of the Waldenses alarmed 
 the Vatican. In their dispersions over so many lands — over France, 
 the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, England, 
 Calabria, Naples — they sowed the seeds of that great spiritual revival 
 which, commencing in the days of Wickliffe, and advancing in the 
 times of Luther and Calvin, made Romanism tremble, and now re- 
 generates its ignorant and degraded multitudes throughout the earth. 
 
 In the fifteenth century the Church of Rome made a desperate 
 effort to crush these Alpine Christians. About A. D. 1332 Pope 
 John XXII, desiring to resume the work of Innocent III, ordered the 
 inquisitors to visit the valleys of Lucerna and Perosa, and exter- 
 minate the heretics that inhabited them. The bull commanding this 
 persecution undesignedly acknowledged the then flourishing condi- 
 
1 70 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 tion of the Waldensian Church, inasmuch as the pope complains that 
 the synods, which he calls chapters, were used to assemble in the 
 valley of the Angrogna, attended by five hundred delegates. In 
 A. D. 1352 Pope Clement VI instructed the bishop of Embrun, 
 with whom he associates a Franciscan friar and inquisitor, to purify 
 those parts adjoining his diocese which were contaminated with her- 
 esy. Clement also urged Louis, king of Naples, to punish any of 
 his subjects who had wandered from the faith, evidently referring to 
 the Vaudois colonies then existing at Naples. Indeed, the pope, in 
 a letter to Joanna, wife of the king of Naples, who owned lands in 
 the marquisate of Saluzzo, near the "Valleys," insisted that she should 
 purge her territory of the heretics. The secular lords, while wishing 
 to obey the pope, were governed by self-interest, and evaded the 
 command, which threatened the extermination of the most indus- 
 trious and peaceable of their subjects. At that time these princes 
 were often engaged in war among themselves, and had not much 
 leisure or inclination to gratify the caprices of the pope. 
 
 Gregory XI, writing to Charles V, of France, A. D. 1373, com- 
 plains that his officers interfered with the inquisitors in Dauphine ; 
 that the consent of the civil judge was required before any papal 
 judge could institute proceedings against suspected parties, and that 
 great disrespect to the spiritual tribunal was shown in releasing con- 
 demned heretics from prison. While the princes and magistrates 
 were disposed to be lenient, the inquisitors did not relax their efforts. 
 One of them, BorelH, had one hundred and fifty Vaudois men, 
 besides a great number of women, girls, and even young children, 
 brought to Grenoble and burned alive. These acts of violence pro- 
 voked opposition at times on the part of the Waldenses. In A. D. 
 1375 they attacked the popish city of Susa, forced the Dominican 
 convent, and put the inquisitor to death. Another cruel agent of 
 the Vatican sent from Turin is said to have been slain on the high- 
 way near Bricherasio. Many Dominicans suffered the penalty of 
 death by venturing too far in the pursuit of the Vaudois. The per- 
 secuting policy of the popes, which was thus inaugurated in the four- 
 teenth century, became more sanguinary toward its close, and the 
 flight of Peter's successor from Rome to Avignon, and the greater 
 calamity of the schism in the Romish Church, did not divert their 
 attention from the confessors of the Alps. The edicts of extermina- 
 tion still went forth, and inquisitors searched the ** Valleys" for new 
 victims. 
 
 The opening of the fifteenth century was marked by the most 
 
THE TRA GED V OF PR A GELAS. 1 7 1 
 
 terrible tragedy that the Inquisition had yet enacted among the 
 Waldenses. It occurred on Christmas, A. D. 1400, in the Valley of 
 Pragelas, one of the higher reaches of Perosa, which opens near 
 Pinerolo, and is watered by the Clusone. As the snow was deep on 
 their mountains, the inhabitants, considering themselves sufficiently 
 protected, apprehended no attack; but they soon, learned by bitter 
 experience that the severity of Winter had not extinguished the fire 
 of malice, which burned in the hearts of their persecutors. The 
 man named above, Borelli, in command of an armed troop, broke 
 suddenly into Pragelas, with the determination to exterminate the 
 entire population. The terrified inhabitants fled hastily to the mount- 
 ains, taking on their shoulders their old men, their sick, and their 
 infants, dreading to leave them in the hands of their enemies. In their 
 flight a great many were overtaken and slain. The darkness of the 
 night enabled then to escape from their pursuers, but. other dreadful 
 calamities awaited them. The main body wandered in the direction 
 of Macel, and encamped on a summit which rises from the valley of 
 San Martino. Without food, without shelter, the Winter's sky above 
 them, the frozen snow around them, their sufferings must have been 
 inexpressibly great in this ice-clad and storm-swept region. On the 
 following morning a heart-rending scene was disclosed by the early 
 dawn. The hands and feet of many were frozen, while others had 
 perished, and their stiffened corpses were stretched out on the snow. 
 Fifty young children died with cold, some on the bare ice, and others 
 locked in the frozen arms of their mothers. That memorable spot 
 has since been called the Alberge, or Refuge, and to this day in the 
 valley of Pragelas the venerable sire recites to the son the tale of 
 that Christmas tragedy. 
 
 During the fifteenth century the bloody work of destroying here- 
 tics was vigorously prosecuted, though no fearful catastrophe, like 
 that already described, occurred in the valleys of Piedmont. The 
 inquisitors, ever on the track for them, kidnaped individual Vaudois, 
 whenever they ventured into the plains, and carried them to Turin 
 and other towns, where they were burned alive. But the Roman 
 Church was enraged at the slow progress she was making in crushing 
 this heresy. The number of Waldensians did not seem to diminish; 
 their constancy was unshaken, and no power could compel them to 
 accept the dogmas of Rome. They were as unmoved by the edicts, 
 inquisitors, torturings, and burnings of their unrelenting persecutors 
 as their rocks were under the tempests of hail and snow, which the 
 whirlwinds of Winter hurl against them. Pope Innocent VIII was 
 
1/2 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 in the papal chair, A. D. 1487, when the crusades against the Wal- 
 denses seemed to languish, and remembering how his celebrated name- 
 sake. Innocent III, had purged the south of France of the Albigen- 
 sian heresy, he resolved to strike a severe blow, and, by an act of 
 summary vengeance, exterminate the Vaudois as effectually and 
 speedily as his predecessor had disposed of the Albigenses on the 
 plains of Dauphine and Provence. 
 
 The issuing of a bull denouncing as heretical those who had been 
 marked for the slaughter was the first step. This remarkable docu- 
 ment, like all others of its kind, was adroitly written, containing the 
 most sanctimonious words, but pervaded with a malignant spirit. 
 The Waldenses were not charged with lawlessness, idleness, dishon- 
 esty, or any crime, except disloyalty to the pope, and the practicing 
 of a "simulated sanctity" which seduced the sheep of the true fold. 
 It was proclaimed, therefore, that this ''malicious and abominable 
 sect of malignants, if they refuse to abjure, must be crushed like 
 venomous snakes." 
 
 Innocent VIII appointed Albert Cataneo, archdeacon of Cre- 
 mona, his legate to execute his bull practically, and by him papal 
 instructions were sent to all princes, dukes, and powers within whose 
 dominions any Vaudois Avere found. Among these were Charles 
 VIII of France, and Charles II of Savoy, who were commanded to 
 support Cataneo with their entire military power. *'The bull invited 
 all Catholics to take up the cross against the heretics ; and to stimu- 
 late them in this pious work, it absolved from all ecclesiastical pains 
 and penalties, general and particular; it released all Avho joined the 
 crusade from any oaths they might have taken ; legitimatized their 
 title to any property they might have illegally acquired, and prom- 
 ised remission of all their sins, to such as should kill any heretic. 
 It annulled all contracts made in favor of Vaudois, ordered their 
 domestics to abandon them, forbade all persons to give them any aid 
 whatever, and empowered all persons to take possession of their 
 property." 
 
 What more powerful incentives than plenary pardon and unre- 
 strained license could be presented to awaken the zeal of the neigh- 
 boring populations, always too willing to manifest their devotion to 
 the papal Church by shedding the blood and forcibly taking the 
 goods of the Waldenses? The king of France and duke of Savoy 
 were obedient to the summons from the Vatican, and hastened to 
 unfurl their banners and enlist soldiers in the holy cause. In a short 
 time a numerous army was advancing to the mountains to sweep 
 
THE PAPAL ARMY— THE PROPOSED CAMPAIGN. 173 
 
 from their ancient home these confessors of the Gospel faith. Fol- 
 lowing this organized force was a motley crowd of volunteers, "vag- 
 abond adventurers," says Muston, ''ambitious fanatics, reckless pil- 
 lagers, merciless assassins, assembled from all parts of Italy;" in fact, 
 a miserable horde of brigands, and well adapted to the work they 
 were assembled to do. Besides these thousands of ruffians, whom 
 the spiritual and temporal rewards of this combined piety and pillage 
 had attracted, the joint army contained about eighteen thousand 
 regular soldiers. 
 
 It was June, A. D. 1488, before all the arrangements for the 
 campaign had been completed. The pope's bull was discussed in 
 ail countries, and the din of preparation was heard far and near. 
 All kings were invited to assist the Church in destroying her enemies. 
 The soil polluted by Vaudois feet must be cleansed ; the air tainted 
 by Vaudois breath must be purified ; and no Vaudois psalm or prayer 
 must be permitted in the future to ascend and spread the infection 
 of heresy. The terrible blow was to fall, not only on the Walden- 
 sian mountains, but on the Waldensian race in Germany, in Calabria, 
 and wherever dispersed. While the surrounding nations were ex- 
 cited, and the bustle of preparation resounded throughout Italy and 
 France, these innocent Christians, upon whom this fearful tempest was 
 about to burst, were ignorant of approaching danger. The Piedmon- 
 tese division of the army marched toward the ''Valleys" proper, on 
 the Italian side of the Alps. The French division, advancing from 
 the north, proceeded to attack the inhabitants of the Dauphinese 
 Alps, where the Albigensian heresy, recovering to some extent from 
 the cruel persecutions of Innocent III, had again taken root. Two 
 devastating storms, from opposite directions, or more correctly from: 
 all directions, approached those mighty mountains. The lamp of 
 truth which had shone for ages in this sanctuary of the primitive 
 faith was about to be extinguished. 
 
 The plan of the campaign was to attack at the same time on the 
 two opposite points of the great mountain chain ; and marching, the 
 one army from the south-east, and the other from the north-west, to 
 meet in the Valley of Angrogna, the center of the territory, and' 
 there strike the final blow. The French division of this host, advanc- 
 ing against the Alps of Dauphine was commanded by the lord of La. 
 Palu, a daring and cruel adventurer. With his fanatics he ascended! 
 the mountains, and entered the Vale of Loyse, a deep gorge over- 
 hung by towering mountains. The alarmed inhabitants, beholding 
 an armed force, twenty times their own number, penetrating their 
 
174 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 valley, abandoned all hope of resisting them, and prepared to escape. 
 Placing their old people and children in rustic carts, together with 
 their domestic utensils, and collecting such food as the urgency of the 
 occasion permitted, and driving their herds before them, they began 
 to climb the rugged slopes of Mount Pelvoux, which rises more than 
 six thousand feet over the level of the valley. As they climbed the 
 steeps they sang hymns of praise, which seemed to smooth their 
 rocky path and cheer their drooping hearts. Many were overtaken 
 and slain, and thereby delivered from a more terrible death, which 
 awaited the others. At length the fugitives reached Aigue-Froid, an 
 immense cavern, named from the cold springs that gush out from its 
 rocky walls. Standing on a platform of rock in front of the cavern, 
 they saw beneath them only fearful precipices, which must be clam- 
 bered over before they could reach the entrance of the grotto, but 
 to them this was not a difficult undertaking. This place of conceal- 
 ment is a roomy hall of irregular shape, the roof of the cave forming 
 a magnificent arch, which gradually subsides and contracts into a nar- 
 row passage, or throat, and then widens again. Into this grotto the 
 Vaudois entered, the able-bodied men having posted themselves at 
 the mouth of the outer passage, after they had placed their women, 
 children, and old men, in the inner hall, and distributed their cattle 
 and sheep in the cavities which abound on the sides of the cave. 
 The doorway and path leading to it. were barricaded with huge stones. 
 Cataneo says they had provisions to last *'two years," and there was 
 but little probability of their capture, because the enemy could be 
 hurled headlong down the precipices, even if they succeeded in scal- 
 ing them. 
 
 But their pursuer. La Palu, contrived a plan, which rendered all 
 these precautions and defenses unavailable. Ascending the mountain 
 on the other side, and approaching the cave from above, he let down 
 his soldiers by ropes from the precipice that overhangs the entrance 
 to the grotto, thus securing for his soldiers the platform in front. 
 It seems strange that the Vaudois did not cut the ropes and destroy 
 the soldiers as they were being lowered one by one ; but the bold- 
 ness of the movement evidently paralyzed them, and, terror-stricken, 
 they retreated into the depths of their hiding-places. La Palu would 
 not permit his men to follow them, but, collecting a sufficient quan- 
 tity of wood, he placed it at the entrance and set fire to it. The 
 black smoke rolled into the cave, and the Vaudois were compelled to 
 decide between death by suffocation and death by the sword. Some 
 rushed out and were massacred, but the greater part remained and 
 
THE TERRIBLE MASSACRE. 1 75 
 
 were stifled by the murky vapor, ''When the cavern was after- 
 wards examined," says Muston, ''there were found in it four hun- 
 dred infants suffocated in their cradles or in the arms of their dead 
 mothers. Altogether there perished in this cavern more than three 
 thousand Vaudois, including the entire population of Val Loyse. 
 Cataneo distributed the property of these unfortunates among the 
 vagabonds who accompanied him, and never again did the Vaudois 
 Church raise its head in these blood-stained valleys." 
 
 The inhabitants of the neighboring valleys of Argentiere and 
 Fraissiniere had been selected for slaughter, and the catastrophe of 
 the Vale of Loyse convinced them that their only chance of safety 
 was in resistance. By barricading the passes of their valleys and 
 massing their forces, they alarmed the enemy and were not dis- 
 turbed. A detachment of the French army advanced across the 
 Alps in a south-east direction toward the Waldensian valleys, there 
 to unite with the main body under Cataneo. Marching onward, 
 they slaughtered, burned, and pillaged until at last they reached the 
 Valley of Pragelas, which had been the scene of the Christmas 
 tragedy, A. D. 1400. When this horde of cruel assassins suddenly 
 burst upon them the peaceful inhabitants, not expecting an invasion, 
 Avere busy reaping their harvests. A panic ensued, the people aban- 
 doning their homes, and seeking safety in flight. Some were over- 
 taken and massacred ; hamlets and whole villages were burned, and 
 'the barbarous deeds of the Val Loyse were repeated in the Valley 
 of Pragelas. Taking combustible materials and placing them at the 
 openings of caves, the soldiers kindled fires, whose fatal smoke pene- 
 trated the hiding-places of the Vaudois, and then eddying along the 
 roof slowly made its exit into the clear Summer sky. All was silent 
 within. There, in one motionless heap, lay patriarch and stripling, 
 mother and babe. These outrages aroused the inhabitants, who 
 united and drove the murderers from their vaUeys, compeUing them to 
 pay a heavy penalty for the depredations they had committed. 
 
 The Piedmontese division of the invading army was led by the 
 papal legate, Cataneo, in person, and was advancing to those valleys 
 in Piedmont which were considered the ancient seat and stronghold 
 of the Vaudois heresy. Halting at Pinerolo, near the frontier of the 
 doomed district, Cataneo sent a company of preaching monks to 
 convert the men of the "Valleys;" but they returned without having 
 accomplished any thing. The army continued its march, and entered 
 the fertile plain through which flows the river Clusone, amid lovely 
 vineyards and rich corn-fields, and overlooking which are the towering 
 
176 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 mountains with their pasturages, chestnut forests, and snows. Turn- 
 ing round the shoulder of Bricherasio, the forces of Cataneo, followed 
 by a multitude of pillagers and cut-throats, advanced up the avenue 
 
 VIEW OF LA TORRE. 
 
 to La Torre, the capital of the ** Valleys, " and encamped before it. 
 The inhabitants, inoffensive and without any means of resistance, 
 understood how to cultivate vineyards and lead their flocks to pas- 
 
THE AD VANCING ARMY. 1 77 
 
 ture, but were entirely ignorant of the art of war. Beholding this 
 mighty host the Waldensians sent two of their patriarchs, John Campo 
 and John Desiderio, as embassadors, to request an interview with 
 Cataneo. "Do not condemn us without hearing us," said they, 
 ''for we are Christians and faithful subjects, and our barbes are pre- 
 pared to prove, in public or in private, that our doctrines are conform- 
 able to the Word of God. . . . Our hope in God is greater 
 than our desire to please men ; beware how you draw down upon 
 yourselves his anger by persecuting us ; for remember, if God so wills 
 it, all the forces you have assembled against us will nothing avail." 
 
 These weighty words were meekly spoken, but they produced 
 no visible effect upon Cataneo and his ruffian host. Their hearts 
 appeared to be as hard as the rocks that rose around them. Believ- 
 ing that these simple herdsmen were entirely defenseless, and desir- 
 ing to strike a finishing blow, the papal legate divided his army into 
 a number of attacking parties, which were to commence the battle 
 simultaneously at various points. One troop was stationed at the 
 entrance of Val Lucerna. Then the next important movement of 
 the invaders was to occupy the town of La Torre, which is situated 
 on the angle formed by the junction of the Val Lucerna and the Val 
 Angrogna. The inhabitants having fled to the mountains, the blood- 
 thirsty crusaders were probably denied the pleasure of murdering 
 them in their homes. Beyond La Torre the valley is wide, and 
 incapable of being defended. The army moved along it without 
 opposition, the warlike appearance of the troops presenting a strik- 
 ing contrast with the peaceful countenance of the landscape. It 
 was clothed on all sides with a carpet of rich meadows, flecked 
 with the shadows of fruitful trees, and watered by the silver Pel- 
 lice. A massive wall of mountains rises on either hand, their sides 
 decorated with rich pasturages, golden grain, festooned vines, and 
 dark chestnut forests. Over these are suspended immense battlements 
 of rock ; and above all are the everlasting peaks, towering into the 
 heavens, and clad in their white robes of ice and snow. But what 
 were these sublimities of nature to men in whom the worst passions 
 struggled for supremacy? 
 
 In their march up the valley the soldiers next came to Villaro, 
 which is situated about midway between the entrance and head of 
 Lucerna, on a ledge of turf in the side of the great mountains, 
 raised some two hundred feet above the Pellice, which flows past at 
 about a quarter-mile's distance. The town was tak|jn without much 
 difficulty, as most of the inhabitants, having been warned of approach- 
 
178 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ing danger, fled to the Alps. History does not record what punish- 
 ment was inflicted on those who were unable to escape, but it is 
 known that the half of Lucerna, with the towns of La Torre and 
 Villaro, and their hamlets, was occupied by Cataneo's soldiers, whose 
 progress, though victorious, could not be called glorious, because 
 they had conquered only unarmed peasants. 
 
 Pursuing their march, the invaders came next to Bobbio, a name 
 not unknown in classic history. The town nestles at the base of the 
 Col la Croix, whose lofty summit points the way to France, and 
 overhangs a path that may have been traversed by apostolic feet. 
 Through the dark gorges of the mountains the river Pellice rushes in 
 a thundering torrent, and meanders in a flood of silver along the 
 valley. At this point the grandeur of the Val Lucerna reaches its 
 culmination. Every traveler halts to survey the scene that must 
 have met the eyes of Cataneo and his marauding host, and which 
 should have softened their hearts. Immediately behind Bobbio rises 
 the "Barion," with all the symmetry of an Egyptian obelisk, but far 
 taller and more massive, its summit attaining an elevation of three 
 thousand feet above the roofs of the little town. The grandest 
 monument of Europe's proudest capital is a mere child's toy com- 
 pared with this huge monolith. But even this is only one of the 
 majestic figures in the group. Sweeping round the extremity of the 
 valley, and extending above the Barion behind, is a magnificent 
 amphitheater of precipices and crags, inclosed by a background of 
 towering mountains, some rounded like domes, others sharp as 
 needles. Rising out of this sea of hills are the loftier forms of the 
 Alp des Rousses and the Col de Malaure, which seem to guard the 
 gloomy pass that winds its way under overhanging precipices and 
 splintered rocks, until it opens into the valleys of the French Protest- 
 ants and ends on the plains of Dauphine. In Summer Bobbio sits 
 in this glorious amphitheater like a queen in a bower of blossoms 
 and fruit, and in the Winter like a king, on whose frowning castle 
 fall the shadows of the mountains and the mists of their tempests. 
 As Cataneo hastened onward to the Httle town, the repose and beauty 
 of nature should have awakened some emotion of compassion ; but 
 his thoughts were only of blood. 
 
 The capture of Bobbio was an easy undertaking and an important 
 victory, because the inhabitants had escaped to the Alps or their 
 blood mingled with the waters of their own Pellice, and possession 
 of the town gave the invading army the control of the entire Valley 
 of Lucerna. HaVing obtained many advantages of position, Cataneo 
 
CA TANEaS PLAN. 1 79 
 
 projected other and remoter expeditions. His plan was to march 
 over the Col Julien, sweep down upon the Valley of Prali, which 
 is on the north of it, punish its inhabitants, mftve on to the valleys 
 of San Martino and Perosa, and, making the circuit of the ''Val- 
 leys," clear the ground as he went onward of its polluting heresy, 
 at least of its heretics, meet the main body of crusaders, who he 
 expected would, by this time, have finished their work in the Valley 
 of Angrogna, and unitedly celebrate their victory. If this plan could 
 be executed, the papal forces would then be able to say that they 
 had gone over the Waldensian territory, and accomplished that desir- 
 able work so long meditated, often attempted, but never effected. 
 
 The expedition across the Col Julien was immediately com- 
 menced. For this service a corps of seven hundred men was 
 detached from the army in Lucerna. On the north side of Bobbio 
 the ascent of the mountain opens, and the soldiers begin to march 
 upwards ; but they soon find it a toilsome undertaking, as the track 
 is a mere foot-path formed by the herdsmen. As they proceed 
 further, nurnerous chalets and hamlets, sweetly embowered amid 
 mantling vines, or the branches of the apple and cherry tree, or the 
 goodlier chestnut, present a home-like appearance ; but the inhabitants 
 have fled. Contirming the ascent, a great altitude on the mountain- 
 side is attained. Beneath them is Bobbio, a mere speck of brown. 
 There is the Valley of Lucerna, a ribbon of green with a thread of 
 silver woven into it, and lying along amid masses of mighty rocks. 
 There, across Lucerna, towering up in the silent sky are the mount- 
 ains that inclose the Valley of Rora ; on the right are the spiky 
 crags that bristle along the Pass of Mirabouc, that leads to France, 
 and yonder in the east is a glimpse of the far - extending plains 
 of Piedmont. 
 
 But the summit is still in the distance, and the soldiers of the 
 papal legate slowly toil up the rugged, steep path. Ascending 
 higher, they look down on pinnacles which half an hour before 
 looked down on them. Other lofty eminences, tall as the former, 
 still rise above them; they climb to these spires of Nature's cathe- 
 dral, which in their turn sink beneath their feet. This process is 
 repeated again and again, until at last they stand upon the downs 
 that clothe the shoulders of the mountain. The scene around them 
 now becomes one of stupendous and inexpressible grandeur. Away 
 to the east, now fully within the range of vision, is the plain of Pied- 
 mont, level as the ocean, and green as a garden. Dark gorges and 
 fearful abysses yawn at their feet, while pinnacles resembling spikes 
 
 13 
 
l8o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 peer up from below, as if to buttress the mountains. A multitude 
 of Alps seem to fill the horizon. Prominent among these on the 
 east is the Col la VSchera, whose snow-capped summit attracts the 
 eye to the more than classic valley over which it towers, where the 
 barbes in ancient days were accustomed to assemble in synod, and 
 sent out missionaries at the peril of life to distribute the Bible and 
 sow the seed of the kingdom. As this was the terminating point 
 of their expedition in the Val di Angrogna, the advancing corps no 
 doubt marked the spot. Monte Viso, the crowning glory of the 
 scene, rising up in the west in bold relief and appearing in the ebon 
 vault Hke a mountain of silver, spread its magnificence before them ; 
 but these crusading soldiers had neither eyes to see nor hearts to 
 feel the majesty of God's works. 
 
 The pass terminates in a steep grassy slope, which they climbed 
 on their hands and knees, and, standing on the summit, they looked 
 down on the Valley of Prali, then a scene of peace. Its snow-clad 
 hills, conspicuous among which is the Col 'd Abries, stood as a guard 
 around it. Foaming torrents rolled down their sides, and, by uniting 
 in the valley, formed a full and rapid river. Numerous hamlets were 
 scattered over the bosom of the plain. The peasants were working 
 in the corn-fields and meadows ; their children played around the 
 humble cottages; their herds browsed in the rich pastures. This flock 
 of human vultures had suddenly appeared on the mountains above, 
 and with greedy eyes looked down upon their prey. Believing that 
 a few hours' work would convert these dwellings into smoldering 
 ruins, these seven hundred assassins rushed down pn the plain to 
 slaughter the inhabitants and take their herds and goods. But the 
 humble peasants of this secluded valley, instead of fleeing, as the 
 soldiers expected, hastily assembled and prepared to defend their 
 homes. A battle was fought at the hamlet of Pompiiers. Fired with 
 indignation at the cowardly and bloody assault, the Vaudois, with 
 rude weapons, and an unwavering trust in God — which gave them 
 strength and courage — attacked the enemy, already wearied with the 
 rugged, slippery tracks of the mountains. The entire company, with 
 the exception of one ensign, was cut down. During the carnage he 
 escaped and ascended a mountain stream. Finding a cavity which 
 the Summer heats had formed in a mass of snow, he crept into it for 
 safety, and remained there in concealment for some days until at last, 
 driven forth by hunger and cold, he went to the men of Prali and 
 entreated their mercy^ They generously pardoned this solitary sur- 
 vivor of all the seven hundred that had come to massacre them, and 
 
VAL DI ANGROGNA. l8l 
 
 sent him back across the Col Julien to those from whom he had 
 come, that they might know the determination of the Vaudois to 
 fight for their hearths and altars, and that they might ascertain the 
 fate of the six hundred and ninety-nine. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 FAILURE OF CATANEO'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 RETURNING to the main body of the papal army, we find Cat- 
 aneo encamped almost at the gates of La Torre, beneath the 
 shadow of the Castelluzzo. The entrance to the Val di Angrogna is 
 near the place where the camp was established. This valley extends 
 a dozen miles into the Alps, consisting of a grand succession of open 
 dells and narrow gorges, with walls of majestic mountains on either 
 side, and terminating in a noble circular basin — the Pra del Tor — 
 which is surrounded with snowy peaks, and forms the most interest- 
 ing spot in all the Waldensian territory, being the seat of their col- 
 lege, and the meeting-place of their barbes. In the Pra del Tor, or 
 Meadow of the Tower, Cataneo expected to find the mass of the 
 Waldensian people assembled, supposing it to be their strongest ref- 
 uge. Besides his own army, he expected to have the assistance of 
 the corps which he had sent round by Lucerna, and which, no doubt, 
 had made the circuit of the '* Valleys," devastated Prali and San Mar- 
 tino, climbed the mountain barrier, and would soon reach La Torre. 
 While he awaited their coming the corpses of all that slain host were 
 lying in the valley of Prali; but Cataneo was ignorant of their fate. 
 The humble supplication of the Waldenses for peace was contemptu- 
 ously rejected, as we have stated in the previous chapter, and now 
 they must choose one of three courses : accept the doctrines of the 
 Romish Church, be slaughtered like sheep, or fight for their lives. 
 They resolved to go to war, and prepared for it by first removing 
 to a place of safety all who were not able to bear arms. 
 
 Taking their ovens, kneading-troughs, and other culinary utensils, 
 conveying their aged on their shoulders, and leading their children by 
 the hand, they ascended the hills in the direction of the Pra del Tor, 
 at the head of the Val di Angrogna. They could be seen traversing 
 the rugged paths, transporting their household articles, and making 
 the mountains melodious with their religious songs, which they 
 
l82 
 
 ITAL V STR [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 sweetly sung as they advanced. Many remained behind to manufac- 
 ture pikes and other weapons of defense and attack, to repair the 
 barricades, to arrange themselves in fighting parties, and assign to 
 
 PASS OF PRA DEL TOR. 
 
 the various corps the positions they were to defend. Cataneo com- 
 manded his army to move forward, feeling confident that on the same 
 spot where the Barbes had so often met in synod, and enacted rules 
 
THE BATTLE— BLACK MONDOVI—CATANEO DEFEATED. 183 
 
 for the government of their Church and the spread of their faith, he 
 would complete the campaign by proclaiming the final extinction of 
 the Waldensian heresy. 
 
 He advanced to a point near the town of La Torre, then made a 
 sharp turn to the right, and entered the Val di Angrogna. Its open- 
 ing is soft and even as any meadow in America, and the invaders, 
 finding no obstructions, marched onward. The Vaudois determined 
 to make a stand on the heights of Rocomaneot, and accordingly 
 stationed their fighting men along its ridges. Clad in the simplest 
 armor, the bow being almost their only weapon of attack, and their 
 bucklers only skin, covered with the bark of the chestnut tree, these 
 brave men awaited the beginning of the conflict. There were a 
 number of women and children gathered for shelter in a hollow 
 which is protected by the rising ground on which their fathers, hus- 
 bands, and brothers were arranged for battle. The Piedmontese 
 soldiers advanced up the acclivity, and sent a shower of arrows 
 into the Waldensian line, which made it waver. Those behind, be- 
 holding the danger, fell on their knees, and extending their hands in 
 supplication to the God of battles, cried aloud, ''O God of our 
 fathers, help us! O God, deliver us!" The , attacking host heard 
 that cry, and one of its captains, Le Noir of Mondovi, or the Black 
 Mondovi, a bigoted, proud, blood-thirsty man, instantly shouted out 
 that his soldiers would give the answer, pronouncing horrible blas- 
 phemies with the threat. As he spoke he raised his visor, and 
 immediately an arrow from the bow of Pierre Revel of Angrogna 
 penetrated his skull between the eyes, and he fell dead on the earth. 
 The death of this daring leader disheartened the papal army. The 
 soldiers began to retreat, and were chased down the slope by the 
 Vaudois, who now rushed down upon them like their own mountain 
 torrents. After driving the enemy to the plain, and destroying many 
 in their flight, the Waldenses returned toward evening to the heights 
 where they had triumphed, to celebrate with songs the victory which 
 the God of their fathers permitted to crown their arms. 
 
 In a few days Cataneo, burning with shame and rage, because 
 he had been defeated by herdsmen, reassembled his forces and made 
 a second attempt to enter the Angrogna. After passing the heights 
 of Rocomaneot, the scene of his first disaster, and not encountering 
 any resistance, he plunged into the narrow defiles beyond, believing 
 that success would now attend his efforts. The path through this 
 dark passage is overhung with great rocks, rendered gloomy by the 
 branches of large chestnut-trees that extend over it, and then tcrmi- 
 
1 84 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 nates in an ample and fertile valley. Thus -far the papal leader had 
 proceeded without opposition, and had in his possession that part of 
 of the Val di Angrogna on the left of the torrent, including numer- 
 ous hamlets, with their finely cultivated fields and vineyards; but he 
 saw no inhabitants. They had fled to the men of Lucerna in the 
 Pra del Tor, and between him and them stood the "Barricade," a 
 steep mountain of Cyclopean height and strength, which extends like 
 a wall across the valley. 
 
 It now seemed as if the advance of Cataneo must here end. He 
 beheld the white peaks around the Pra; but between him and his 
 prey rose the Barricade, Avhich could not be scaled. After searching 
 he found, unfortunately for him, an entrance, which some convulsion 
 of nature had made by rending the mountains and forming a long, 
 dark, and narrow chasm, and through this runs the one only path to 
 the head of Angrogna. Into this frightful gorge the commander of 
 the papal host boldly led his men, little thinking how few would ever 
 return. On the side of the mountain is a rocky ledge, so narrow 
 that only two abreast can traverse it, and in case of attack, either in 
 front or in rear or from above, there is no opportnnity to retreat, 
 nor can the assailed party find room to fight. This only pathway 
 through the chasm is midway between the bottom of the gorge, 
 along which thunders the stream, and the summit of the mountain. 
 The naked cliff rises up perpendicularly at least one thousand feet, 
 in some places leaning over the path in huge masses, and threatening 
 to fall upon it. At one point the golden beams of the sun shine in 
 through fissures in the mountain side, relieving the darkness of the 
 chasm and making it visible. At another, appears a level space of 
 about a half-acre, affording room on the brink of the mountain to a 
 clump of birches, with their tall, silvery trunks, or a chalet, with its 
 bit of bright, closely shaven meadow. But these cheerful spots only 
 partially relieve the rugged features of the terrible chasm, which runs 
 from one to two miles, and suddenly opens, with a burst of light, 
 revealing to the eye a flashing of white peaks above, and a vast 
 amphitheater of meadow beyond, apparently large enough for the 
 encampment of an entire nation. 
 
 The papal army marched as best they could along the narrow 
 ledge, and was now approaching the Pra. Cataneo was confident 
 that his prey could not escape him ; and the Waldenses seemed to 
 him possessed of but one neck, which he would soon sever at a blow. 
 But God protected his people. He had said of the invader, as of 
 another tyrant of former ages, * ' I will put my hook in thy nose, 
 
CATANEO'S ARMY DESTROYED. 185 
 
 and my bridle in thy lips, and I will cause thee to return by the way 
 by which thou earnest." But by what agency was this host to be 
 destroyed ? God did not send a mighty angel to blockade the pass 
 and smite Cataneo's army, as he did Sennacherib's. He had power 
 to awaken the sleeping thunder and hurl its bolts, and to rain the 
 hailstones upon Cataneo's soldiers, as of old on Sisera's, but they 
 fell not. An earthquake, rocking the ground, or a whirlwind, rend- 
 ing the mountains, would have discomfited the papal forces ; but 
 all was quiet in nature's realm. The instrumentality employed to 
 shield the Vaudois was one of the lightest and frailest in the material 
 world, but it closed the pass as effectually as bars of adamant could 
 have done. 
 
 The Vaudois beheld a white cloud, no larger than a man's hand, 
 gathering on the summit of the mountain, about the time the Pied- 
 montese army would be entering the defile. That cloud, unobserved 
 at first by the invaders, became rapidly larger and blacker, and soon 
 commenced to descend, a sea of murky vapor, rolling down the side 
 of the mountain, wave on wave, like an ocean tumbling out of 
 heaven. Falling into the chasm, and filling it from top to bottom 
 with a thick, black fog, it covered Cataneo's host, and instantly they 
 were in night, unable to see either before or behind. They were 
 bewildered and stupefied, and could neither advance nor retreat. 
 
 The Waldenses, believing that God had interposed in their behalf, 
 and given them power to defeat the enemy, climbed the slopes of the 
 Pra, and, coming out of all their hiding-places in its environs, has- 
 tened along the familiar paths of the mountain. While the papal 
 army stood riveted beneath them, panic-stricken by the double 
 calamity of the defile and the mist, the Vaudois tore up the great 
 stones and rocks, and sent them thundering down into the ravine, 
 crushing the papal soldiers where they stood. Then some of the 
 Waldenses, sword in hand, boldly entered the chasm and attacked 
 them in front, spreading consternation through the entire army. 
 They attempted to flee; but the confusion in their own ranks was 
 more fatal than the sword of the Vaudois, or the rocks that, swift as- 
 an arrow, came bounding down the mountain. Amid the excite- 
 ment they ran against one another and threw each other down in 
 the struggle. Some were trodden to death ; others were rolled over the 
 precipice, and crushed on the rocks below or drowned in the torrent... 
 
 History records the fate of one of these invaders, a certain Cap* 
 tain Sacquet — a man, it is said, of gigantic stature, from Polonghera,. 
 in Piedmont. Like his Philistine prototype, he began to curse the 
 
1 86 ' 'ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Waldensian dogs ; but while the words were yet in his mouth his 
 foot sHpped, and he rolled over the precipice into the torrent. His 
 body was carried away by the stream, and finally deposited in a deep 
 eddy or whirlpool, called, in the patoz's of the country, a "tompie," 
 from the noise made by its waters. To this day it bears the name 
 of the Tompie de Sacqiiet, or Gulf of Sacquet. 
 
 For a whole year this cloud of war hung above the *' Valleys, " 
 and discharged its fury upon the Waldenses, inflicting much suffering 
 and loss. The burning of their homes, the devastation of their fields, 
 the plundering of their goods, and the massacre of their people were 
 great calamities ; but the invaders suffered more than they inflicted. 
 Few of the eighteen thousand regular troops, and of an equal num- 
 ber of desperadoes, that started out in the campaign, ever returned 
 to their homes. Their corpses enriched the mountains and valleys 
 they had come to subdue. They were generally cut down one by 
 one. Flying parties of Vaudois would suddenly issue from some 
 cave known only to themselves, or from the mist in a narrow defile, 
 attack and defeat the enemy, and then as suddenly retreat behind 
 the protecting rock or into the friendly vapor. Thus it came to pass 
 that, in the words of Muston, ''this army of invaders vanished from 
 the Vaudois mountains as rain in the sands of the desert." 
 
 "God," says Leger, "turned the heart of their prince toward 
 this poor people." He sent a prelate to their "Valleys," to assure 
 them of his good will, and intimated his wish to receive their depu- 
 ties. Twelve of their more venerable men were sent to Turin, and, 
 being admitted into the duke's presence, made such a statement of 
 their faith that he candidly confessed that he had been deceived con- 
 cerning them, and would not again permit such wrongs to be inflicted 
 upon them. He several times remarked that he * ' had not so virtu- 
 ous, so faithful, and so obedient subjects as the Vaudois." He sur- 
 prised the deputies by expressing a wish to see some of the Vaudois 
 children. Twelve infants, Avith their mothers, Avere brought from the 
 Valley of Angrogna and presented to the prince. Closely examining 
 them, and finding them well-formed, he expressed his pleasure in 
 beholding their healthy faces and clear eyes. He had been informed 
 that ' ' the Vaudois children were monsters, with only one eye placed 
 in the middle of the forehead, four rows of black teeth, and other 
 similar deformities." This young ruler, Charles H, was humane and 
 wise, and promised the Vaudois that they should not be molested in 
 the future. Thus the storm of persecution ceased, A. D. 1489, and 
 the Alpine Christians had rest. 
 
LUTHER DEPARTS FOR ROME. 187 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 L U THER' S JO URNE V TO R OME. • 
 
 AN Interesting event in the religious history of Rome was Luther's 
 visit to it, A. D. 15 10, or, according to others, A. D. 15 12. 
 While meditating in his cell at Erfurt, the sinfulness of his own heart 
 and his helplessness as a lost sinner were revealed to him. At Rome 
 he was to be shown the vileness of that Church which he still believed 
 to be the Church of Christ and the abode of holiness. As is often 
 the case, a very trifling circumstance led to results of momentous 
 importance both to Luther himself and to Christendom. A quarrel 
 having broken out between seven monasteries of the Augustines and 
 their vicar general, they agreed to submit the matter to the pope, 
 and as Luther was a young man of eloquence and sagacity, he was 
 selected to undertake the task. In imagination we now behold him 
 starting for the metropolis of Christendom. As every step brought 
 him nearer the ''Eternal City," illustrious as the abode of the Caesars, 
 and still more illustrious as the abode of the popes, the pulse of the 
 young monk no doubt beat quicker, because to him Rome was a 
 type of the Holy of Holies. Was not the throne of God's vicar 
 there? Did not the oracle of infallibility reside there? Were not 
 the consecrated ministers and priests of the Lord dwellers within its 
 sacred walls? Did not armies of devout pilgrims and tribes of holy 
 anchorites and monks go up thither . every year to pay their vows in 
 her temples and prostrate themselves at the footstool of the apostles? 
 The heart of Luther no doubt was thrilled with deep emotion when 
 he thought that his feet would stand within the gates of this thrice 
 holy city. 
 
 But, alas! his bright dream was not to be realized at the end of 
 his journey; a terrible disenchantment awaited him, or rather a happy 
 emancipation from an illusion both enfeebling and pernicious. It 
 had imprisoned truth and enchained the nations, and Luther would 
 be its captive until this spell was broken. Christendom could not be 
 emancipated by blows from a fettered arm. It was necessary that 
 the monk should see Rome, not as his dreams had painted, but as 
 her own corruptions had made her. He must behold her with his 
 own eyes, because a description of her moral degradation by another 
 
l88 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 would have been discredited by him. The more profound the idol- 
 atrous reverence that he felt as he approached the city, the more 
 resolute would be his purpose when recrossing her threshold not to 
 leave of that wicked and tyrannical power one stone upon another. 
 
 Luther passed over the Alps and descended upon the fertile plains 
 of Lorpbardy. At the present time the traveler proceeds with ease 
 and pleasure along magnificent highways through the snows and rocks 
 that form the northern wall of Italy ; but the German monk was com- 
 pelled to scale this rampart by rugged, narrow, and dangerous tracks. 
 The sublime scene that met his eye and regaled his spirits must 
 have elevated and expanded his mind. There was a charm to him as 
 to others in the rapid transition from the homely German plains and 
 the frowning Alps to the brilliant sky, the voluptuous air, and the 
 smiling landscape, bright with fruits and flowers which burst upon 
 his sight when he had accomplished his descent. The ideality of the 
 Italian began to mingle with the robustness of the Teuton. Luther, 
 weary in body and desiring to refresh himself a few days, entered a 
 monastery situated on the banks of the Po. Fie was struck with 
 wonder at the splendor of the establishment, whose annual revenue 
 of thirty-six thousand ducats was all expended in feeding, clothing, 
 and lodging the monks. This enormous sum enabled them to live 
 in elegance. Their apartments were sumptuous in the extreme, being 
 inlaid with marble, adorned with paintings and filled with rich furni- 
 ture. Their clothing was equally luxurious and delicate, consisting 
 mostly of silks and velvet. They sat down daily at a table loaded 
 with dishes containing the most exquisite and skillfully cooked food. 
 The German monk in his native land had been accustomed to live in 
 a bare cell, and at times his provision for each day was only a herring 
 and a small piece of bread. He was greatly astonished, but remained 
 silent. When Friday came he expected that, as faithful sons of the 
 Church, they would obey her commands and not taste flesh ; but he 
 was shocked to find the table groaning under the same abundance as 
 before, and dishes of meat as on other days. Luther could no longer 
 restrain himself, but cried out: ''Such things may not be eaten. The 
 pope has forbidden them." The monks opened their eyes in aston- 
 ishment on the rude German, and were indignant at his boldness. 
 This reproof did not spoil their appetite, but they feared that the 
 stranger might report their manner of life at headquarters. While 
 they were consulting together how to obviate this danger, the porter 
 of the establishment, a humane man, informed Luther that he would 
 incur a great risk by remaining there. After receiving this friendly 
 
LUTHER IN BOLOGNA, 
 
 counsel he resolved to profit by it while health permitted, and with- 
 out delay departed from the monastery. 
 
 The monk, traveling on foot, next came to Bologna, ''the throne 
 of the Roman law," where he became dangerously sick. In addition 
 to his bodily suffering, he experienced great mental depression from 
 those feelings of melancholy natural to one who expects to die in a 
 foreign land. Then, to make his anguish still more intolerable, his 
 religious condition alarmed him. The judgment-seat rose up before 
 him, and the thought of appearing in the presence of God filled his 
 soul Avith dread. The old terror and anguish, though less violent, 
 returned to him. As he waited for death he thought he heard a 
 voice saying to him: "The just shall live by faith." So vivid was 
 the impression it made upon him that Luther believed the voice was 
 from heaven. This was the second time this passage of Scripture 
 had been addressed to him by some invisible power. While lectur- 
 ing in his chair at Wittemberg on the Epistle to the Romans, he 
 had come to these same words: ''The just shall live by faith," and 
 they impressed him so deeply that he was compelled to pause and 
 ponder over them. He asked himself again and again, What do they 
 mean? There was only one meaning in them, and it was simply 
 this, that the just have a new life which is derived from faith. But 
 faith on whom, and on what? 
 On whom but on Christ, and on 
 what but his atoning merits as the 
 only ground of salvation? If that 
 be so, pardon and eternal life are 
 not of works, but of faith ; they are 
 the free gift of God to the sinner 
 for Christ's sake. 
 
 So had Luther reasoned when 
 these words first penetrated his 
 soul, and so did he again reason 
 in his sick-raom at Bologna. They 
 were a needful admonition to him 
 now that he was approaching a 
 city where endless rites and cere- 
 monies had been invented to en- 
 able men to live by works. His 
 
 sickness and anguish had been the means of teaching him the first ele- 
 ments of life and the only one source of holiness. He learned that 
 this holiness springs up in the heart where faith is enthroned, and 
 
 GIOTTO. 
 
igo ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 therefore is not restricted to any soil, any system, or any rite. Its 
 source was not in Rome, but in the Bible ; its bestower was not the 
 pope, but the Holy Spirit. "The just shall live by faith." As he 
 stood at the gates of death these words seemed to shed a light all 
 around him. He arose from his bed healed both in body and soul. 
 Resuming his journey, he traversed the Apennines, and experienced 
 no doubt after his sickness the invigorating influence of their health- 
 ful breezes and the fragrance of their dells, bright with the blossoms 
 of early Summer. Crossing this rugged chain of mountains, he de- 
 scended into that delicious valley, where Florence sits gracefully on 
 the banks of the Arno amid lovely cypress and olive groves, and 
 under a slcy where light lends beauty to every object on which it 
 falls. Here Luther made his next resting place. 
 
 At that time the "Etrurian Athens," as Florence has been called, 
 Avas in its first glory. Its many magnificent and sumptuous edifices 
 had been recently erected and still reflected their pristine beauty and 
 freshness. Already Brunelleschi had hung his dome — the largest in 
 the world — in mid-air ; already Giotto had raised his Campanile, whose 
 great height, elegant form, and variously colored marbles make it the 
 prominent feature of the city. Already the Baptistery had been con- 
 structed" with its bronze doors which Michael Angelo declared to be 
 "worthy of being the gates of Paradise." When the future reformer 
 visited it, Florence was adorned with other monuments and works of 
 art. Having been familiar with only the comparatively homely and 
 unattractive architecture of a northern land, he could not be indiffer- 
 ent to these splendid creations of genius which he beheld in Italy. 
 Wood was then often used in Germany and England in the erection 
 of dwellings, but the Italians built with marble. 
 
 As a scholar, Luther could appreciate many other things in the 
 Etrurian capital. It was the cradle of the Renaissance. In the pre- 
 vious century the house of Medici had risen to prominence. Cosmo, 
 the founder of the family, had amassed immense riches in commerce, 
 and, being passionately fond of letters and arts, he freely expended 
 his wealth in the magnificent patronage of scholars and artists. He 
 and his son Lorenzo welcomed to his superb villa, on the sides of 
 Fiesole, lovers of letters from every land, who were entertained with 
 princely hospitality. To this delightful retreat came learned men 
 from England and the north of Europe, and even from the East, to 
 meet the poets and philosophers of Italy. With the city, the Arno, 
 and the cypress and olive clad vale beneath them, these eminent 
 scholars would assemble in groups in the alcoves of the gardens, or 
 
'* 
 
 LUTHER S REFLECTIONS. I9I 
 
 walk on the terraces, sometimes prolonging their conversation on the 
 new learning and the renovated age, which literature was producing, 
 until the shadows of night concealed the domes of Florence at their 
 feet and brought out the stars in the calm azure overhead. Thus 
 the city of the Medici became the center of that intellectual and lit- 
 erary revival v4iich was then radiating over Europe and heralding a 
 day of more glorious and blessed light than any which philosophy 
 and letters have ever shed. How sudden and desolating the change 
 to Italy when this light was extinguished, and her morning turned 
 into the shadow of death ! 
 
 But Florence had very recently been the scene of events of which 
 doubtless Luther had heard, and which must have touched a deeper 
 chord in his heart than its grand edifices and literary glory could 
 possibly awaken. Only fourteen years had elapsed since Savonarola 
 had been burned on the Piazza della Gran' Ducca, for upholding the 
 supreme authority of the Scriptures, denouncing the corruptions of 
 the Church, and teaching that men are to be saved, not by good 
 works, but by the expiatory sufferings of Christ. Luther had learned 
 these same truths in his cell ; their light, shining from the pages of 
 the Bible, had illuminated his darkened mind; the Holy Spirit, with 
 the iron pen of anguish, had engraven them upon his heart ; he had 
 proclaimed them to listening crowds in his wooden chapel at Wit- 
 temberg, and on this spot in Florence, already marked by a statue 
 of Neptune, a brother monk had been burned alive for preaching in 
 Italy the same doctrines which he had been advocating in Saxony. 
 He regarded the martyrdom of Savonarola as an augury of both 
 good and evil. He was encouraged by the fact that a brother in this 
 far-distant country, by the study of the same book, had reached the 
 same conclusion that he arrived at in Germany concerning the way 
 of salvation. Luther was cheered, moreover, to think that the 
 Florentine monk had been enabled to seal his. testimony for the 
 truth with his blood. 
 
 But the stake of Savonarola might be differently interpreted, and 
 to some was prophetic of other stakes to be planted in the future. 
 The death of the noble confessor indicated that the ancient hatred 
 of the darkness to the light was as bitter as ever, and that the enemy 
 would not abdicate without a mighty struggle. Truth was not to 
 progress peacefully amid the plaudits of the multitude ; but, on the 
 contrary, her path would be through tempest and conflict. She was 
 compelled to win at a fearful cost every step of her advance, and 
 before she could reign she must suffer and bleed. 
 
192 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 These were among the instructive lessons which Luther learned 
 on the spot to which, no doubt, he often came to meditate and pray. 
 The author, when visiting Florence in 1 871, was shown the Bible of 
 Savonarola, which is preserved in the library of San Lorenzo. His 
 small, elegant handwriting may be seen covering the broad margin 
 of its leaves. After his martyrdom his disciples were accustomed to 
 come secretly and kiss the spot where he had been burned. When 
 the reigning duke, Pietro de Medici, ascertained this fact he resolved 
 that the practice which gave him annoyance should be discontinued, 
 and accordingly erected on the spot a statue of Neptune, with a 
 fountain falling into a circular basin of water, and sea -nymphs, 
 satyrs, and tritons clustering on the brim. The device of the duke, 
 however, has only rendered more memorable, instead of obliterating, 
 the event of the martyrdom and the spot where it occurred. 
 
 Without doubt, another point of anxious inquiry to Luther was 
 to know how many disciples Savonarola had left behind him in the 
 city in which he had poured out his blood. The answer to this im- 
 portant question was not encouraging. The zeal of the Florentines had 
 abated. They saw that it was hard to enter into life as Savonarola 
 had done, and, therefore, were not inclined to travel the thorny path 
 of persecution which possibly might lead to the narrow gate of mar- 
 tyrdom. The admirers of the sainted monk praised him, but they 
 had not the courage to imitate him. Florence might have been the 
 cradle of an evangelical Renaissance \i ^x^x sons, who, under the voice 
 of their great orator and preacher, seemed to be not far from the 
 kingdom of heaven, had not drawn back ; but when brought face to 
 face with the stake they crouched down before the twofold burden 
 of sensuality and superstition. When Luther commenced his jour- 
 ney he believed that a peculiar sanctity sprang spontaneously, as it 
 w^ere, out of the holy soil of Italy ; but so far he had failed to dis- 
 cover it. The farther he advanced into the country, the more he was 
 shocked at the impiety and irreverence which characterized all ranks, 
 especially the * ' religious. " There appeared to be a universal relaxation 
 of morals. The land was defiled with avarice, pride, luxury, abomina- 
 ble crimes and vices, and, to crown all, "sacred things" were mocked. 
 Luther was delighted with the balmy climate of Italy ; but he ob- 
 served that, while its genial influence caused the fruits of the earth 
 to grow with a luxuriance unknown to his northern home, it nour- 
 ished with equal luxuriance the voluptuous appetites of the body and 
 debasing passions of the soul. It was not strange, therefore, that 
 he should sigh for the comparative piety, simplicity, frugality, and 
 
CAMPAGNA DI ROMA. 193 
 
 temperance of his dear father-land. But he would soon be in Rome, 
 and the thought consoled him. In that holy city Christianity, in the 
 spotless beauty of her apostolic youth, would stand before him. 
 Surely no monks in the costly apparel of silk and velvet would be 
 seen there. He was also confident that conventual cells, having 
 walls aglow with marbles, gildings, and paintings, and their floors 
 crowded with sumptuous tables, damask couches, and curious furni- 
 ture inlaid with silver and mother-of-pearl, could be found in many 
 Italian cities, but not in Rome. It seemed sacrilegious to him, no 
 doubt, to even think that priests who tarry by the wine-cup, or par- 
 take on fast -days of meat, could dwell in the sacred metropolis. 
 Instead of the sound of the harp, the lute, and the viol, he expected 
 to hear hymns of praise in the monasteries of Rome — matins wel- 
 coming the day, and vesper songs speeding its departure. To Luther 
 it must have appeared impossible for any thing that was defiling to 
 enter the holy place where sat God's vicegerent. He was eager to 
 enjoy its select and devout society, and there forget the dark scenes 
 which made him sad on the way thither. 
 
 Leaving Florence, he hastened toward Rome, on the last stage 
 of his journey. In imagination we behold him on his way, now 
 descending the southern slopes on which Viterbo is situated, and 
 at every short distance straining his eyes if haply he may dis- 
 cover on the broad plain at his feet some signs of her who once 
 was "Queen of Nations." On his right the blue Mediterranean 
 laved the shore of Latium ; on his left rose the "triple -topped 
 Soracte " and the "purple Apennine, " on whose crests Avhite towns 
 were hanging, and on whose sides olive woods and forests of pine 
 were clinging — this mountain range running on in a magnificent wall 
 of craggy peaks until it fades from the eye in the southern horizon. 
 Luther is now traversing the celebrated Campagna di Roma. 
 
 Whoever crosses this plain at the present day finds it herbless, 
 silent, and desolate. It once nourished multitudes of men, but they 
 have perished from its bosom. In its prosperous days numerous and 
 populous towns crowned every conical height that dots its surface, 
 but now they are buried in its soil. Where orange groves and olive 
 woods once flourished, there reeds, wiry grass, and thistles now grow. 
 Its roads, which were in former ages crowded with armies, procon- 
 suls, and embassadors, are now deserted and almost untrodden. This 
 great plain was once adorned with many magnificent structures and 
 cultivated gardens, but the only memorials of its pristine glory which 
 remain are heaps of brick-work with the marble peeled off, broken 
 
THE PILGRIM'S ARRIVAL. I95 
 
 columns protruding through the soil, and substructions of temples 
 and tombs which have become the lair of the fox or the lurking 
 place of the brigand. But at the time of Luther's visit the Campagna 
 di Roma was not the treeless, blighted, devastated expanse that it is 
 in our day. Many memorials of decay no doubt met his eye as he 
 passed along. The frightful scars of war had defaced the landscape, 
 and the indolence and ignorance of the inhabitants had produced even 
 worse effects upon the plain, but in the sixteenth century it had 
 not become so deserted of men and so forsaken of its cities as it is 
 now. The engravings of Peranesi, which are nearly two hundred 
 years old, represent the country around Rome as tolerably well peo- 
 pled and cultivated. The land then enjoyed what is at present almost 
 unknown to it — seed-time and harvest. Besides, Luther beheld it in 
 the beginning of Summer, the light of an Italian sun rendering the 
 young verdure which clothed its surface still more charming, and 
 revealing to the itinerant monk a pleasant scene. But his thoughts 
 were then engrossed with one main object — he was within sight of 
 the metropolis of Christendom. The first thing that would naturally 
 catch his eye was the heights of Monte Maria, adjoining the Vatican, 
 for the cupola of St. Peter's was not yet built; the long, ragged line 
 formed by the buildings and towers of the city would next come into 
 view. When Luther first beheld the domes of the sacred place he 
 was thrilled with those emotions which every one, who has the first 
 sight of it feels, yet few hearts have ever been so deeply stirred as 
 the German monk's, for he fell upon his knees and exclaimed, ''Holy 
 Rome, I salute thee!" 
 
 After traveling many a weary league his feet stood at last within 
 the gates of the "Eternal City." He persuaded himself to believe 
 that he breathed a holier air, and was in the midst of a righteous 
 people. Every moment the Nazarites of the Lord in their long robes 
 passed by, while the chimes, which pealed forth all the day and were 
 not silent even in the night, indicated that prayers and praises were 
 continually ascending in the temples of worship. The decay and 
 ruin visible in different directions deeply impressed the mind of 
 Luther. Glorious palaces and noble monuments rose on every side 
 of him ; but, to his astonishment, in the midst of these were heaps of 
 rubbish, the remains of the once imperial glory of the city, when in 
 its palmy days it was adorned with the products of art, the creations 
 of genius, and the spoils of war. These physical ruins gave him 
 some idea of Rome's greatness under her pagan emperors and con- 
 suls, and their defaced and mutilated condition excited in his heart 
 
 14 
 
196 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the profoundest veneration. In his thoughts they were associated 
 with the immortal names of the great men whose deeds had thrilled 
 him and whose writings had instructed him in his native land. While 
 looking at the stupendous ruins of the Coliseum he was reminded of 
 the martyrs who contended on that spot with wild beasts and died 
 in the triumphs of that faith which he had recently embraced. The 
 mighty temple of St. Peter and the Vatican, where the Vicar of 
 Christ had erected his throne, were the more sacred to Luther, 
 because they stood where the martyrs were burned **as torches to 
 illumine the darkness of the night." As he wandered through the 
 city he remembered the fact that Paul's feet also had walked over it, 
 and that his letter to the brethren there had been opened and read 
 by them, teaching not only them, but even himself, sixteen centuries 
 later, the important truth that ''the just shall live by faith." 
 
 The first weeks which Luther spent in Rome were occupied in 
 visiting the holy places and saying mass at the altars of the more 
 holy of its churches; for, though converted in heart and trusting 
 in the one true Mediator, he had an imperfect knowledge of evangel- 
 ical religion, and had not fully emerged from the darkness of Roman- 
 ism. The law of life in the soul may not be able suddenly to produce 
 an outward course of liberty. There may be a reformation of ideas 
 while the old habits and acts of legal belief yield slowly and for a 
 time survive. It was difficult for Luther, or even Christendom, to 
 find the way out of a night of twelve centuries. At the present time 
 that night still broods over a large part of Europe. The physical 
 deformities of Rome were not the only stumbling-blocks in Luther's 
 way. He soon discovered that these scars and other outward blem- 
 ishes, which war or barbarism had produced, were as nothing com- 
 pared Avith the hideous moral corruptions that existed beneath the 
 surface. The impiety, luxury, and lewdness which shocked him in 
 the first Italian towns he had entered, and which he had beheld at 
 almost every place since crossing the Alps, were all repeated in Rome 
 on a scale of seven-fold magnitude. The enchantment that had sur- 
 rounded Luther was suddenly dispelled. Instead of a paradise he 
 found a pandemonium. His practice of saying mass at all the popu- 
 lar churches brought him into daily contact with the priests, whom 
 he met and heard behind the scenes. Their conversation startled 
 him, and he could not conceal from himself the fact, though it caused 
 him unspeakable sorrow, that these men were simply playing a part, 
 and that they privately held in contempt and treated with mockery 
 the very rites which they publicly celebrated with so much apparent 
 
ROMISH BLASPHEMIES. I97 
 
 devotion. While he was terribly shocked at their profane levity, 
 they were no less astonished at his solemn credulity, deriding him as 
 a dull German, who did not possess enough genius to be a skeptic nor 
 sufficient cunning to be a hypocrite. Indeed, they regarded him as 
 a fossilized specimen of a fanaticism which generally prevailed in the 
 twelfth century, but which they were amazed to find still existing in 
 the sixteenth. 
 
 While Luther was saying mass one day in a prominent church 
 with his usual solemnity, the priests at the neighboring altars, who 
 had sung seven masses to his one, reproved what they considered his 
 delay with these words of blasphemy: ''Make haste, and send Our 
 Lady back to her Son." To them "Lady and Son" were worth only 
 the money they brought. But these were the common priests, and 
 not the true representatives of the faith and piety of the Church. 
 Hence Luther resolved to mingle with the holy dignitaries, but his 
 belief in their purity must also be destroyed by an acquaintance with 
 them. On a certain occasion he was in a company of prelates who, 
 supposing the German monk to be a man of the same easy faith and 
 morals as themselves, lifted the veil higher than prudence would dic- 
 tate by openly expressing their disbelief in the mysteries of their 
 Church, and shamelessly boasting of their shrewdness in deceiving the 
 people. Instead of the words, ^'Hoc est meum corpus,'" etc., the words 
 at the utterance of which the bread is changed, as the Church of 
 Rome teaches, into the flesh and blood of Christ, these prelates, 
 according to their own statement, were accustomed to say, ''Panis es, 
 et panis mancbis.'' etc., *' Bread thou art and bread thou wilt remain," 
 and then, elevating the Host, they were amused at seeing the people 
 bow down and worship. These declarations of the prominent priests 
 filled Luther with inexpressible horror. A fearful abyss seemed to 
 yawn suddenly beneath him, but it exerted a salutary influence upon 
 him. His eyes were opened, and he was now convinced that he 
 must either renounce belief in Christianity or in Rome. He could 
 not reject the first, because his faith in it had been too deeply rooted 
 by his struggles at Erfurt. The Church of Rome must, therefore, be 
 abandoned ; but, while he was resolved to separate himself from her 
 corrupt clergy, he was not yet ready to give up her doctrines and 
 ceremonies. 
 
 Instead of a city of prayers and alms, Rome was full of mocking 
 hypocrisy and defiant skepticism. Among the clergy, where contrite 
 hearts and holy lives are naturally expected, Luther found shameless 
 revelry and glaring impiety. Borgia had lately closed his infamous 
 
198 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 pontificate, and the warlike Julius II was now on the papal throne. 
 The city was patrolled every night by a powerful police force, which 
 was empowered to inflict summary justice on offenders, and, in some 
 cases, the latter were hanged at the first post, or thrown into the 
 Tiber. But all the vigilance of the police could not secure tlie peace 
 and safety of the streets. Robberies and murders occurred almost 
 every night. **If there be a hell," said Luther, **Rome is built 
 over it." ^And yet it was in Rome, in the midst of all this darkness, 
 that the light of truth shone fully into the mind of the reformer. 
 There, under peculiar circumstances, that grand central idea, on 
 which his own life and also the whole of that Reformation which 
 God permitted him to accomplish, were based — the doctrine of justi- 
 fication by faith alone — rose upon him in its full-orbed splendor. 
 Desiring to improve every hour of his sojourn in Rome, he was con- 
 stantly employed in performing religious acts, because he believed 
 that they had a tenfold degree of merit when done on the sacred soil 
 and at the privileged altars and shrines of the city. To nourish his 
 piety and return a holier man than he came, Luther multiplied his 
 good works, for as yet he saw but dimly the sole agency of faith in 
 the justification of the sinner. 
 
 While under the influence of these feelings, he one day visited the 
 Church of the Lateran. It has always been held in peculiar rever- 
 ence from its venerable antiquity, and especially from its having been 
 long regarded as the mother church of Christendom. The original 
 edifice, founded by Constantine, was greatly injured by fire in the 
 fourteenth century ; and it has since been so altered and enlarged 
 that hardly a stone of the old fabric remains ; but, as there has never 
 been a total demolition and reconstruction, the chain of association 
 remains unbroken, and the reverend form of the first Christian 
 emperor, whose statue stands in the vestibule, is still the presiding 
 genius of the place. The facade is of a style of architecture kindred 
 to that of St. Peter's, but superior in beauty and simplicity, the 
 perpendicular of the columns and pilasters which support the massive 
 entablature being broken only by the horizontal line of the balconies 
 running across nearly in the middle. The interior is rich and impos- 
 ing, though not in the purest taste. The features of the basilica 
 have disappeared, as the columns which once separated the nave 
 from the aisles and imprisoned in piers, patched over with ornaments 
 in stucco and marble. Twelve colossal statues of the apostles in 
 marble — six on either hand — occupy niches scooped out of these piers. 
 The execution of these works fell upon evil days in art, and they are 
 
SCALA SANCTA. 
 
200 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 characterized by flutter and extravagance. The impressions of the 
 writer, who recently visited this interesting basiHca, are expressed by 
 HiUiard, the distinguished American lawyer and connoisseur, who 
 was in Rome thirty years ago. Speaking of the interior of St. John 
 Lateran, he says: ''The draperies look as if the wearers" (the 
 apostles) *'had been out in a high wind, and suddenly stiffened into 
 stone ; and their attitudes are painful to the eye, for they seem to be 
 maintained by muscular effort. But they show great skill and mechan- 
 ical cleverness. They are in art what Darwin's ' Botanic Garden ' 
 is in poetry ; and, in making this comparison I recognize the merits 
 both of the statues and the poem." The visitor to the basilica will 
 be reminded of those Gothic forms so rarely seen in Rome, when he 
 beholds the high altar of gilded bronze, resting on four columns of 
 granite, and resembling the diminished spire of a cathedral. The 
 venerable mosaics of the tribune, executed by a contemporary of 
 Cimabue, show in the attitude and expression of the figures the 
 gleams of the new dawn of art, but they are not in harmony with 
 the objects around them. 
 
 To the devout Roman Catholic this venerable edifice has always 
 been sacred. In it Pope Sylvester II was buried, A. D. 1003 ; but 
 neither this fact nor the artistic attractions drew Luther to it. He 
 went there to ascend the Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs, which tradition 
 says Christ descended on retiring from the hall of judgment, where 
 Pilate had passed sentence upon him. It is said that these stairs, 
 which are of marble, were conveyed from Jerusalem to Rome by 
 angels, who have so often rendered similar services to the Church — 
 ''Our Lady's House" at Loretto, for example. The stairs, so trans- 
 ported, were enshrined in the palace of the Lateran, and every one 
 who climbs them on his knees merits an indulgence of fifteen years 
 for each ascent. The steps became so worn by both lips and knees, 
 as to necessitate wooden coverings, which have been replaced several 
 times. They can only be ascended on one's knees ; but, fortunately for 
 curious unbeUevers, there is a narrower staircase on either side, by 
 which they can mount, and by which the faithful may descend. 
 During any morning of "Holy Week" may here be seen a throng 
 of devotees, climbing with prayerful patience, and leaving kisses 
 on every step. These pilgrims are not always solemn, as Dr. Wylie, 
 in 185 1, saw some peasants from Rimini ascending and, at the same 
 time, enlivening the performance with roars of laughter, for it is the 
 devout act, not the devout feeHng, that earns the indulgence. A 
 French gentleman and lady, with their little daughter, also made the 
 
POPE JULIUS IL 201 
 
 ascent, but in a more decorous manner. The writer several years 
 ago witnessed a large number performing the same ceremony, and, 
 while the Protestant Christian visits the place because of its associa- 
 tion with Luther's conversion, he beholds the scene enacted there, 
 and with a sad heart pities the credulity of the superstitious Roman 
 Catholic. 
 
 Luther, not doubting either the legend concerning the stairs or 
 the merit which the bulls of the popes attached to the holy act of 
 climbing them, began the work with earnestness. While slowly 
 mounting upward in the appointed way, securing for himself a year's 
 indulgence at every step, he was startled by a sudden voice, which 
 seemed as if it spoke from heaven, and said, ''The just shall live by 
 faith." Luther started to his feet in amazement. This was the third 
 time these same words had been conveyed into his mind with such 
 emphasis that they appeared to be uttered with a voice of thunder. 
 Its tones were now louder than ever, so that he grasped more fully 
 the great truth which it announced, and under its inspiration departed 
 from Rome to inaugurate the great Reformation. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 THE PAPACY AND ITALY. 
 
 THE voice of Savonarola had been silenced by the flames, but 
 his eloquent words, demanding a reformation of the Church, 
 both in its head and members, lingered in the hearts of the people. 
 This earnest, fearless monk expressed the sentiment that had been 
 secretly, yet surely advancing in Italy ever since the Council of Pisa, 
 A. D. 1409. Soon after the beginning of the sixteenth century, or 
 in A. D. 15 1 1, Pope Julius II was compelled to convene a council at 
 Pisa. Louis XII, king of France, provoked by the insults he had 
 received from this violent pontiff, meditated revenge, and even caused 
 a medal to be struck, with a menacing inscription, expressing his 
 determination to overturn the power of Rome, which was repre- 
 sented by the title of Babylon on this coin. Several cardinals also, 
 encouraged by the protection of this monarch and the Emperor 
 Maximilian I, endeavored, in this council, to correct and reform the 
 errors and corruptions of a superstitious Church. The decrees that 
 were passed during its sittings at Pisa were so many rays of light 
 
202 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 shining through the darkness that then enveloped Italy and the 
 remainder of Europe. 
 
 The pope, on the contrary, relying on his own strength and on 
 the power of his allies, beheld these threatening appearances without 
 the least concern, and even treated them with mockery and con- 
 tempt. He did not neglect, however, the proper methods of render- 
 ing ineffectual the efforts of his enemies, and therefore gave orders 
 for a council to meet in the palace of the Lateran at Rome, A. D. 
 15 12, in which the decrees of the Council of Pisa were condemned 
 and annulled in the most injurious and insulting terms. But Julius 
 II could not repress the demand for reform which was made in this 
 assembly. Among the prominent orations were those delivered by 
 Egidio of Viterbo, general of the order of Augustinians, and Gian- 
 francesco Pico, the learned and pious count of Mirandula; both of. 
 whom denounced, with singular freedom and boldness, the abuses 
 which threatened the ruin of the Church and the utter extinction 
 
 of rehgion. The pope, no 
 doubt, would have hurled 
 the most formidable anathe- 
 mas against Louis and other 
 princes had not death re- 
 moved him in the midst of 
 his ambitious and vindictive 
 projects. 
 
 He was succeeded by Leo 
 X, A. D. 15 13, who was of 
 the family of the Medicis. 
 This pontiff was a lover and 
 patron of literature and the 
 arts. A profound scholar 
 himself, he also protected 
 literary men, and devoted his 
 time to conversations with 
 them and to the pursuit of 
 pleasure. He disliked to be 
 burdened with solicitude and 
 care, and exhibited the ut- 
 most impatience when duty 
 imposed severe labor; but he never neglected the grand object, 
 which the most of his predecessors had so much at heart — the pro- 
 motion and advancement of the papacy in wealth and splendor. 
 
GENERAL DISCONTENT. 203- 
 
 Julius II, during the sitting of the Council of Lateran, had been 
 summoned to appear before a' higher tribunal, leaving many impor- 
 tant questions to be decided by Leo X, who opposed every measure 
 that had the least tendency to favor the reformation of the Church. 
 He went still further, and in a conference with Francis I, king of 
 France, at Bologna, induced that monarch to abrogate the ''Prag- 
 matic Sanction," so long odious to the popes of Rome, and to sub- 
 stitute in its place another body of laws more advantageous to the 
 papacy, which, under the title of the Concoi'-dat, his subjects were 
 compelled to obey, though with the utmost indignation and reluctance. 
 
 The corruptions prevailing in the Romish Church were con- 
 demned, not only by many of the delegates in the general councils, 
 but also by the satirical effusions of the press. The reigning pon- 
 tiffs, however, in the full enjoyment of wealth and luxury, and con- 
 scious of absolute authority, regarded these censures with indifference ; 
 but at length complaints were heard in the pulpit, and the people 
 began to murmur. This mode of attack could not be safely tol- 
 erated ; and, accordingly, Leo X issued a bull, A. D. 15 16, in 
 which he reprimanded certain irregularities, and prohibited the dis- 
 cussion of the coming of Antichrist. It was too late. During the 
 following year a cry was raised in the heart of Germany, and the 
 ominous sounds. Antichrist and Babylon, reverberated from every 
 corner of Europe, and awoke the astonished inmates of the Vatican 
 from the security in which they had slumbered for ages. It was not 
 strange that ecclesiastical grievances should call forth such general 
 complaint and remonstrance in Italy, where they existed in an aggra- 
 vated form. The vices of the clergy, and their neglect of religious 
 instruction, produced their legitimate results. The people remained 
 in ignorance, ecclesiastical offices were sold, and sacred things pros- 
 tituted to worldly purposes. Popish writers, and persons whose 
 official situations admitted them into all the secrets of the court of 
 Rome, confessed that it had become more corrupt than any of the 
 secular courts of Europe. The popes, in their spirit and character, 
 were merely secular princes, and the Romish hierarchy obtained the 
 degrading reputation of being immoral and unprincipled. Cabals, 
 intrigue, and bribery reigned at Rome. The ministers were united 
 in their efforts to deceive the world ; but often their personal inter- 
 ests clashed, and they labored to supplant one another. 
 
 The occupants of the papal chair, for some time before the Ref- 
 ormation, openly practiced vices which the increasing knowledge of 
 the age should have condemned. During the pontificate of Sixtus 
 
204 I'^^L ^ STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 IV a terrible spectacle was presented to the world. The pope, a 
 cardinal, and an archbishop were associated with a band of ruffians 
 to murder two men who were an honor to their country; and they 
 even agreed to perpetrate this crime during a season of hospitality, 
 within the sanctuary of a Christian church, and at the signal of the 
 elevation of the host. The insatiable avarice and profligate manners 
 of Alexander VI were so notorious that Sanazzaro has compared 
 him to the greatest monsters of antiquity — to Nero, Caligula, and 
 Heliogabalus. Julius II was more ambitious to be distinguished as a 
 soldier than a bishop, and by his turbulence Italy was in a state of 
 continual excitement and warfare. Leo X, though celebrated for his 
 elegant accomplishments and his patronage of literature and the arts, 
 disgraced the papal chair by his voluptuousness and luxury. To 
 gratify his love of pleasure, and his passion for magnificent extrava- 
 gance, he resorted to such methods in securing money as were a 
 reproach to Christianity. 
 
 The following description of the papal court, by an Italian who 
 lived in the age of the Reformation, is significant: ** Having raised 
 themselves to earthly power on this basis and by these methods, the 
 popes gradually lost sight of the salvation of souls and divine pre- 
 cepts, and bending their thoughts to worldly grandeur, and making 
 use of their spiritual authority solely as an instrument and tool to 
 advance their temporal, they began to lay aside the appearance of 
 bishops and assume the state of secular princes. Their concern was 
 no longer to maintain sanctity of life, ta promote religion, or to show 
 charity to mankind ; but to accumulate treasures, to raise armies, to 
 wage war against Christians. The sacred mysteries were celebrated 
 with thoughts and hands stained with blood ; and, with the view of 
 drawing money from every quarter, new edicts were issued, new arts 
 invented, new stratagems laid ; spiritual censures were fulminated, 
 and all things, sacred and profane, sold without distinction and with- 
 out shame. The immense riches amassed in this way, and scattered 
 among the courtiers, were followed by pomp, luxury, licentiousness, 
 and the vilest and most abominable lusts. No care was taken to 
 maintain the dignity of the pontificate ; no thought bestowed on the 
 character of those who should succeed to it ; the reigning pope 
 sought only how he might raise his sons, nephews, and other rela- 
 tions to immoderate wealth, and even to principalities and kingdoms; 
 and, instead of conferring ecclesiastical dignities and emoluments on 
 the virtuous and deserving, he either sold them to the best bidder or 
 lavished them on those who promised to be most subservient to his 
 
THE PREVALENCE OF SKEPTICISM. 205 
 
 ambition, avarice, and voluptuousness. Though these things had 
 eradicated from the minds of men all that reverence which was once 
 felt for the popes, yet their authority was still sustained to a certain 
 degree by the imposing and potent influence of the name of religion, 
 together with the means which they possessed of gratifying princes 
 and their courtiers by bestowing on them dignities and other ecclesi- 
 astical favors. Presuming on the respect which men entertained for 
 their office — aware that any prince who took up arms against them 
 incurred general odium and exposed himself to the attack of other 
 powers, and knowing that if victorious they could make their own 
 terms, and if vanquished they would escape on easy conditions — the 
 pontiffs abandoned themselves to their ruling passion of aggrandizing 
 their friends, and proved for a long time the instruments of exciting 
 wars and spreading conflagrations over the whole of Italy." The 
 productions of this writer sometimes exhibit a copiousness that re- 
 minds us of Livy, and a spirit of indignation against tyranny like 
 that which animates the pages of Tacitus. The censors of the press 
 in Italy would not allow the work to be published until the above 
 extract was stricken out. 
 
 At this time there existed in Italy numerous and serious difficul- 
 ties, which were unfavorable to the reception of divine truth and the 
 cause of ecclesiastical reform. The people were not superstitously 
 devoted to the Roman See, and the Italian republics during the 
 Middle Ages manifested a degree of religious independence that was 
 remarkable ; but this reaction against the papacy introduced a skep- 
 ticism which was not less hostile to Protestant Christianity. The 
 sagacious Italians had at an early period discovered that the claims 
 of the popes, so long enveloped in mystery, were without founda- 
 tion, and their esteem for the occupants of the papal chair did not 
 increase after a close inspection of their lives and the motives which 
 actuated them. The people of Italy, by their proximity to the Vat- 
 ican, had a good opportunity to prosecute this investigation ; and the 
 result was the eradication from their minds of those feelings of ven- 
 eration for the popes which were entertained in other countries. 
 The established forms of the Church continued to receive external 
 respect ; but the prevailing corruption produced an indifference con- 
 cerning religion which, on the revival of letters, became real skep- 
 ticism. It would seem* to be an easy matter to sever a people in this 
 condition from the Romish Church ; and yet none are more difficult 
 to impress with the truth than those who practice the external rites 
 of religion, but are ignorant of its inner life. The pride of the 
 
206 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 human mind is hostile to the simple and spiritual doctrines of the 
 Gospel ; and, though men may be emancipated from prejudices, yet 
 when their hearts are dead to religious feeling they readily support 
 established systems of error, and as bitterly persecute the truth as 
 the most superstitious and bigoted. 
 
 If before the sixteenth century there were few heretics in Italy, 
 or if those who deviated from the popular faith were less observed or 
 less severely punished there than in other countries, it was because 
 the people did not trouble themselves about the matter. As a gen- 
 eral rule, the Italians were not attached to the Roman Church either 
 by a lively faith or an ardent enthusiasm. The sentiments of their 
 hearts and the convictions of their understandings did not approve 
 its principles. The educated classes felt a higher regard for the writ- 
 ings of Aristotle or Plato than for the Bible or the teachings of the 
 Christian Fathers ; while the multitude, always moved by the sensu- 
 ous and the imaginative, were attracted to the services of the Church, 
 because its temples were magnificent and its religious festivals grand. 
 But while the Italians were without religious principle and devotion, 
 their attachment to the Romish See had been strengthened, for more 
 than a century before the Reformation, by national vanity. The 
 wealth and importance of the city of Rome had been greatly dimin- 
 ished by the removal of the papal court to Avignon ; but after the 
 return of the popes to their ancient seat, and the recovery of the 
 pontificate from the serious wound inflicted on it by the schism of 
 the anti- popes, the Romans believed that their former distinction 
 would be restored. The ancient glory of Italy as the mistress of the 
 world had departed, never to return ; but, in their opinion, the loss 
 was compensated by the noble position she now occupied as the 
 head of Christendom. The Itahans generally shared this patriotic 
 feeling, and while they were conscious of the corrupt state of the 
 Church, their regard for the national interest constrained them to 
 defend it. Accordingly, when the councils of Pisa, Constance, and 
 Basle attacked the corruptions of the Roman court, and endeavored 
 to abridge its extensive authority, the Italians opposed these reform- 
 atory movements. The pontiffs were accused of ** Italian vices," 
 and the people considered themselves dishonored as a nation by such 
 invectives. It was natural, therefore, that they should seek to palli- 
 ate these evil practices. 
 
 The popes obtained popular favor by fostering this patriotic spirit. 
 They resolved that the power which they had gradually acquired 
 over the nations of the West should be productive ; and they adopted 
 
THE D OMINICAN CONTR O VERS V. 20/ 
 
 a policy which directed the wealth of Europe through various chan- 
 nels to Rome, from which it was distributed over the entire country. 
 The first year's produce of all ecclesiastical livings after every va- 
 cancy, called annats, came into their hands, together with large sums 
 of money for the confirmation of bishops, and for the gift of archi- 
 episcopal palls. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 ITALY RECEIVING LIGHT FROM GERMANY. 
 
 THE attention of the Italians was directed to the important ques- 
 tion of reform in the beginning of the sixteenth century by a 
 controversy which excited a deep interest in Germany for several 
 years, and finally reached the papal court for decision. A baptized 
 Jew of Cologne, named Pfefferkorn, an intimate friend of the Domin- 
 ican inquisitor, Hochstraten, assisted by the monks of his order, 
 succeeded in persuading the Emperor MaximiHan to issue a decree 
 ordaining all Jewish books, with the exception of the Bible, to be 
 burned, because they were filled with blasphemies against Christ. 
 John Reuchlin, or Capnio, a learned man of Suabia and the restorer 
 of Hebrew literature among Christians, labored, both privately and 
 through the press, to prevent the execution of the decree. The 
 emperor requested him to examine the books. After completing 
 the work, Reuchlin indicated what books could be condemned by 
 the imperial order, and, accordingly, these were consigned to the 
 flames ; but such as contained no attacks upon Christianity were 
 saved. This enraged the Dominicans, who commenced a fierce war 
 upon him. The resentment of the clergy was so bitter that they 
 ventured to accuse him of heresy, and quoted passages from his writ- 
 ings to prove it. But Reuchlin confounded them, A. D. 15 13, in his 
 "Defense against my Detractors in Cologne." His successful oppo- 
 sition to them made his enemies more vindictive, and sentence was 
 pronounced against him, first by the divines of Cologne, and after- 
 wards by the Sorbonne at Paris. Hochstraten assembled a tribunal 
 at Mayence, and had the writings of Reuchlin condemned and burned. 
 The able professor appealed to Pope Leo X, and the friends of learn- 
 ing determined to make his cause a common one. 
 
 Erasmus and other distinguished men wrote warmly in their be- 
 half to their friends at Rome, some of whom belonged to the sacred 
 
208 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 college; and the monks, with equal zeal, made a strong effort to de- 
 feat those whom they both hated and feared. On the one side stood 
 the monks, the most faithful servants of the popes ; on the other, 
 the men whose talents and writings had attracted the admiration of 
 Europe. No contest of the kind had, for a long time, awakened such 
 general interest, especially in Italy and Germany, where learned men 
 almost universally defended Reuchhn. The papal court, not wishing 
 to offend either party, protracted this delicate case from time to time, 
 and during the interval the most cutting satires were written on the 
 monks and their supporters. Leo X himself had no deep attach- 
 ment to this class, and referred the whole matter to the bishop of 
 Spires, who declared Reuchlin innocent, and condemned the monks 
 to pay the cost of the investigation. The ultimate sentence, enjoin- 
 ing silence on both parties, was scarcely ratified when the controversy 
 between Luther and the preachers of indulgences arose, and was 
 brought before the same tribunal for decision. The course pursued 
 by Pfefferkorn, the suspicious convert from Judaism, contributed in 
 no small degree to direct the attention of the Italians to Germany, 
 whose inhabitants they had hitherto regarded Avith contempt. A 
 more favorable opinion Avas now entertained, especially since Luther 
 espoused the cause of Reuchlin. The latter was also defended by 
 Ulrich von Hiitten, a German scholar, and a mortal enemy of the 
 monks. He was of a noble family of Franconia, and won great 
 distinction both by his pen and his sword. In early life he visited 
 Italy, and was present at the siege of Padua. The abominations of 
 Rome aroused his indignation, and, after his return to Germany, he 
 composed a work against the court of Rome, in which its vices are ' 
 described in the strongest terms, and the forcible overthrow of its tyr- 
 anny advocated. "There are," says a traveler, Vadiseus, who figures 
 in that work, ' ' three things one usually brings away with him from 
 Rome: a bad conscience, an impaired stomach, and an empty purse. 
 There are three things which Rome does not believe : the immortality 
 of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and hell. There are three 
 things of which Rome makes traffic: the grace of Christ, ecclesias- 
 tical dignities, and women." To Hiitten, surnamed the Demos- 
 thenes of Germany, on account of his philippics against popery, has 
 been attributed the famous satire which appeared A. D. 15 16, enti- 
 tled, EpistolcB Obscuronim Virojiim. But it has been ascertained that 
 his friend, Crotus Robianus, who was a college acquaintance, and 
 other Germans, were the real authors of this production, though 
 Hiitten contributed largely to it. 
 
THE "LETTERS''— LUTHER'S WRITINGS IN ITALY. 209 
 
 In these ''Letters" the adversaries of ReuchHn, the monks, are 
 represented as the writers, and are made to discuss the current affairs 
 of the day, and especially theological subjects, after their own fashion, 
 and in their own barbarous Latin. The most absurd questions are 
 addressed to Eratius, their correspondent at Cologne, revealing their 
 own gross ignorance, superstition, unbelief, fanatical zeal, pride, and 
 vulgar spirit. Worse than all, they expose the excesses and profligacy 
 of the chiefs of their party, and relate several scandalous anecdotes 
 of Hochstraten and Pfefferkorn. There is in these "Letters" a com- 
 bination of silliness and hypocrisy which renders them very comic, 
 and yet they are so natural that even the Dominicans and Fran- 
 ciscans of England accepted them as a genuine and faithful statement 
 of the principles and conduct of their order. But when the monks 
 in Germany saw the "Letters" they were indignant, and resolved to 
 submit the matter to Leo X. The pope, however, refused to issue 
 a bull against the satirical production, to the chagrin of the monks, 
 and the delight of their enemies. This excitement had some influ- 
 ence in Italy, and no doubt prepared the way for those more im- 
 portant events which were soon to follow. 
 
 Luther published his "Theses " A. D. 15 17, and in less than two 
 years his writings appeared in Italy. There was nothing to indicate 
 that a dispute, conducted by a friar, in an obscure part of Germany, 
 in opposition to the sale of indulgences would awaken any special 
 interest in other countries. The traffic in which Tetzel engaged had 
 long been sanctioned and practiced by the Roman See, for its pecun- 
 iary benefit. It was not so much the evil itself as Luther's boldness, 
 in attacking it that startled Italy and other nations. The impudence^ 
 of his antagonists provoked the reformer to greater perseverance, and. 
 gradually led him to censure other abuses, until his name and opin- 
 ions soon became the topic of conversation beyond the hmits of his. 
 native land. The favorable reception of his writings by the learned' 
 men of Italy must have been exceedingly gratifying to him. John 
 Froben, a celebrated publisher at Basle, sent Luther the following; 
 information in a letter addressed to him, and dated February 14, A. 
 D. 1 5 19: "Blasius Salmonius, a bookseller at Leipsic, presented me,, 
 at the last Frankfort fair, with certain treatises composed by you,, 
 which, being approved by learned men, I immediately put to press,, 
 and sent six hundred copies to France and Spain. My friends assure' 
 me that they are sold at Paris, and read and approved of, even by 
 the Sorbonnists. Several learned men there have said that they have 
 long wished to see divine things treated with such becoming freedom. 
 
210 ITAL Y STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Calvus, a bookseller of Pavia, himself a scholar and addicted to the 
 muses, has carried a great part of the impression into Italy. He 
 promises to send epigrams written in your praise by the most enlight- 
 ened men in that country; such favor have you gained to yourself 
 and the cause of Christ by your constancy, courage, and dexterity." 
 A letter has also been preserved, written about this time by an indi- 
 vidual in Rome, in which the spirit and writings of Luther are 
 applauded. 
 
 In A. D. 1520 Burchard Schenk, a German nobleman and a 
 monk, who was residing at Venice, wrote to Spalatin, the chaplain 
 of the elector of Saxony, saying: "According to your request, I 
 have read the books of Martin Luther, and I can assure you that he 
 has been much esteemed in this place for some time past. But the 
 common saying is, 'Let him beware of the pope!' Upwards of two 
 months ago ten copies of his books were brought here, and instantly 
 purchased, before I had even heard of their arrival ; but in the begin- 
 ning of this month (September), a mandate from the pope and the 
 patriarch of Venice, arrived prohibiting them; and a strict search 
 having been instituted among the booksellers, one imperfect copy 
 was found and seized. I had endeavored to obtain that copy, but 
 the bookseller durst not dispose of it." In a letter written during 
 the following year, the same person states that the senate of Venice 
 had at last reluctantly consented to the publication of the papal bull 
 against Luther, but had taken care that it should not be read until 
 the people had left the church. 
 
 This correspondence relates two curious circumstances. The one 
 is, that Schenk had received a commission from the elector of Saxony 
 to purchase relics for the collegiate church at Wittemberg; but the 
 commission was now revoked, and the relics sent back to Italy, to be 
 sold at what price they could bring; "for," writes Spalatin, "here 
 even the common people despise them, and think it sufficient (as it 
 certainly is) if they be taught from the Scriptures to have faith and 
 confidence in God, and to love their neighbor." The other circum- 
 stance is, that the person whom Schenk employed to collect rehcs for 
 the elector was Vigerio, who afterwards became bishop of Capo d' 
 Istria, and legate of the pope to the German princes, but who 
 ultimately embraced the doctrines of the Reformation, and became 
 eminently instrumental in their diffusion and elsewhere. His charac- 
 ter at this early period of his life deserves consideration, because, after 
 his renunciation of popery, the greatest efforts were made by Romish 
 writers to discredit his authority and tarnish his reputation. He is 
 
PR O TESTA NT D O CTRINES IN R OME. 2 1 1 
 
 described by Schenk as ''a most excellent young man, who had dis- 
 tinguished himself among the students of law at Padua, and Avas 
 desirous of finishing his studies at Wittemberg under the auspices and 
 patronage of the elector Frederick." 
 
 The writings of Luther, Melancthon, Zwingle, and Bucer, notwith- 
 standing all the pontifical bulls issued against them, Avere circulated 
 and read with eagerness and delight in various parts of Italy. Some 
 of them were translated into the Italian language, and were published 
 under fictitious names, so that the inquisitors could not ascertain who 
 were the real authors or what was the subject. With disguised titles 
 they entered Rome and were read in the pope's own palace by some 
 of the bishops and cardinals who praised their sentiments, but were 
 compelled to denounce them as heretical and dangerous when the 
 true authors Avere discovered. An incident of this kind is related 
 by the elder Scaliger when he was at Rome. ** Cardinal Seraphin," 
 says he, **who was at that time counselor of the papal Rota, came 
 to me one day and said: 'We have had a most laughable business 
 before us to-day. The ** Common Places" of Philip Melancthon Avere 
 printed at Venice Avith this title, par Messer Ippojilo da Terra Negra^ 
 Being sent to Rome, they Avere freely bought for the space of a. 
 whole year and read with great applause, so that, the copies being 
 exhausted, an order Avas sent to Venice for a fresh supply; but, in 
 the mean time, a Franciscan friar, Avho possessed a copy of the 
 original edition, discovered the trick, and denounced the book as a 
 Lutheran production from the pen of Melancthon. It was proposed 
 to punish the poor printer, Avho probably could not read one Avord 
 of the original ; but at last it Avas agreed to burn the copies and sup- 
 press the Avhole affair.' " 
 
 A similar anecdote is related of Luther's preface to the ''Epistle 
 to the Romans" and his treatise on "Justification," Avhich were read. 
 Avith avidity for some time as the productions of Cardinal Fregoso. 
 The Avorks of ZAvingle Avere circulated under the name of Coricius 
 Cogelius; and several editions of Martin Bucer's commentary on the- 
 Psalms Avere sold in Italy and France as the Avork of Aretius Felinus. 
 The learned author, in a letter to ZAvingle, says : "I am employed 
 in an exposition of the Psalms, Avhich, at the urgent request of our 
 brethren in France and Lower Germany, I propose to publish under 
 a foreign name, that the Avork may be bought by their booksellers; 
 for it is a capital crime to import into these countries books Avhich 
 bear our names. I therefore pretend that I am a Frenchman, and, 
 if I do not change my mind, shall send forth the book as the pro- 
 
 15 
 
212 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 duction of Aretms Felinus, which, indeed, is my name and surname, 
 the former in Greek and the latter in Latin." 
 
 While multitudes in Italy were discovering- errors and abuses irr 
 the Romish Church, comparatively few advanced far enough to appre- 
 ciate the spiritual beauty and experience the regenerating influence 
 of a pure Christianity. Many who beheld the corruptions of popery 
 did not fully embrace the doctrines preached by Luther and his asso- 
 ciates, but there were some who received the truth *'as it is in Jesus." 
 The following extracts indicate the intense thirst for knowledge which 
 pervaded their hearts after they had read the first writings of the 
 reformers. '*It is now fourteen years," writes Egidio di Porta, an 
 Augustinian monk on the lake of Como, to Zwingle, ''since I, 
 under the impulse of a certain pious feeling, but not according to 
 knowledge, withdrew from my parents and assumed the black cowl. 
 If I did not become learned and devout, I at least appeared to be so, 
 and for seven years discharged the office of a preacher of God's 
 Word, alas! in deep ignorance. I savored not the things of Christ; 
 I ascribed nothing to faith; all to works. But God would not permit 
 his servant to perish forever. He brought me to the dust. I was 
 made to cry out. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? At length 
 my heart heard the delightful voice, Go to Ulric Zwingle, and he 
 will tell thee what thou shouldst do. O ravishing sound; my soul 
 found ineffable peace in that sound. Do not think that I mock you ; 
 for you, nay not you, but God, by your means, rescued me from the 
 snare of the fowler. But why do I say me? for I trust you have 
 saved others along with me." In these enthusiastic words Porta 
 announced the fact of his enlightenment by the writings of the Swiss 
 reformer, and of the reception of the truth by some of the brethren 
 in the same convent. In another letter he urges Zwingle to write 
 him an epistle, which might be instrumental in the conversion of 
 others belonging to his religious order. *'But let it be cautiously 
 written," he continues, ''for they are full of pride and self-conceit. 
 Place some passages of Scripture before them by which they may 
 perceive how much God is pleased to have his Word preached purely 
 and without mixture, and how highly he is offended with those who 
 adulterate it and bring forward their own opinions as divine." 
 
 Baltasare Fontana, a Carmelite monk of Locarno, addressed a 
 letter to the Evangelical Churches of Switzerland, breathing the same 
 devout spirit. He exclaims, "Hail, faithful in Christ! Think, oh 
 think of Lazarus in the Gospels, and of the lowly woman of Canaan, 
 who was willing to be satisfied with the crumbs which fell from the 
 
HEBRE W LITER A TURE IN ITAL V. 2 1 3 
 
 table of the Lord. As David came to the priest in a servile dress 
 and unarmed, so do I fly to you for the show-bread and the armor 
 laid up in the sanctuary. Parched with thirst, I seek the fountains 
 of living waters; sitting like the blind man by the way-side, I cry to 
 him that gives sight. With tears and sighs we, who sit here in dark- 
 ness, humbly entreat you who are acquainted with the titles and 
 authors of the books of knowledge (for to you it is given to know 
 the mysteries of the kingdom of God), to send us the writings of 
 such elect teachers as you possess, and particularly the works of the 
 divine Zwingle, the far-famed Luther, the acute Melancthon, the 
 accurate Ecolampade. The prices shall be paid to you through his 
 excellency, Werdmyller. Do your endeavor that a city of Lombardy, 
 enslaved by Babylon, and a stranger to the Gospel of Christ, may 
 be set free." 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 SACRED LITERATURE IN ITALY. 
 
 WHEN the Reformation entered Italy that country was distin- 
 guished for its knowledge of sacred literature. Even in the 
 fifteenth century the study of the Hebrew had made much progress, 
 the Psalter having been published in that language, A. D. 1477, and 
 was followed by different parts of the Old Testament in the original, 
 which were issued from the press. A complete Hebrew Bible was 
 printed, A. D. 1488, at Soncinio, a city of the Cremonese, by a 
 family of Jews, who, under the adopted name of Soncinati, estab- 
 lished printing presses in various parts of Europe, including Constan- 
 tinople. The Jews almost entirely engrossed this department of 
 typography until A. D. 15 18, when Daniel Bomberg pubhshed on 
 the splendid press which he had recently erected at Venice an edi- 
 tion of the Hebrew Scriptures, accompanied with various readings 
 and rabbinical commentaries. A close examination of ancient docu- 
 ments shows that the knowledge of Hebrew was not entirely extinct 
 among Italian Christians anterior to the revival of letters. Occasion- 
 ally an individual had the curiosity to learn something about it from 
 a Jew, or had the courage to overcome, by his own strength, the 
 difficulties of a language whose very characters appeared formidable 
 to European eyes. Persons like Era Ricoldo, of Florence, and Ciriaco, 
 
214 ^^^^ ^ ^^^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of Ancona, traveled into Turkey, Syria, and adjacent countries and 
 acquired some knowledge of other Oriental languages. Several indi- 
 viduals are mentioned in the literary history of Italy during the early 
 part of the fifteenth century as Hebrew and Arabic scholars, the 
 most distinguished of whom was Giannozzo Manetti, a Florentine, 
 who prepared a triglot Psalter, containing a Latin translation made 
 by himself from the original. But the study of Hebrew in Italy, 
 properly speaking, was coeval with the printing of the Hebrew Bible ; 
 and it was facilitated by the severe measures taken by Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, at the instigation of the Inquisition, to oppress the 
 Jews, which induced many of them to emigrate from Spain to Italy, 
 where from lucrative motives they were favorably received by the 
 popes. 
 
 Giovanni Pico was one of the earliest students of the Oriental 
 languages in Italy. He was a young man of rank, the son of Gian- 
 francesco Pico, prince of Mirandula and Concordia. In his youth he 
 had a retentive memory, and seldom forgot any thing which he 
 heard or read. He studied in the most celebrated universities of his 
 native land and France, and came to Rome with the reputation of 
 knowing twenty-two languages. In the twenty-fourth year of his age 
 he published nine hundred propositions relating to dialectics, physics, 
 morals, metaphysics, theology, and natural magic, as treated by the 
 Chaldean, Arabian, Greek, and Latin philosophers, and by the Chris- 
 tian Fathers and schoolmen, declaring that he was ready to dispute 
 with any person upon every one of them. A manuscript copy of the 
 propositions, preserved in the library of Vienna, has, at the end, the 
 following notification in Latin: ''The dispute on these conclusions 
 will not take place until after Epiphany. In the mean time they will 
 be published in all the academies of Italy ; and, if any philosopher 
 or divine choose to come from the remotest parts of Italy to dispute, 
 his expenses shall be borne." The challenge was not accepted, and 
 a more serious charge than that of vanity was made against Pico. 
 He was accused of heresy, and certain divines, having examined 
 thirteen propositions selected from his work, confirmed the charge. 
 
 Pope Innocent VIII, after condemning the propositions as sus- 
 picious and dangerous, exempted the author from punishment, 
 because he had declared, on oath, his willingness to submit in all 
 things to the judgment of the Church. In an apology for the offen- 
 sive articles he displayed great ingenuity in reconciling them to the 
 Romish doctrine ; but this aroused a more intense feeling of opposi- 
 tion, and no doubt he would have been severely persecuted had not 
 
PICO AS A STUDENT. 2 1 5 
 
 death removed Innocent VIII. After remaining for some time at 
 Florence, Pico, through the influence of his friends, obtained a brief 
 of absolution and security from the new pope, Alexander VI. The 
 papal brief is prefixed to the edition of Pico's works published at 
 Basle, A. D. 1572. Among the condemned propositions are the two 
 following: ''That Christ did not descend into hell truly, or in respect 
 to real presence ; and that neither the cross of Christ nor any other 
 image is to be adored with the worship called latria, as taught by 
 Thomas Aquinas." There are other propositions in the work which, 
 it might have been supposed, would have given equal offense, such 
 as, ''that the will of God is the sole reason why he reprobates some 
 and elects others ; that the true body of Christ is in heaven locally, 
 and on the altar sacramentally ; and that the same body can not 
 be made by the power of God to exist in different places at the 
 same time." 
 
 While at Florence he became intimately acquainted with Lorenzo 
 de Medici and other literary men, who admired him for his erudition 
 and taste. But a wonderful change in his plans occurred at this 
 time, and having abandoned the pursuit of secular knowledge, and 
 burned a collection of his Italian and Latin poems which Politiano 
 had revised and approved, he devoted himself to sacred studies and 
 the practice of piety. In the midst of these exercises he was pros- 
 trated by a fever and was prematurely cut off, A. D. 1494, in the 
 thirty-second year of his age. He had commenced the study of 
 the Oriental languages before entering upon a decidedly religious 
 life. His Instructor in Hebrew was a Jew, called Jochana, and in 
 Chaldee, MIthridates, concerning whom he writes In a letter to a 
 friend. "As to your request for the Chaldee alphabet," he says, 
 ' ' you can not obtain it from MIthridates, nor from me, who am always 
 ready to grant you every thing. For this man would not agree to 
 teach me the Chaldee tongue until I had taken an oath, in express 
 words, that I would impart it to nobody. Of this you may be 
 assured by the testimony of our friend, Geronimo Benlvieni, who, 
 happening to be present one day when I was about to receive a les- 
 son, MIthridates, in a rage, drove him out of the room. But, not to 
 disappoint you altogether. Instead of the Chaldee, you will receive 
 with this packet the Arabic characters, which I copied with my 
 own hands." 
 
 The writings of Pico indicate that his knowledge of Hebrew was 
 not inconsiderable, and his confidential letters afford the most satis- 
 factory evidence of his enthusiasm In the study of it and the cognate 
 
2l6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 languages of the East. Writing to his nephew, he says: "The 
 reason why you have not had an answer to your letter is, that I have 
 met with certain Hebrew books which have occupied me for a whole 
 week, night and day, so that I am nearly blind. They were brought 
 me twenty days ago by a Jew from Sicily, and as I am afraid that 
 they may be recalled, you must not expect to hear a word from me 
 until I have thoroughly examined their contents. When that is done 
 I shall overwhelm you with letters." In a letter to Marsilio Ficino, 
 he writes: "You could not have demanded back your Latin Ma- 
 homet at a more convenient time, as I expect shortly to be able to 
 read him in his native tongue. Having labored a whole month in 
 studying the Hebrew language I am about to apply myself to Arabic, 
 and am not afraid but that I shall make as much proficiency in it as 
 I have done in Hebrew, in which I can now write a letter correctly, 
 though not with elegance. You see what resolution, accompanied 
 with labor and diligence, can do, even when the bodily strength is 
 small. Certain books, in both languages, which have come into my 
 hands, not by chance, but by the direction of a kind providence 
 favoring my studies, have encouraged and compelled me to lay aside 
 every thing for the sake of acquiring the knowledge of Arabic and 
 Chaldee. Having obtained these (shall I call them books or treas- 
 ures?) I was inflamed with the desire of being able to read them 
 without an interpreter — a task at which I am now toiling with all my 
 might. Do not think, however, that I forget your favorite Plotinus." 
 Designing and covetous men, taking advantage of Pico's enthu- 
 siasm, deceived him in regard to certain books. These impostors 
 discovered that he had an ardent desire to demonstrate the truth of 
 the Christian religion by evidences from the Pythagorean and Jewish 
 philosophy, and they interpolated some cabalistic works, of which 
 they sold him seventy volumes at a great price. He was solemnly, 
 assured that they were written under the direction of Ezra, and con- 
 tained that interpretation of the law which the Jews had hitherto 
 religiously concealed from Christians. His contemporary and country- 
 man, Annius, or Nanni, of Viterbo, was induced to publish a number 
 of fabulous Avorks as the authentic productions of Berosus, Manetho, 
 Fabius Pictor, and other ancient writers ; and similar impositions 
 have been practiced upon literary men in later and more enlightened 
 times. Pico was certainly one of the most distinguished scholars th-e 
 world ever saw, and the prodigy of his age for learning. There are 
 many things in his works which show that his mind was imbued with 
 true piety, and that he had a clearer knowledge of the Gospel than 
 
ITALIAN WRITERS OF HEBRE W BO OKS. 2 1 7 
 
 most men of his age. The honor of giving to the world the first 
 elementary work on Hebrew, written by a Christian, or in the Latin 
 language, belongs to Germany. This was the grammar and lexicon 
 of John Reuchhn, printed at Pfortzheim, A. D. 1506; but, as early 
 as A. D. 1490, the "Book of Roots," or lexicon, of the celebrated 
 Jewish grammarian, David Kimchi, was published in the original at 
 Venice. Francesco Stancari of Mantua, who afterwards embraced the 
 Protestant rehgion, and excited great commotions in Poland, pub- 
 lished a Hebrew grammar, A. D. 1525. Felix of Prato, a converted 
 Jew, who printed a Latin translation of the Psalms, A. D. 15 15, 
 appears to have been the first Christian in Italy who taught Hebrew, 
 being invited to Rome for this purpose, A .D. 15 18, by Leo X. 
 About the same time, Agathias Guidacerio, a native of Catanao, also 
 taught it at Rome, and was called from there to Paris, by Francis I, 
 to be professor of the sacred tongue in the Trilingual College, in 
 which Paolo Paridisi, or Canossa, his countryman, and, Hke him, 
 the author of a work on Hebrew Grammar, afterwards held the same 
 situation. 
 
 As early as A. D. 15 14, a collection of prayers was printed in the 
 Arabic language at Fano, in the ecclesiastical states, on a press which 
 had been founded by the warHke pontiff, Julius H. Previous to this 
 Pagnino de Pagninis had commenced an edition of the Koran, in the 
 original language, and a part of it, at least, was published at Venice. 
 But the principal work in this language, so far as Biblical literature 
 is concerned, was produced by Agostino Justiniani, bishop of Nebio 
 in Corsica, in a polyglot Psalter containing the Hebrew, Chaldaic, 
 Arabic, Greek, and Latin, pubhshed at Genoa, A. D. 15 16, and 
 intended as a specimen of a polyglot Bible, which the author had 
 been long engaged in preparing for the press. This work gave him 
 a wide reputation as a scholar, and Francis I invited him to teach 
 the Oriental tongues at Paris. Many of the Italians were instructed 
 in Arabic by Juan Leon, a native of Elvira, in Spain, better known 
 as a historian by the name of Leo Africanus. Among others was 
 Egidio of Viterbo, who earnestly promoted Oriental studies among 
 his countrymen, both by example and patronage. The master, Leo 
 Africanus, went to Tunis, and relapsed to Mohammedanism ; the 
 scholarly prelate, still more celebrated for extensive learning and ele- 
 gant taste than for rank, was advanced to the purple and sent to 
 Constantinople. 
 
 The knowledge of the Ethiopic, or, as they called it, Chaldean, 
 language, was introduced into Europe by deputies sent to Rome 
 
2 1 8 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 from the Christians of Abyssinia, during the sitting of the Lateran 
 Council, A. D. 15 12. These representatives performed the religious 
 service in the Chaldean tongue, and also imparted instruction to 
 private individuals, among whom was John Potken, provost of St. 
 George's at Cologne, who was able to publish at Rome, A. D. 15 13, 
 the Psalter and Song of Solomon in Ethiopic, with a short introduc- 
 tion to that language. At a later period, a learned abbot of that 
 country named Tesso-Sionis Malhesini, or, as he called himself in 
 Europe, Peter Sionita, who resided at Rome under the patronage of 
 Cardinal Marcello Cervini, taught his native tongue to Pierpaolo 
 Gualtieri and Mariano Vittorio, afterwards bishop of Rieti ; and, with 
 their assistance, and that of two of his own countrymen, he pub- 
 lished the New Testament in Ethiopic at Rome, A. D. 1548, and four 
 years after this, Vittorio issued the first grammar in that language. 
 
 It may seem strange that no part of the Syriac version of the 
 Scriptures should as yet have come from the press. Bomberg in- 
 tended to print the Gospel according to Matthew in that language, 
 from a copy of the four Gospels in his possession, but delayed the 
 work in expectation of obtaining additional information. Soon after 
 the election of Leo X to the pontificate Peter, patriarch of the Mar- 
 onites, sent a deputation to Rome, consisting of Joseph Acurio, a 
 priest ; Moses, a deacon, and Elias, a subdeacon. One of these three 
 individuals initiated into the Syriac language Teseo Ambrogio, of the 
 noble family of the Conti d' Albonese, a doctor of laws and canon 
 regular of St. John's of the Lateran, who had received instructions in 
 the Ethiopic tongue from the delegation of Abyssinians who visited 
 Rome A. D. 15 12. From that time Ambrogio became passionately 
 fond of these languages, and being appointed to teach them at Bo- 
 logna, issued from the press a specimen of his qualifications for that 
 task in his Introduction to the Chaldaic, Syriac, Arminian, and ten 
 other languages, with the characters of about forty different alphabets. 
 He was prevented by various unfavorable events from executing 
 his cherished design of publishing the Gospels in Syriac. Ignatius, 
 patriarch of Antioch, A. D. 1552, sent Moses Mardinens as his 
 "orator" to the Roman pontiff to obtain, among other things, the 
 printing of an edition of the Syriac New Testament for the use of 
 the Churches under his inspection. The orator's eloquence was inef- 
 fectual at Rome, Venice, and other places in Italy ; and, after labor- 
 ing in vain for nearly three years, he was about to return home in 
 despair when he was advised to apply to Albert Widmanstaedter, the 
 learned chancellor of Eastern Austria, who became interested, and 
 
ITALIAN COMMENTA TORS AND A UTHORS. 2 19 
 
 by whose earnest effort the work was published, A. D. 1555, at 
 Vienna. Thus was Italy deprived of the honor of giving to the 
 world the New Testament in the best and most venerable of all the 
 ancient versions. 
 
 The first edition of the Septuagint came from the Aldine press, 
 A. D. 1 5 18, under the direction of Andrew of Asolo. This printing 
 establishment, so famous for the excellent editions of the Latin, Ital- 
 ian, and Greek classic authors which issued from it, was, as is well 
 known to scholars, established in Venice by Aldo Manuzio, a distin- 
 guished Italian scholar and printer, about A. D. 1490. It was car- 
 ried on for more than a century by Aldo Manuzio the elder, his son 
 Paolo, and his grandson Aldo. Nine hundred and eight different 
 editions were issued from it. No other press of the kind has ever 
 been so celebrated. Erasmus had his Greek Testament, accompa- 
 nied with a Latin translation, printed at Basle, A. D. 15 16. The 
 fame of the author gave both these works an extensive circulation 
 in Italy, and learned men became better acquainted with the oracles 
 of God. Sante Pagnini of Lucca published his Latin translation of 
 the whole Bible, A. D. 1527, and it was received with great eager- 
 ness by scholars, on account of the writer's reputation as a Hebrew 
 teacher, and also because he had spent more than twenty-five years 
 upon the work. 
 
 Not only were the Sacred Scriptures printed in the original lan- 
 guages, and in various versions, but valuable commentaries on them 
 appeared, the productions of gifted minds, which afterwards were 
 very powerful weapons in the hands of those who labored to extend 
 the Reformation in Italy. These commentaries, written by men of 
 prominence in the Roman Catholic Church and indorsed by its 
 highest authorities, were continually appealed to in supporting the 
 doctrines of the Bible, rightly interpreted. The work of Pietro Co- 
 lonna, commonly called, from his native place, Galatius, was useful 
 to later writers on the Jewish controversy, in supplying important 
 material. The fact, afterwards discovered, that it was a compilation 
 from the unpublished work of another author, did not detract from 
 its real merit. Erasmus edited, not only his own paraphrases, but 
 also the notes of Laurentius Valla on the New Testament, which was 
 recommended to the Italians as the production of one of their coun- 
 trymen, who had become distinguished as the reviver of letters, but 
 whom Bellarmine subsequently and justly called the precursor of the 
 Lutherans. The commentaries of Cardinal Cajetan and a few others 
 were characterized by a Scriptural simplicity which strikingly con- 
 
220 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 trasted with the writings of the scholastic divines, who preceded 
 them. The orator, Cardinal Sadolet, in his commentary on the 
 Epistle to the Romans, labored to correct the barbarisms of the Vul- 
 gate and combat the tenets of St. Augustine. 
 
 Agostino Steuchi, or Steuco, of Gubbio, published various works, 
 which indicate an extensive knowledge of the three learned languages, 
 
 •SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 mixed with Cabalistical and Platonic ideas. Isidoro Clario, a Bene- 
 dictine abbot of Monte Cassino, who was promoted to the bishopric 
 of Foligno, published the Vulgate, corrected from the original He- 
 brew and Greek, and accompanied with preliminary dissertations and 
 explanatory notes. The work did not appear until A. D. 1542, and. 
 as the prevalence of heresy had alarmed his brethren, the author was 
 compelled to submit it to a rigid examination. The result of the 
 expurgation was the suppression of the prolegomena. He had given 
 
THE ITALIANS AND THE BIBLE. 221 
 
 offense by saying in his preface that he corrected the version of the 
 Old Testament by the Hebrew, and of the New by the Greek verity. 
 This writer had also used the notes of the Protestants; but, as Tira- 
 boschi candidly admits, this was an ''unpardonable crime" at that 
 period. ** Heresy," says another modern writer, ''was a pest, the 
 very touch of which created horror ; the cordon of separation or pre- 
 caution was drawn all around; Clario did not dread the contagion for 
 himself, but he dreaded to appear to have braved it, and his pru- 
 dence excuses his plagiarism." 
 
 These studies directed the minds of the learned men of Italy to 
 the Bible, and prepared them for the religious controversy which 
 arose after the commencement of the Reformation. The sacred lan- 
 guages were studied in the palaces of bishops and in the cells of 
 monks, and were mastered by individuals in the conclave, such as 
 Egidio, Fregoso, and Aleander. All did not manifest a strong desire 
 to seek the treasures hid in those books, which they examined by 
 night and by day, and still less were they led by them to abandon a 
 system which afforded them literary leisure, and other secular advan- 
 tages. Men were not disposed at that period, as they were subse- 
 quently, to employ sacred criticism as an art to invent arguments for 
 the support of existing evils. Indeed, there were many, from time 
 to time, whose minds welcomed the truth, or were accessible to con- 
 viction. Among the converts to the reformed opinions were men 
 eminent for their literary attainments, whose rank in the Church, and 
 character for piety in the so-called religious orders, were recognized. 
 The reformers appealed from the conflicting and fallible opinions of 
 the doctors of the Church to the infallible dictates of revelation, and 
 from the Vulgate version of the Scriptures to the Hebrew and Greek 
 originals. These appeals were sustained by the translations that had 
 been made by men of acknowledged orthodoxy, and published with 
 the permission and warm recommendations of the head of the Church. 
 The wise arrangements of Providence are revealed in this portion of 
 history, in the actions of monks and bishops, cardinals and popes, 
 who forged and polished those weapons which were soon to be turned 
 against themselves, and which afterwards they desired to blunt, and 
 labored to denounce as unlawful. 
 
 The works which have been described were confined to the prom- 
 inent scholars; but, however useful they were, they probably would 
 not have made any impression on the public mind in Italy, while the 
 people at large were deprived of the means of religious knowledge. 
 As the Romish Church strictly confined her religious service to an 
 
222 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 unknown tongue, it is not surprising that she has always viewed with 
 jealous eyes translations of the Scriptures into vulgar languages. Ac- 
 cording to the statement of a learned Italian, all the sermons preached 
 in churches previous to the sixteenth century were in Latin, and 
 those in Italian were delivered without the consecrated walls, in the 
 piazzas, or some contiguous spot. This statement, however, has 
 been controverted. It is certain that, in the thirteenth century, the 
 sermons were preached in Latin, and afterwards explained in ItaHan 
 to the common people. A similar practice was observed in the fif- 
 teenth century, and so late as the middle of the sixteenth century, 
 Isidoro Clario, bishop of Foligno, preached in Latin to a crowded 
 assembly of men and women. The Romish authorities contended 
 that the dignity of the pulpit and the sacrednpss of the Word of God 
 were compromised by using a different method, and Passavanti de- 
 clares that ''the Sacred Scriptures were villified by being translated 
 into the vulgar tongue." Notwithstanding this prejudice, translations 
 of the Bible into Italian were undertaken, after Dante, Petrarch, and 
 others, had purified the language; and these works were issued from 
 the press within a few years after the invention of the art of printing. 
 Jacopo da Voragine, bishop of Genoa, and author of the ' ' Golden 
 Legend," is said to have translated the Scriptures into the Italian 
 language as early as the middle of the thirteenth century; but Le 
 Long and Fontanini deny the existence of such a version. In the 
 fourteenth century more than one individual attempted to perform a 
 similar task, but they executed it, as may be supposed, in a rude 
 and barbarous manner. Fragments of such translations were found in 
 libraries during the fifteenth century. Nicolo Malermi, or IMalerbi, a 
 Camaldolese monk, printed an Italian version of the Scriptures at 
 Venice as early as A. D. 147 1; and is said to have gone through 
 nine editions in the fifteenth, and twelve editions in the sixteenth 
 century. This indicated that the Italians were addicted to reading in 
 their native tongue, if they did not at that time have a general desire 
 for, the Word of God. There are additional proofs of this in the 
 Italian versions of parts of Scripture w^hich appeared about the same 
 period. The translation of Malermi, like those on which it was 
 founded, was made from the Vulgate, and written in a style unsuited 
 to the sixteenth century. The learned men of Italy long desired a 
 version more faithful to the original and less barbarous in its diction. 
 This was at last executed by Antonio Brucioli, whose Italian version 
 of the New Testament was printed at Venice, A. D. 1530, on the 
 press of his countryman, Luca Antonio Giunti. A copy of this rare 
 
VARIOUS ITALIAN VERSIONS. 223 
 
 book has been preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin. His version 
 of the whole Bible was issued from the same press A. D. 1532, and 
 was reprinted with greater accuracy A. D. 1541. The translator, in 
 an advertisement prefixed to it, intimates that the whole work ap- 
 peared A. D. 1530; but he must have referred to the New Testament, 
 because no copy of the Old Testament published in that year has 
 ever been discovered. So great was the success of this translation 
 that other versions rapidly followed. The Roman Catholics resolved 
 to publish translations of their own in order to oppose those which 
 they considered favorable to the Protestant doctrines. 
 
 This was the origin of the Italian Bible by Sante Marmochini, 
 printed at Venice, A. D. 1538, which, though professing to be trans- 
 lated from the Hebrew and Greek, is in reality a version of the 
 Vulgate, except when it slavishly copies Brucioli. Fra Zacchario 
 followed Marmochini, A. D. 1 542, with his version of the New Tes- 
 tament. Massimo Teofilo translated the New Testament and printed 
 it at Lyons, A. D. 155 1, and Fihppo Rusticio pubHshed a translation 
 of the whole Bible at Geneva, A. D. 1562. Both of them declare 
 their object to be the preservation of the purity of the Italian lan- 
 guage, which had been neglected by preceding writers ; and in their 
 preparatory and subjoined discourses they defend the reading of the 
 Scriptures in the vulgar tongues, and inculcate Protestant views. It 
 is evident that the deep interest manifested by Italian scholars in the 
 study of Oriental languages and sacred literature prepared the way 
 for the dissemination of the truths of the Gospel in Italy. 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 THE REFORMATION EXTENDED BY COMMERCE AND WAR. 
 
 NOTHING contributed more to the introduction of the Refor- 
 mation into Italy and its development there than the increased 
 intercourse between that country and Germany. Merchants passed 
 from the one to the other, often taking with them books which, as 
 we have already seen, came into the hands of those who desired to 
 possess them. The German youth had long been accustomed to 
 finish their education, especially in law and medicine, at Padua, 
 Bologna, and other Italian universities, and the Italian youth com- 
 menced to visit the schools of Germany and Switzerland, whose 
 literary reputation was daily advancing. The fame of Melancthon 
 
224 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 had reached Italy, and was known to most of the learned, Bembo 
 and Sadoleti even maintaining a friendly correspondence with him. 
 Desiring to hear the great reformer himself, some of the Italian stu- 
 dents were attracted to Wittemberg, and they, of course, were likely 
 to return to their native land with minds imbued with the new opin- 
 ions. The more ardent defenders of the old religion, beholding the 
 effects of this intercourse, repeatedly complained of it. A writer of 
 that age says that "A stop should be put to all commerce and 
 intercourse, epistolary or otherwise, between the Germans and Ital- 
 ians, as the best means of preventing heresy from pervading the 
 whole of Italy." It is certain that epistolary correspondence accom- 
 plished much in the diffusion of evangelical truths, as those who had 
 embraced them in Germany and Switzerland wrote freely and fully 
 on the important subject to their friends south of the Alps. 
 
 Italy was terribly scourged by war during the first half of the 
 sixteenth century, but this evil was overruled by Providence for 
 disseminating in that country the inestimable blessings of the Gospel. 
 In the armies of Charles V, emperor of Germany, there were many 
 Protestants, and not a few from Switzerland followed the standard 
 of his rival, Francis I. These men, with the freedom peculiar to 
 soldiers, conversed on the religious controversy with the inhabitants 
 among whom they were encamped, spoke openly of the Reformation, 
 and compared the simple and Scriptural doctrines of the reformers 
 with the absurd and debasing superstitions of the Italians. They 
 extolled the liberty which they enjoyed in their countries, contrasted 
 the poverty and humility of Luther and his associates, the purity of 
 their lives, their beneficence, their charity, their untiring devotion to 
 the best interests of the people, with the wealth and licentiousness of 
 their opponents, especially the sumptuous and luxurious living of the 
 cardinals, and other dignitaries of the Romish Church, the ignorance, 
 the indolence, the insolence, and the vices of the priests and monks, 
 and expressed their astonishment that a people of such spirit as the 
 Italians should continue to submit to an unprincipled and corrupt 
 priesthood, which demanded a base and implicit subjection that it 
 might profit by the ignorance and credulity of the multitude. 
 
 These representations made a profound impression upon those 
 Italians with whom the foreign Protestant soldiers came in contact. 
 The truth of the charges was daily confirmed by the conduct of the 
 Romish priests and other ecclesiastics; and, besides, the people had 
 before their eyes the anger which the pope, Clement VII, and the 
 emperor, Charles V, openly exhibited in the manifestoes published 
 
"TfVO GREAT LUMINARIESr .225 
 
 against each other. Previous to this war, and during its continuance, 
 the successor of St. Peter and the ''First Son of the Church" hurled 
 bulls and proclamations at each other in no small measure, to the 
 great scandal of all the faithful, and indeed to the grief of every sin- 
 cere Christian. Clement charged the emperor with indifference to 
 religion, and complained that he had enacted many laws in various 
 parts of his dominions which were hostile to the Church and de- 
 rogatory to the honor of the Holy See. Charles recriminated by 
 accusing the pope of kindling the flames of war, that he might evade 
 what was loudly and universally demanded — the reformation of the 
 Church in its head and members. He wrote to the cardinals to sum- 
 mon a general council for this purpose, and threatened that, if this 
 were not done, he would abolish the jurisdiction of the pope through- 
 out Spain, and convince other nations, by his example, that ecclesias- 
 tical abuses might be corrected, and the ancient discipline of the 
 Church restored without the intervention of papal authority. 
 
 Before having recourse to arms against the ''Holy Father," who, 
 contrary to all the probabilities of the case, and contrary also to his 
 own interest, had conspired against his most devoted as well as most 
 powerful son, Charles made trial of his pen. In a letter of Septem- 
 ber 1 8th, A. D. 1526, written in the magnificent halls of the Alham- 
 bra, he reminded Clement VH of the many services he had rendered 
 him, for which, it appeared, he must now accept as payment the 
 league formed against him at his instigation. "Seeing," said the 
 emperor to the pope, "God hath set us up as two great luminaries, 
 let us endeavor that the world may be enlightened by us, and that 
 no eclipse may happen by our dissensions. But," continued the 
 emperor, having recourse to what has always been the terror of 
 popes, ' ' if you will needs go on as a warrior I protest and appeal to 
 a council." This letter produced no effect in the Vatican, and these 
 "two luminaries" — to use the emperor's metaphor — instead of shed- 
 ding light on the world, began to scorch it with fire. Charles now 
 resolved to do something more than threaten, and requested his 
 brother, Ferdinand, to take command of the army destined to act 
 against the pope. Ferdinand, however, could not at this crisis be 
 absent from Germany without great inconvenience, and, accordingly, 
 he commissioned Freundsberg, the same valorous knight who ad- 
 dressed the words of encouragement to Luther when he entered the 
 imperial hall at Worms, to raise troops for the emperor's assistance, 
 and lead them across the Alps. Freundsberg was a genuine lover of 
 the Gospel ; but the work he had now in hand was no evangelical 
 
226 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 service, and he prepared for it with the coolness, the business air, 
 and the resolution of the old soldier. It was in November, A. D. 
 1526, that the army commenced to march. The snows had already 
 fallen on the Alps, making it doubly hazardous to climb their preci- 
 pices and pass their summits ; but the brave general, with his host of 
 fifteen thousand men, overcame all obstacles, and in three days 
 reached the plains of Italy, and united with the forces of the Constable 
 of Bourbon, the emperor's general. This combined German and 
 Spanish army, now amounting to twenty thousand men, entered the 
 papal territories and advanced toward Rome. The German general 
 carried with him a great iron chain, with which, as he informed his 
 soldiers, he intended to hang the pope. But he was destined not to 
 see Rome, a circumstance more to be regretted by the Romans than 
 by the Germans, for, had he lived, the kind-hearted, though rough, 
 soldier would have restrained the wild license of his army, which 
 made the city a scene of terror. Freundsberg was taken sick and 
 died by the way, but his soldiers hastened forward. 
 
 On the evening of May 5, A. D. 1527, the invaders first beheld, 
 through a thin haze, those venerable walls, over which many storms 
 had lowered, but few more terrible than that now gathering round 
 them. The inhabitants of the city, like those of ancient Babylon, 
 were indulging in banquetings and songs, never dreaming that the 
 spoilers were at their gates. On the following morning, under the 
 cover of a dense fog, the soldiers approached the walls, and by 
 means of scaling-ladders entered the city in a few hours. The pope 
 and the cardinals fled to the castle of St. Angelo. The demand to 
 surrender was indignantly refused by Clement, who was expecting 
 deliverance every moment from the **Holy League." The patience 
 of the troops was soon exhausted, and the work of pillage began. 
 Though three hundred and fifty years have rolled away since its 
 occurrence we can not relate the awful tragedy without a shudder. 
 The Constable Bourbon having perished in the first assault, the army- 
 was without a leader powerful enough to restrain the indulgence of 
 its passions and appetites. 
 
 The sacking of such a city as Rome was a great calamity. 
 There Avas not, at that period, another such on earth. The ages had 
 laid their choicest gifts at its feet. It was the perfection of beauty. 
 Into it were gathered the most valuable and curious specimens that 
 the world could afford. The priceless monuments of antiquity 
 adorned it, and it was ennobled with the triumphs of modern genius 
 and art. The chisel of Michael Angelo, the pencil of Raphael, and 
 
228 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the munificence of Leo X had shed upon it a glory which still 
 retained its original luster. The riches of all Christendom, flowing 
 for many centuries through a hundred avenues — dispensations, par- 
 dons, jubilees, pilgrimages, annats, palls, and innumerable contri- 
 vances — had filled it to overflowing. But to her **that spoiled and 
 was not spoiled" the hour of retribution had now come. The hungry 
 troops rushed upon the prey. In a moment a fearful tempest of lust 
 and vengeance, greed and rage, burst upon the "seven-hilled city." 
 
 The pillage was not only unsparing, but pitiless. The plunderers 
 opened and ransacked the most secret places, even employing tor- 
 ture in some cases to make prelates and princes disgorge their 
 wealth. The bullion of the banker, the stores of the merchant, 
 and the hoards of the usurer were robbed. They stripped the altars 
 of their vessels and the churches of their votive offerings and tapes- 
 tries. The sepulchers were invaded and plundered, the relics of 
 canonized saints carried away, and the very corpses of the popes 
 rifled of their rings and ornaments. All these stolen articles — gold 
 and silver cups, sacks of coin, jewels, pyxes, rich vestments — were 
 heaped up in the market-places and gambled for by the soldiers, 
 who, having an abundance of wine and meat, reveled in the midst 
 of the stricken and bleeding city. There was a strange and hideous 
 mixture of robbery, carnage, and grim pleasantries. The soldiers 
 delighted in exposing to ridicule, mockery, and outrage those per- 
 sons- and things which the Romans called sacred. The pontifical 
 ceremonial was performed in mimic pomp, camp-boys being arrayed 
 in cope and stole and chasuble, as if they were going to consecrate. 
 Bishops and cardinals — in some cases entirely nude, in others, attired 
 in fantastic dress — were placed on mules, with their faces turned 
 to the animal's croupe, and led through the streets, while the unwel- 
 come dignity to which they had been promoted was recognized in 
 the ironical cheers of the multitude. 
 
 A scene which was exhibited during the siege of the castle of 
 St. Angelo will convey an idea of the indignity shown toward the 
 Roman See. One day a party of German soldiers, mounted on 
 horses and mules, assembled in the streets of Rome. A man named 
 Grunwald, remarkable for his noble countenance and lofty bearing, 
 being attired like the pope, and wearing a triple crown, was placed 
 on a richly caparisoned horse. Others were arrayed like cardinals, 
 bishops, and friars, some wearing miters, and others clothed in 
 scarlet or white, according to the rank of those whom they person- 
 ated. With all the pomp and ceremony which usually belong to a 
 
PILLAGE OF ROME. 229 
 
 pontifical procession, they marched through the principal streets of 
 Rome, amid the sound of drums and fifes, and followed by a vast 
 concourse of people. When they passed a house in which any of 
 the cardinals were confined the procession halted, and Griinwald 
 blessed the people by stretching out his fingers in the manner prac- 
 ticed by the pope on such occasions. Then he was taken from his 
 horse and carried on the shoulders of one of his companions, a spe- 
 cial seat being prepared for that purpose. Arriving at length at the 
 " Castle," he drank from a large cup to the safe custody of Clement, 
 in which he was pledged by his attendants. After this ceremony he 
 administered an oath to his own cardinals, binding them to yield due 
 obedience and faithful allegiance to the emperor, as their lawful and 
 only prince, and not to disturb the peace of the state by intrigues ; 
 but, according to the precepts of the Bible and the example of Christ 
 and his apostles, to be subject to the civil powers. After a speech, 
 in which he reviewed the sacrilegious, parricidal, and civil wars 
 excited by the popes, and declared the Emperor Charles V an 
 instrument whom God had raised up to revenge these crimes and 
 restrain the rage of corrupt priests, the pretended pontiff solemnly 
 promised to transfer all his power and authority to Martin Luther, 
 in order that he might purify the Church, and completely refit the 
 ship of St. Peter, which had been so long the sport of the winds 
 and the waves, while the unskillful and negligent crew were engaged 
 in drinking and debauchery. Then, raising his voice, he exclaimed, 
 "All who agree to these things, and would see them carried into 
 execution, let them signify this by lifting up their hands;" and im- 
 mediately the whole band of soldiers raised their hands, and shouted, 
 ''Long live Pope Luther! Long live Pope Luther!" All this 
 occurred under the eye of Clement VIL '* Never," says D'Aubigne, 
 ''had pontiff been proclaimed with such unanimity." 
 
 According to the statements of such Roman Catholic historians 
 as Cochlaeus, Spondanus, and Guiciardini, the Germans in the emper- 
 or's army behaved with great moderation towards the inhabitants of 
 Rome after the first day's pillage, and contented themselves with 
 testifying their opposition to the prevailing idolatry ; but the Span- 
 iards never relented in their rapacity and cruelty, torturing the 
 prisoners, and delighting in the sufferings of Church dignitaries, 
 some of whom expired in the hands of the brutal soldiers, in the 
 midst of cruel tortures. Not content with robbing their victims of 
 their wealth, these bloodthirsty Spaniards compelled many to yield 
 their lives ; while the animosity of the Germans, their Tramontane 
 
230 ITALY STRUGGLIXG IXTO LIGHT. 
 
 comrades, evaporated in grim humor and drollery. The Spanish 
 troops spared no age, rank, or sex. "Most piteous," says Guiciar- 
 dini, "were the shrieks and lamentations of the women of Rome, 
 and no less worthy of compassion the deplorable condition of nuns 
 and novices, whom the soldiers drove along by troops out of their 
 convents, that they might satiate their brutal lust. . . . Amid this 
 female wail were mingled the hoarser clamors and groans of unhappy 
 men, whom the soldiers subjected to torture, partly to wrest from 
 them unreasonable ransom, and partly to compel the disclosure of 
 the goods which they had concealed." 
 
 The sack of Rome continued ten days. "It was reported," says 
 Guiciardini, "that the booty taken might be estimated at a million 
 of ducats ; but the ransoms of the prisoners amounted to a far larger 
 sum." The number of victims is estimated at from five thousand to 
 ten thousand. According to the testimony of their own historians, 
 the population thus terribly afflicted were weakened beyond measure 
 by effeminacy and vice. They are described by Vettori as * * proud, 
 avaricious, murderous, envious, luxurious, and hypocritical." The 
 "Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini," a Roman of the early part of the 
 sixteenth century, give a dark picture of the sacerdotal city at that 
 period. Ranke declares that it contained "thirty thousand inhab- 
 itants capable of bearing arms," and that "many of these had seen 
 service." But of what use were arms when there was neither bravery 
 nor manhood in their breasts ? If a spark of courage had lingered 
 in their hearts they could have prevented the advance of the enemy 
 to their city, or driven him from the walls after he appeared. 
 
 This stroke fell on Rome in the meridian of her mediaeval glory, 
 and in a few days almost annihilated a splendor which centuries had 
 produced, and which the centuries that have since followed have not 
 been able to restore. Such a great calamity, under other circumstances, 
 would have been regarded as the unrestrained excesses of a licentious 
 soldiery, and might have excited compassion for the captive pope ; 
 but the Italians at this time were not in sympathy with the Romish 
 hierarchy. There was a general conviction that the wars which had 
 so long desolated Italy were chiefly to be ascribed to the resentment 
 and ambition of the reigning pontiffs. The conduct of Clement was 
 considered by the people as a natural result of that judicial blindness 
 which God sends upon wicked rulers to hasten their overthrow. The 
 disasters that afflicted the papal See and the city of Rome were inter- 
 preted as marks of the divine displeasure, and the invaders who 
 insulted and plundered them were regarded as heralds employed to 
 
THE ROTA ROMANA. 231 
 
 pronounce the judgments of Heaven against an incorrigible court and 
 a city defiled and desecrated by wickedness of every kind. 
 
 The misfortunes of the fallen pope did not excite much commis- 
 eration for him, because the prevailing opinion was that he had been 
 punished, not only for his sins, but also for his folly in provoking 
 a powerful enemy whom he could not resist, and in precipitating 
 a war for which he was not prepared. These were not merely the 
 sentiments of the vulgar, or of such as had already embraced the 
 doctrines of the Reformation ; they were also entertained by dignita- 
 ries of the Romish Church, and uttered within the walls of the 
 Vatican. A remarkable instance of this occurred at the first meet- 
 ing of the ''Apostolical Rota" held after Rome was delivered from 
 the army of Charles V. The Rota, or Rota Romana, is the highest 
 papal court of appeals, consisting of twelve members, and holding a 
 session twice a week. It derives its name (which signifies a wheel)y 
 according to some, from the fact that the room in the pope's palace 
 in which this court meets has a floor in which are inlaid marble slabs 
 having the shape of a wheel. According to others, it is so named 
 because in ancient Rome a round public building stood on the spot 
 where this tribunal was fii-st established. Other supreme courts, as, 
 for example, that of Genoa, have borne the same name. 
 
 In this memorable meeting of the Rota, soon after the disappear- 
 ance of the foreign army, Staphylo, bishop of Sibari, made a speech, 
 in which he described the devastations committed by the enemy, and 
 then proceeded in the following strain: ''But whence, I pray, have 
 these things proceeded ? and why have such calamities befallen us ? 
 Because all flesh have corrupted their ways ; because we are citizens, 
 not of the holy city of Rome, but of Babylon, the wicked city. 
 The word of the Lord, spoken by Isaiah, is accomplished in our 
 times — 'How is the faithful city become an harlot!' It was full of 
 judgment and holiness ; righteousness formerly dwelt in it ; now sac- 
 rilegious persons and murderers ! Formerly it was inhabited by a 
 holy nation, a peculiar people ; but now by the people of Gomorrah, 
 a depraved seed, wicked children, unfaithful priests, the cornpanions 
 of thieves. Lest any should suppose," continued the bishop, "that 
 this prophetic oracle was fulfilled long ago in the overthrow of the 
 Babylonish Jerusalem by the Roman emperors, Vespasian and Titus, 
 seeing the words appear to refer to the time in which the prophet 
 lived, I think it proper to observe, agreeably to ecclesiastical verity, 
 that future things were set before the eyes of the prophet's mind as 
 present. This is evident from the sacred writings throughout. * The 
 
232 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 daughter of Zion shall be forsaken and made desolate by the violence 
 of the enemy. ' This daughter of Zion the apostle John, in the book 
 of Revelation, explains as meaning, not Jerusalem, but the city of 
 Rome, as appears from looking into his description. For John, or 
 rather the angel, explaining to John the vision concerning the judg- 
 ment of the whore, represents this city as meant by Babylon. * The 
 woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigns [he refers 
 to a spiritual reign] over the kings of the earth.' Again, John says, 
 'She sits on seven hills;' which applies properly to Rome, called from 
 ancient times the seven-hilled city. She is also said to * sit on many 
 waters;' which signify people, nations, and various languages, of 
 which, as we see, this city is composed more than any other city 
 of the Christian world. He says, also, ' She is full of names of 
 blasphemy, the mother of uncleanness, fornications, and abomina- 
 tions of the earth.' This supersedes the necessity of any more 
 specific proof that Rome is the city referred to ; seeing these vices, 
 though they prevail every-where, have fixed their seat and empire 
 with us." 
 
 If the mind of a bishop was so deeply impressed by the event 
 which had occurred, and such sentiments uttered within the hearing 
 of the sovereign pontiff, what must have been the feelings and lan- 
 guage of those who were less interested in the maintenance of the 
 ecclesiastical monarchy, and who were still greater sufferers from the 
 tyranny and ambition of those who administered its affairs? The 
 minds of the people had been long overawed by the mysterious veil 
 of sanctity ; but this had been removed, and they beheld the real char- 
 acter of the priesthood. They professed to be the teachers and guar- 
 dians of the religion of Christ; but their conduct was inconsistent with 
 its precepts, and their claims to superior piety were arrogant and 
 unfounded. The names "heretic" and "Lutheran," which had 
 thrilled the Italians with horror, were now heard with complacency, 
 and the minds of the people were even prepared to listen to the 
 teachers of the reformed doctrine, who were emboldened to preach 
 and make proselytes in a more public manner than they had hitherto 
 ventured to do. "In Italy, also," says Fra Paolo, the historian of 
 the Council of Trent, speaking of this period, "as there had neither 
 been pope nor papal court at Rome for nearly two years, and as 
 most men looked on the calamities which had fallen on both as the 
 execution of a divine judgment on account of the corruptions of its 
 government, many listened with avidity to the Reformation; in 
 several cities, and particularly at Faenza, which was situated within 
 
THE REFORMA TION IN VENICE. 233 
 
 the territories of the pope, sermons were dehvered in private houses 
 against the Church of Rome ; and the number of those named 
 Lutherans, or, as they called themselves, Evangehcals, increased 
 every day." 
 
 That these sermons were not confined to private houses, and that 
 the reformed doctrine was pubHcly preached in Italy before A. D. 
 1530, is evident from the highest authority. ''From the report made 
 to us," says Pope Clement VII, ''we have learned with great grief 
 of heart that, in different parts of Italy, the pestiferous heresy of 
 Luther prevails to a high degree, not only among secular persons 
 but also among ecclesiastics and the regular clergy, both mendicant 
 and non-mendicant, so that some, by their discourses and conversa- 
 tion, and what is worse, by their public preaching, infect numbers with 
 this disease, greatly scandalize faithful Christians, who live under the 
 obedience of the Roman Church and observe its laws, and contribute 
 to the increase of heresies, the stumbling of the weak, and the no 
 small injury of the Catholic faith." These indications, while they 
 alarmed the friends of the papacy, encouraged those who had espoused 
 the cause of the Reformation. The latter built their hopes upon the 
 national character of the Italians, whose ardent minds would nat- 
 urally lead them to propagate the new opinions with more than 
 ordinary zeal. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN VENICE. 
 
 IT is natural to suppose that the northern portions of Italy, owing 
 to their proximity to Switzerland and Germany, the countries 
 of Zwingle, Bucer, CEcolampadius, Luther, and Melancthon, would 
 be the first to receive the truths of the Reformation. Such is the 
 historical fact, and it will be proper, therefore, in relating the prog- 
 ress of the reform movement in Italy, to commence at the north, 
 especially when the geographical and the chronological so nearly 
 coincide. 
 
 Of all the states of Italy Venice afforded the best facilities for the 
 dissemination of the new doctrines, and the safest asylum for those 
 who suffered in the defense of them. In no other part was there 
 so much liberty of religious opinion. That sea-girt city had risen to 
 opulence and power; and, in order to encourage strangers to visit her 
 
234 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 ports and markets, she conceded more than ordinary freedom of 
 speech and action. She was truly the head of a powerful commer- 
 cial republic, whose ships did business in all seas, and whose trade 
 extended to almost every seaport in the civilized world. Extensive 
 intercourse with others always generates a tolerant spirit. It was 
 not strange, therefore, that the rich and proud aristocracy, who had 
 control of the government, were liberal and enlightened. The senate, 
 fully aware of the ambitious and encroaching spirit of the Romish 
 See, uniformly opposed every effort to establish the Inquisition, and 
 manifested great caution in permitting the edicts of the Vatican to be 
 published or carried into effect within the Venetian territories. In 
 fact, the republic of Venice, among Roman Catholic governments, in 
 its policy of religious toleration somewhat resembled that of Hol- 
 land among the Protestant states. She was distinguished, too, for 
 the number of her printing-presses, and, while letters were cultivated 
 elsewhere for mere literary entertainment or to gratify the vanity of 
 their patrons, the Venetians encouraged them from the additional 
 consideration of their forming an important, and not unproductive, 
 branch of manufacture and merchandise. The books of the German 
 and Swiss Protestants were consigned to merchants at Venice, from 
 which they were circulated to the different parts of Italy ; and it was 
 in this city, as we indicated in a previous chapter, that versions 
 of the Bible and other religious books, in the vulgar tongue, were 
 chiefly printed. 
 
 We have already stated that the first writings of Luther were read 
 in Venice soon after they were published. In a letter written A. D. 
 1528 the reformer says to a friend, *' You give me joy by what you 
 write of the Venetians receiving the Word of God. To him be the 
 thanks and the glory !" During the following year he corresponded 
 with James Ziegler, a learned man, celebrated for his skill in mathe- 
 matics, geography, and natural history, and a publisher of the prin- 
 cipal works of the ancients on these subjects. He had great authority 
 at Venice, and was favorable to the Reformation, though he never 
 publicly enlisted under its banner. His adopted brother, Theodore 
 Veit, was sent by him to Wittemburg, and was for some time the 
 secretary or amanuensis of Luther. This is the individual so often 
 mentioned under the name of Theodorus Vitus in the letters of 
 Melancthon, and through whom these leaders of the Reformation in 
 Germany chiefly received their intelligence respecting the Protestant 
 cause in Italy. An incident occurred, A. D. 1530, indicating that 
 many in Venice at that time were deeply interested in the good 
 
ROSSELLIS LETTER. 2%^ 
 
 OD 
 
 work. It was widely reported that Cardinal Campeggio, who was 
 the papal legate to the imperial diet at Augsburg, had persuaded 
 Melancthon to submit to the judgment of the pope. This pro- 
 duced great excitement and uneasiness among those Venetians who 
 advocated reform, one of whom, Lucio Paolo Rosselli, addressed a 
 letter to Melancthon, expressing the highest regard for his character, 
 and the delight which his writings had afforded him. In respectful 
 language, but with an honest freedom, he exhorted him to remain a 
 firm and fearless defender of that faith to which he had been the 
 honored instrument of winning so many. 
 
 "In this cause," continues Rosselli, "you ought to regard 
 neither emperor nor pope, nor any other mortal, but the immortal 
 God only. If there be any truth in what the papists circulate about 
 you, the worst consequences must accrue to the Gospel and to those 
 who have been led to embrace it through your instrumentality and 
 that of Luther. Be assured that all Italy waits v/ith anxiety for the 
 result of your assembly at Augsburg. Whatever is determined by 
 it will be embraced by Christians in other countries through the 
 authority of the emperor. It behooves you others, who are there for 
 the purpose of defending the Gospel, to be firm, and not to suffer 
 yourselves to be either frightened from the standard of Christ by 
 threats, or drawn from it by entreaties and promises. I implore and 
 obtest you, as the head and leader of the whole evangelical army, to 
 regard the salvation of every individual. Though you should be 
 called to suffer death for the glory of Christ, fear not, I beseech you ; 
 it is better to die with honor than to live in disgrace. You shall 
 secure a glorious triumph from Jesus Christ if you defend his right- 
 eous cause; and, in doing this, you may depend on the aid of the 
 prayers and supplications of many who, day and night, entreat 
 Almighty God to prosper the cause of the Gospel, and to preserve 
 you and its other champions through the blood of his Son. Fare- 
 well, and desert not the cause of Christ." This zealous Venetian 
 Protestant wrote a second time to Melancthon, and inclosed a copy 
 of the letter which the latter was said to have addressed to the 
 papal legate, exhorting him, if he had unhappily been induced to 
 express sentiments unworthy of his character, to exhibit the greater 
 courage and constancy in the future ; but, if the report had been 
 fabricated, as many of his friends declared, then he should imme- 
 diately expose the malicious calumny, and henceforth openly and 
 boldly attack an enemy which employed stratagem and falsehood to 
 accomplish its ends. 
 
236 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Pietro CarnesecchI, Baldo Lupetino, and Baltassare Altleri, were 
 among the most active in promoting the doctrines of the Reforma- 
 tion at Venice. The first was a patrician of Florence, and also a 
 former secretary of Clement VII, and his name was finally enrolled 
 among the martyrs of Italy. The second, who likewise obtained the 
 crown of martyrdom, was a native of Albona, of noble extraction, 
 and highly esteemed for his learning and worth. As provincial of 
 the Franciscans within the Venetian territories, he had the most 
 favorable opportunities of imparting religious instruction and of pro- 
 tecting those who had received it. He persuaded Matteo Flacio, a 
 kinsman of his, to abandon his resolution of assuming the monastic 
 garb, and induced him to retire into Germany, where he became dis- 
 tinguished for his learned writings, and the active though intemperate 
 part which he took in the internal disputes that agitated the Lutheran 
 Church. Altieri, though a native of Aquila in Naples, resided in 
 Venice, and for some time acted as the secretary of the Enghsh embas- 
 sador and afterwards as agent for the Protestant princes of Germany. 
 He was ardently devoted to the Protestant cause, and his official 
 station enabled him to promote it by introducing books into Italy, 
 holding epistolary correspondence with foreign courts, and both advis- 
 ing and assisting those of his countrymen who had embraced or were 
 inquiring after the truth. 
 
 So great was the progress of evangelical rehgion in Venice be- 
 tween A. D. 1530 and A. D. 1542 that its numerous friends, who 
 had held their meetings in private for mutual instruction and religious 
 exercises, began to consider the propriety of organizing themselves 
 into regular congregations, and of assembling in public. As several 
 members of the senate were favorable to it, hopes were entertained 
 at one time that the government would sanction the measure. In 
 the beginning of A. D. 1538, Michele Bracchioli went from Italy to 
 Wittemberg to have a religious interview with Melancthon, who greatly 
 admired his elegant taste and refined manners. Having received in- 
 formation that his brother was in danger of proscription, he returned 
 home to Germany unexpectedly within a year, and delivered a mes- 
 sage to Melancthon from the friends of the Reformation in Venice. 
 
 This communication encouraged him to address a letter to the 
 senate, in which he expressed the great pleasure that he had expe- 
 rienced when hearing of the favorable opinion entertained by many 
 honorable persons among them, concerning the reform of ecclesias- 
 tical abuses which had been made in Germany. He declared in a few 
 words, how cautiously the leaders of the Reformation had proceeded 
 
THE REFORMA TION AD VANCING. 237 
 
 by avoiding dangerous innovations and repressing popular tumults. 
 After showing that various corruptions had been introduced into the 
 Church, Melancthon adds: ''Such slavery surely ought not to be 
 established, as that we should be obliged, for peace's sake, to ap- 
 prove of all the errors of those who govern the Church ; and learned 
 men especially ought to be protected in the liberty of expressing 
 their opinions and of teaching. As your city is the only one in the 
 world which enjoys a genuine aristocracy, preserved through many 
 ages and always hostile to tyranny, it becomes it to protect good 
 men in freedom of thinking, and to discourage that unjust cruelty 
 which is exercised in other places. Wherefore I can not refrain from 
 exhorting you to employ your care and authority for advancing the 
 divine glory, a service which is most acceptable to God." 
 
 It is evident that if Venice had then received the same treatment 
 from the court of Rome that it did at the commencement of the 
 seventeenth century the republic probably would have declared in 
 favor of the Reformation; and, if such an event had occurred, how 
 different might have been its history, as well as that of other por- 
 tions of Italy ! It might at that day have enjoyed its political inde- 
 pendence, if not also regained its ancient glory. 
 
 Not only did the Protestant cause advance in the metropolis, but 
 it spread also in many cities of the Venetian territories. At Padua it 
 was embraced by many of the students and some of the professors^ 
 of the university, which was celebrated at that period as a medical 
 school. At Veroiia and at Brescia there Avere converts to the reformed 
 faith, while the bishop of Bergamo, Vittore Soranzo, was favorable- 
 to evangelical doctrine, and exerted himself in reforming his clergy. 
 But Vicenza and Treviso, situated in the neighborhood of Venice, 
 contained the greatest number of Protestants. A German, named 
 Sigismund, was delivered up to the vicar-general of Vicenza, A. D. 
 I535» by the doge, to be punished for disseminating the Lutheran: 
 heresy in that diocese, and Paul III, in a pontifical brief, formally 
 thanked his excellency for this act of filial obedience. But suck 
 severe measures only created the more sympathy for the reformed; 
 opinions, which were patronized, or at least protected, by the local- 
 magistrates. Ten years later (A. D. 1545), the reigning pontiff in- 
 formed the doge and senate that he had repeatedly notified them, by 
 letters and nuncios, of the existence of heresy in their city of Vicenza,. 
 and that the governor and magistrates of that place, though instructed, 
 to co-operate with their bishop in extirpating it, had refused to ren- 
 der that assistance which was necessary to accomplish this holy work. 
 
238 ITAL V 577? [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 so that the heretics were encouraged, and would spread the pesti- 
 lence in surrounding cities, unless promptly arrested and punished. 
 
 Altieri addressed a letter to Luther, A. D. 1542, **In the name 
 of the brethren of the Church of Venice, Vicenza, and Treviso," 
 confessing their neglect in not acknowledging their deep obligations 
 to him who had brought them to the knowledge of salvation. He 
 said that they were ashamed, and could not account for their silence, 
 unless it was that their sudden emancipation had astounded their 
 minds, or timidity and dread had deterred them from addressing so 
 grave and holy a personage. But now they were driven by neces- 
 sity and the urgency of their circumstances to do that which culpable 
 negligence and ingratitude had hitherto prevented them from per- 
 forming. He presented a dark picture of their situation. Antichrist 
 had commenced to rage against them. Some of their brethren had 
 been compelled to leave the country, others were cast into prison, 
 and the rest were in a state of constant alarm. As> members of the 
 same body, they expected to receive sympathy and assistance from 
 their German brethen, who had persuaded them to renounce popery 
 and espouse that cause for the sake of which they were now exposed 
 to such imminent danger. They entreated him Xo use his influence 
 with the evangelical princes of Germany to write in their behalf to 
 the senate of Venice, requesting it to abstain from that violence 
 which the ministers of the pope urged it to employ against 'the poor 
 flock of Christ, and to permit them to enjoy their own manner of 
 worship, at least until the assembling of a general council, in the 
 way of adopting measures to prevent all sedition and disturbance of 
 the public peace. *'If God grant," continues Altieri, ''that we 
 obtain a truce of this kind, what accessions will be made to the 
 kingdom of Christ in point of faith and charity ! How many preach- 
 ers will appear to announce Christ faithfully to the people ! How 
 many prophets, who now lurk in corners, exanimated with undue 
 fears, will come forth to expound the Scriptures ! The harvest is truly 
 great, but there are no laborers. You know what a great increase 
 your Churches had, and what a wide door was opened for the Gos- 
 pel, by the truce which, as we understand, you have enjoyed for 
 three years. Exert yourselves to procure the same favor for us; 
 cherish the common cause ; do your endeavor, that by this means 
 the consolation which is by Christ may be imparted to us, who daily 
 suffer for Christ; for it is our fervent desire that the Word of God 
 may be spread abroad, but we have none to feed us, unless our want 
 be supplied out of your abundance." 
 
MILAN WELCOMES THE REFORMATION, 239 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 MILAN RECEIVING THE GOSPEL. 
 
 THE duchy of Milan was in a favorable state for receiving the 
 Reformation. Several causes contributed to its propagation in 
 this interesting portion of Italy. The people were not ignorant of 
 the resistance which that diocese had made to the arrogant claims of 
 the bishops of Rome during the first ten centuries. The struggle 
 which Milan, the capital of Lombardy, had anciently maintained for 
 its ecclesiastical independence, continued to be remembered long 
 after its submission to the Roman See. This circumstance, together 
 with |;he natural advantages of the country, attracted to it those who 
 dissented from the doctrines or declined the communion of the Rom- 
 ish Church. As the Milanese bordered on Switzerland, the writings 
 of Zwingle and Bucer were early circulated among them and widely 
 diffused. Their proximity to Piedmont (the residence of the Wal- 
 denses for centuries) also enabled them to be acquainted with evan- 
 gelical truth. To these causes may be added the political state of 
 the duchy. A protracted contest for its control was carried on 
 between Francis I and Charles V, and it was alternately occupied by 
 the armies of the contending monarchs, in which were many Protest- 
 ant soldiers, who extensively spread the reformed doctrines among the 
 people. Paul III addressed a brief to the bishop of Modena, A. D. 
 1536, stating that he was informed of the recent discovery, in the 
 religious and illustrious duchy of Milan, of conventicles, consisting 
 of noble persons of both sexes, belonging to a sect holding and 
 observing the tenets of one friar Batista de Crema, by which many 
 heresies, condemned by the ancient Church, were fostered. The 
 pope, therefore, commanded the bishop, who was then at Milan, to 
 make inquisition after these conventicles and heretics, and to see that 
 condign punishment was inflicted on the guilty, so that "the corrupt 
 seed sown by the devil might be extirpated before it had time to 
 shoot up and strengthen." Though the ''impure tenets of ancient 
 heretics" are imputed to these wicked ''innovators," according to 
 the usual language of the Church of Rome, there can be little doubt 
 that they held the common opinions of Luther and Zwingle. 
 
 This part of Italian history is closely connected with some inter- 
 
240 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 esting facts in the life of Celio Secundo Curio, the most distinguished 
 propagator of the evangehcal faith, whose career was altogether more 
 remarkable than that of any of those who embraced the doctrines of 
 the Reformation in Italy. He was born at Turin, A. D. 1503, and 
 was the youngest of twenty-three children. At the early age of nine 
 years he was left an orphan, but being connected with several noble 
 famihes in Piedmont, he received a liberal education at the university 
 of his native city. In his youth he lost his father, who bequeathed 
 to him the best of legacies — a copy of the Bible, beautifully bound; 
 and the reading of the sacred volume made a deep impression upon 
 his mind. When he reached his twentieth year he obtained the writ- 
 ings of the reformers, by means of Jeronimo Negri, of Fossano, who 
 with some others in the Augustinian monastery of Turin, had come 
 to the knowledge of the truth. This awakened in him an ardent 
 desire to visit Germany, and, accordingly, he started in company with 
 Giacomo Cornello and Francesco Guarino, who afterwards became 
 distinguished ministers of the Reformed Church. 
 
 During their journey they injudiciously engaged in a religious con- 
 troversy, and, having been reported to the proper authorities, they 
 were arrested by the spies of the cardinal bishop of Ivree, and 
 thrown into separate prisons. Through the solicitations of his rela- 
 tions Curio was released, and the cardinal, admiring his talents, 
 endeavored to attach him to himself by offering him pecuniary assist- 
 ance in his studies, and by placing him in the neighboring priory of 
 St, Benigno, with the administration of which he had been intrusted 
 by the late Pope Leo X. While in this situation Curio was diligently 
 employed in instructing the monks and delivering them from the 
 bondage of superstition. He one day opened a box, placed on the 
 altar of the chapel, and having abstracted the relics from it, substi- 
 tuted a copy of the Bible, with the following inscription: **This is 
 the ark of the covenant which contains the oracles of God, the true 
 relics of the saints." When the relics were needed on the next 
 solemn festival the trick was discovered, and Curio, being suspected, 
 fled and escaped to Milan, A. D. 1530. He visited Rome and several 
 other Italian cities and then returned to Milan, where he married a 
 lady belonging to the illustrious family of the Isacii, and by devoting 
 himself to the teaching of polite letters acquired a great reputation 
 in the city and vicinity of Milan. The Spanish troops having com- 
 mitted ravages, Curio was compelled to leave Milan, and accepted 
 an invitation from the count of Montferrat, under whose protection 
 he resided some years in peace at Casale. 
 
AN INGENIO US DE VICE. 241 
 
 Desiring to recover his patrimony, he resolved to visit his native 
 country; but, on his arrival, he found that one of his sisters and her 
 husband had seized it, and, in order to defeat his legal claims the 
 most effectually, they preferred a charge of heresy against him. 
 Curio, rather than engage in litigation, retired to a village in the 
 territories of the duke of Savoy, where he was employed in teaching 
 the children of the neighboring gentlemen. In company with some 
 of his patrons, he went one day to hear a Dominican monk from 
 Turin, who, in the course of his sermon, presented a terrible picture 
 of the character of the German reformers, and, in proof of his accu- 
 sations, he read false quotations from a work published by Luther. 
 After the sermon Curio, who happened to have in his possession the 
 bo6k, showed it to the friar, and then read the passages referred to 
 in the presence of the most respectable part of the congregation, who 
 were so indignant at the misrepresentations of the impudent and dis- 
 honest monk that they drove him, in disgrace, from the town. The 
 inquisitor was immediately notified, and, having arrested Curio, he 
 sent him to his native city. His enemies, resolving to magnify his 
 crime and secure his conviction, rehearsed his proposed journey to 
 Germany and his abstracting of the relics at St. Benigno. As his 
 friends were numerous and influential, the administrator of the bish- 
 opric of Turin went to Rome to secure his condemnation. To 
 prevent any attempt at rescue, a brother of Cardinal Cibo, who had 
 charge of him, removed him to an inner room of the prison, and 
 ordered his feet to be made fast in the stocks. Any other person of 
 less ingenuity and fortitude in such a situation would have abandoned 
 all hope; but Curio, in his youth, had resided in the vicinity of the 
 jail, and he believed a method of escape could be devised. In a 
 short time the plan was matured, and, through the favor of Prov- 
 idence, was effectual. 
 
 The prisoner's feet being swollen by confinement, he persuaded 
 his keeper to release his right foot for a day or two, and then, by 
 taking his shoe, together with a reed and a quantity of rags, which 
 were within his reach, he constructed an artificial leg, which he 
 attached to his right knee so adroitly that he could move it with ease 
 and without detection. Having obtained permission to have his 
 other foot relieved, he inserted the artificial limb into the stocks. 
 Both his feet were now at liberty, and during the following night he 
 forced the door of his apartment, felt his way through the dark pass- 
 ages, dropped from a window, and having scaled the walls of his 
 prison with difficulty, escaped into Italy. He ■ had extracted the 
 
242 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 fictitious limb from the stocks and taken it to pieces before leaving 
 the prison, so that his persecutors might not understand the method 
 of his deliverance. They attributed it to magic, but he dispelled the 
 mystery by publishing an account of the whole circumstance in the 
 form of a dialogue, which contains some humorous and satirical stric- 
 tures upon certain papal errors. It was first issued without date or 
 place of publication; but was reprinted at Geneva, A. D. 1667. After 
 remaining some months with his family at Sale, a remote village in 
 the territory of Milan, he was persuaded by his former friends to 
 abandon his seclusion and enter the University of Pavia. When the 
 inquisitors received this information, orders were sent from Rome to 
 arrest him ; but they could not be executed. The principal inhab- 
 itants of the town and the students, many of whom had come from 
 other seminaries to attend his lectures, esteemed Curio so highly that 
 they protected him for nearly three years, a guard composed of his 
 scholars accompanying him to and from his residence every ^ay dur- 
 ing a greater part of that time. At last, when the pope threatened 
 the senate of Pavia with excommunication if he was not delivered up, 
 he retired to Venice, from which he removed to Ferrara. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 MANTUA— L O CARNO—ISTRI A— FERRARA. 
 
 MANTUA, which in the sixteenth century gave birth to several 
 persons of distinguished talents, did not shut out the light of 
 the Reformation. At an early period warm friends of the evangelical 
 faith were found there, not only in the capital, but throughout the 
 duchy. Many groaned under the tyranny which oppressed the 
 human mind, and made a generous effort to break asunder their 
 chains. Among these was Gianbattista Folengo, a pious and liberal 
 Benedictine, who earnestly desired to heal the schism which -afflicted 
 the Church by an extensive reformation among both secular and 
 regular clergy. Cardinal Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, manifested the 
 same disposition to correct existing evils, and even protected those 
 who denounced the errors of the Romish hierarchy. He was severely 
 reprimanded by the pope; and, as late as A. D. 1545, Paul HI 
 addressed him a fervent epistle to stimulate his slumbering zeal, 
 stating that he had heard of certain ignorant clergymen and artisans 
 
THE REFORM A TION IN LO CARNO, 243 
 
 in the city of Mantua, who had ruined their own souls, and brought 
 great scandal on others, by rashly daring to dispute, and even to 
 doubt, of matters belonging to the Roman Catholic doctrine, its arti- 
 cles of belief, and its holy rites. He then exhorts the bishop to 
 proceed personally, or through his deputies, against all persons sus- 
 pected of heresy, including the clergy, secular and regular, of every 
 order in the city of Mantua, and throughout the whole diocese ; to 
 ascertain whether they have read or possess any heretical books, or 
 if they have taught any opinion condemned by the Church ; to take 
 the depositions of witnesses, seize the persons of the accused or sus- 
 pected, examine them by the torture, and, having brought the proc- 
 esses as far as the definitive sentence, to transmit the whole in 
 authentic shape to Rome for judgment. For some time the reigning 
 duke shielded his subjects from this persecuting edict, and incurred 
 the displeasure of the pope. 
 
 Locarno is a city of Italy, and the capital of a province or baili- 
 wick of the same name, situated on Lake Maggiore, in the southern 
 confines of the Alps. It, with three other provinces, was given by 
 Maximilian Sforza, duke of Milan, A. D. 15 13, to the Swiss cantons 
 for the military aid they had rendered him, and was governed by a 
 prefect whom the cantons sent by turns every two years. The ter- 
 ritory was small, but its inhabitants had considerable wealth, derived 
 from the advantages of their location, as they were carriers in the 
 trade maintained between Italy and Switzerland. As early as A. D. 
 1526 the truths of the Reformation were introduced into Locarno by 
 Baldassare Fontana. For several years the number of converts was. 
 small. ''There are but three of us here," says that devoted servant; 
 of Christ, in a letter to Zwingle, ''who have enlisted and confeder- 
 ated in the cause of propagating the truth. But Midian was not: 
 vanquished by the multitudes of brave men who flocked to the stand- 
 ard of Gideon, but by a few selected for that purpose by God.. 
 Who knows but what he may kindle a great fire out of this incon- 
 siderable smoke? It is our duty to sow and plant; the Lord must; 
 give the increase." 
 
 Twenty years later the fruit of the prayers and labors of these 
 good men appeared, perhaps, long after they had received the- 
 heavenly crown. The work commenced by them was taken up by 
 Benedetto Locarno, A. D. 1546, who returned to his native place,, 
 after he had been employed in preaching the Gospel in various parts; 
 of Italy and in the island of Sicily. His efforts to enlighten his- 
 townsmen were earnestly seconded by Giovanni Becqaria, commonly 
 
 17 
 
244 I'^^L ^ STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 called the apostle of Locarno, who was a man of good character and 
 excellent talents. He had discovered the principal errors and cor- 
 ruptions of the Church of Rome by studying the Bible, without the 
 aid of a teacher or any human writings. In a short time he was 
 assisted by four prominent individuals, who had the true spirit of 
 confessors, and actively labored in the noble cause. Varnerio Cas- 
 tiglione spared neither time nor effort in promoting the truth ; Lu- 
 dovico Runcho, a citizen of great respectability, nobly defended the 
 evangelical doctrines. Taddeo de Dunis, a physician, and, like 
 Runcho, a young man of courage and genius, and Martino de 
 Muralto, a doctor of laws, and of aristocratic descent, contributed to 
 the success of the reform movement by their influence in the prov- 
 ince. In the course of four years the Protestants of Locarno had 
 become a strong Church, were regularly organized, and received the 
 sacraments at the hands of a pastor whom they called from the 
 Church of Chiavenna. The daily increase of the membership 
 excited the chagrin and envy of the clergy, who were earnestly 
 supported by the prefect appointed, A. D. 1549, by the popish 
 canton of Underwald. The Locarnese Protestants were slandered 
 by a priest residing in the neighboring province of Lugano, who was 
 not only employed to denounce them from the pulpit, but also to 
 challenge their preacher to a public discussion of the questions in 
 controversy between the Churches. On the day of trial he was 
 completely silenced ; and to revenge his defeat the prefect ordered 
 Beccaria into prison. This persecution aroused such a feeling of 
 indignation in the city that the prisoner was immediately discharged, 
 and the enemies of Protestantism were compelled to wait for a more 
 favorable opportunity of attack. 
 
 The truths of Protestant Christianity were late in penetrating 
 Istria, a peninsular district on the Adriatic Sea, then under the gov- 
 ernment of the Venetian republic ; but their dissemination, after a 
 commencement had been made, was rapid. The chief instruments 
 in the good work were Pierpaolo Vergerio and Gianbattista, two 
 brothers, both of whom were bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, 
 and one of them a papal legate. They were natives of Capo d' Istria, 
 and belonged to a family which was distinguished for its literary 
 reputation in the fifteenth century. We have already referred to 
 Vergerio as a young man of excellent character and promising tal- 
 ents, who desired to visit Wittemberg to complete his studies. After 
 acquiring a knowledge of law, he received the degree of doctor from 
 the University of Padua, in which he served for a time as professor 
 
VERGERIO. 245 
 
 and as vicar to the podesta. He subsequently located at Venice, 
 where he became celebrated as an advocate. His fame for eloquence 
 and address was such that Pope Clement VH sent him into Germany 
 as legate to Ferdinand, king of the Romans, at whose court he re- 
 mained for some years, laboring to promote the interests of the 
 Romish See, and opposing the progress of Lutheranism. When 
 Clement died his successor, Paul III, recalled Vergerio; but, after 
 hearing a statement of his embassy, sent him back to Germany, 
 where he treated with the German princes, and had more than one 
 interview with Luther concerning the proposed general council. 
 Returning to Italy, A. D. 1536, he was appointed bishop of Modru- 
 sium, in Croatia^', an episcopal district under the patronage of Ferdi- 
 nand, and afterwards held a similar position in Capo d ' Istria, his 
 native place. He went to France, and appeared at the conference 
 of Worms, A. D. 1541, in the name of his Christian Majesty, but, 
 as some believed, with secret instructions from the pope. It is cer- 
 tain that he prepared at this time an oration on the unity of the 
 Church, in opposition to the idea of a national council, which was 
 desired by the Protestants. 
 
 During his residence in Germany Vergerio was favorably im- 
 pressed with the doctrines of the Reformation, but did not openly 
 embrace them, because suspicions of his heresy were, as he had 
 learned, entertained at Rome. It is asserted by Protestant writers 
 that the pope intended to confer a cardinal's hat on him at his 
 return, but the alleged unsoundness of his faith prevented its bestow- 
 ment. This statement is denied by Pallavicini and Tiraboschi, 
 Romish historians ; but they admit that his holiness was aware of 
 Vergerio's familiarity with the German heretics, and that on this 
 account he was summoned to Italy, where he became more fully 
 convinced of the fact that he had displeased his superiors. Cardinal 
 Bembo, in a letter to his nephew, who appears to have occupied a 
 high official position in the Istrian government, declares that the 
 bishop of Capo d'Istria had urged him ''to intercede for some of his 
 relations, who had been unjustly thrown into prison." This was on 
 the 24th of September, A. D. 1541, and on the ist of February fol- 
 lowing Bembo expresses his satisfaction that this request had not 
 been granted, adding : "I hear some things of that bishop, which, 
 if true, are very bad — that he not only has portraits of Lutherans 
 in his house, but that also in the causes which come before him he 
 is eager to favor in any way the one party, whether right or wrong, 
 and to bear down the other." 
 
246 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 It was not easy for a person in Vergerlo's circumstances to retire 
 from the honorable situation which he held, and to sacrifice the 
 bright prospects of promotion which he had long cherished. Be- 
 sides, he did not have clear and steady views of the truth. ' After 
 he had first abandoned the excitement of public life, and entered 
 upon his episcopal duties, he resolved to complete a work which he 
 had commenced ''against the apostates of Germany," expecting by 
 its publication to remove the suspicions against his loyalty to the 
 court of Rome. While writing this book, and examining those of 
 the reformers, he was so impressed with the force of the objections 
 which he was endeavoring to answer that he threw away the pen, 
 and relinquished the undertaking in despair. With a burdened heart, 
 and in hope of relief, he revealed his feelings to his brother, Gian- 
 battista, bishop of Pola, in the same district, who was distressed by 
 the communication. He conversed with his brother, and, after 
 hearing the reason of his change of views, especially concerning 
 justification, he became himself a convert to the Protestant doctrine. 
 The two brothers had emerged from the valley of darkness and 
 doubt, and a light from heaven shone into their understandings. 
 They had been ignorant of the simple truth of salvation by faith, and, 
 like the ''blind leading the blind," directed their hearers along the 
 thorny paths of austerities and penances, which inflicted suffering, 
 but afforded no peace. Having found the true and living way, they 
 resolved to bring their flocks into it, by imparting instruction to 
 them on the principal doctrines of the Gospel, and withdrawing their 
 attention from those ceremonial services and bodily exercises which 
 they regarded as the whole of religion. These converted bishops, 
 by their own personal labors, and the assistance of others who had 
 previously obtained pardon from the great " High -priest, " were suc- 
 cessful in inaugurating this reform. The sound of the old Gospel 
 ravished the ears of the people as the silver trumpets of the "Day 
 of Jubilee" delighted God's ancient children, so that before A. D. 
 1546 the greater part of the inhabitants of that district had cast off 
 the yoke of ceremonies, embraced the truths of the Reformation, 
 and made considerable progress in the knowledge of the Christian 
 doctrines. 
 
 In many respects the history of the dissemination of evangelical 
 opinions at Ferrara is the most interesting of any that has been 
 written in connection with the Reformation in Italy. This city, at 
 an early period, afforded protection to those Protestants who fled 
 from various parts of that country and from foreign lands. Under 
 
THE COURT OF FERRARA. 247 
 
 the government of its dukes, of the illustrious house of Este, it had 
 for some time rivaled Florence in the encouragement of learning and 
 the fine arts. Its natural advantages never could compare with those 
 of Florence, or even Bologna, because it is situated in a plain, mo- 
 notonous, insalubrious country. But this unfavorable circumstance 
 did not prevent the court of Ferrara from being the resort of literary 
 men, who delighted to enjoy the society of its wise dukes. Ariosto 
 and Bernardo Tasso Hved at the court of Alfonso I, and subsequently 
 his more illustrious son, the author of ''Jerusalem Delivered," at 
 the court of Ercole II, and consequently the genealogy and achieve- 
 ments of the dukes of Ferrara have been transmitted to posterity 
 by the most prominent poets of that age. While cofttemporary 
 princes yielded patronage to men of letters out of regard to their 
 own fame, and as a tribute to fashion, Hercules, who had received 
 a good education, was actuated by personal judgment and feeling in 
 his respect for them. ^ 
 
 The house of Este had been devoted to the Romish See, and 
 labored to advance its interests; but recently, in several instances, 
 had not been treated with proper regard by it. This sense of injury, 
 however, was overcome, because there was an important reason why 
 the Italian princes should be attached to the pope. Ippolito, a 
 younger son of Duke Alfonso, and afterwards his nephew, Ludovico, 
 were cardinals ; and from time immemorial a branch of the family 
 had been represented in the sacred college. Accordingly, Alfonso 
 had faithfully sustained Clement during his humiliation and calamity ; 
 and his successor, though more liberal in his religious views than his 
 father, carefully avoided offending the supreme pontiff. 
 
 Hercules II (as he is more commonly called by English writers), 
 duke of Ferrara, married the celebrated Renee, or Renata, daughter 
 of Louis XII of France. This noble princess had been instructed in 
 the reformed doctrine before leaving her native country by some of 
 those learned persons who were frequent visitors at the court of the 
 distinguished Margaret, queen of Navarre ; and she was anxious to 
 have the evangelical religion introduced into the land to which she 
 had removed. For some time she secretly entertained Protestants 
 as literary men, her husband encouraging, or at least permitting, 
 it. The first persons to whom she extended her protection and 
 hospitality on this principle were her own countrymen, whom the 
 violence of persecution had driven out of France. 
 
 It was under her auspices that for several years Ferrara was a 
 " City of Refuge " to unfortunate scholars and persecuted Protestants, 
 
248 ITAL V STI? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 not only of France, but also of Italy. Several men of letters had 
 been introduced into the court of France during the late reign by 
 Madame de Soubise, the governess of the duchess. She now resided 
 at the court of Ferrara with her son, Jean de Parthenai, Sieur de 
 Soubise, afterwards a principal leader of the Protestant party in 
 France ; her daughter, Anne de Parthenai, celebrated for her elegant 
 taste ; and Antoine de Pons, count de Marennes, the future husband 
 of this young lady, and a warm friend of the reformed cause until 
 the death of his wife. The distinguished French poet, Clement 
 Marot, fled from his native country, A. D. 1534, because the affair 
 of the placards had excited persecution, and, after residing for a short 
 time at the court of the queen of Navarre, in Beam, came to Ferrara. 
 He was recommended by Madame de Soubise to the duchess, who 
 made him her secretary ; and his friend, Lyon Jamet, finding it nec- 
 essary soon after to follow him, met with a reception equally cordial. 
 About the same time the great reformer, John Calvin, visited 
 Ferrara, where he spent several months under the assumed name of 
 Charles Heppeville. The duchess was confirmed in the Protestant 
 faith by his instructions, and ever after retained the highest respect 
 for his character and talents. The duke of Ferrara, though a Roman 
 Catholic, did not yet manifest any opposition to the course pursued 
 by his wife in entertaining the friends of the Reformation. Indeed, 
 the hospitality of the court attracted many from various countries, 
 embracing almost all the prominent Protestants of Italy, among 
 whom may be mentioned Fulvio Peregrino Morata, from Mantua, 
 the father of the celebrated Olympia Morata, of whom we shall 
 speak more fully hereafter, and Celio Secundo Curio, of Turin, of 
 whom we have spoken already. The most of the distinguished 
 Protestants who spent a considerable length of time at Ferrara were 
 either connected with the university, which was then in the zenith 
 of its fame, having recovered from the disasters inflicted upon it by 
 the civil wars of the family of Este, or employed as tutors in the 
 household of the duke. These learned men, who educated his chil- 
 dren, were the chief instruments in propagating the Protestant faith. 
 While imparting instruction in every branch of polite letters and 
 arts, they did not neglect to inculcate the "truth as it is in Jesus." 
 Among the enlightened men who adorned the court of Ferrara were 
 Celio Calcaquini, Lilio Giraldi, Bartolomeo Riccio, Marzello Palin- 
 genio, and Marcantonio Flaminio — all of whom were elevated above 
 the superstitions of their age, if they were not converts to the re- 
 formed religion. 
 
PR O TESTA NTISM IN FERRARA. 249 
 
 Paul III visited Ferrara A. D. 1543, and was present at a classical 
 performance when the ''Adelphi" of Terence was acted by the 
 youth of the family and the three daughters of the duke, the eldest 
 of whom was only twelve and the youngest five years of age. ' While 
 the pope was being amused by the juvenile princesses, he was not 
 aware then of the religious sentiments of their teachers. Two broth- 
 ers from Germany, Chilian and John Sinapi, instructed them in 
 Greek, and, being Protestants, also tauglit them correct views of 
 religion. Fulvio Peregrino Morata had been a successful teacher of 
 youth in various parts of Italy, and was tutor to the two younger 
 brothers of the duke. During the first part of his life the mind of 
 Morata, like that of many of his learned countrymen, had been en- 
 grossed with secular studies ; but meeting with Celio Secundo Curio, 
 a refugee from Piedmont, he received from him the knowledge of 
 evangelical truth and a profound conviction of the reality of religion. 
 Morata calls Curio his "divine teacher — one sent of God to instfuct 
 him, as Ananias was sent to Paul." While Morata was highly 
 esteemed for his integrity and culture, he became still more distin- 
 guished as the father of Olympia Morata, the most enlightened 
 woman of the age, whom he educated with all the zeal that parental 
 love and professional enthusiasm could excite. The duchess, having 
 observed her early proficiency in letters, selected her to be the com- 
 panion of her eldest daughter, Anne, with whom she improved in 
 every elegant and useful accomplishment. Olympia soon discovered 
 that the blandishments and confusions of a court are not favorable 
 for the cultivation of personal piety; yet during her residence in the 
 ducal palace she first obtained that knowledge of the Gospel which 
 supported her under the trials and privations which she afterwards 
 had to endure. 
 
 It is impossible to ascertain the number of those in Ferrara who 
 embraced the Protestant doctrines, but it probably varied at different 
 times, according to the fluctuating pohtics of the duke and the meas- 
 ures of religious constraint or toleration which were alternately 
 adopted by the other states of Italy. It is said that they had sev- 
 eral preachers as early as A. D. 1528; but whether they were per- 
 mitted to preach publicly in churches or chapels, or hold their 
 assemblies in private houses, we are not informed. They probably 
 adopted the latter course ; but it is certain that their labors were 
 successful, because such a large number of distinguished Protestants 
 at Ferrara indicated it. Whatever progress the Gospel had made 
 there was, however, owing to the decided patronage and encourage- 
 
250 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ment of the duchess Renee. Indeed, the most eminent ItaHans who 
 accepted the new opinions, and were confirmed in their attachment 
 to them, were indebted in one way or other to this noble woman. 
 She was the second daughter of Louis XII, who may be considered, 
 on many accounts, one of the best monarchs France has ever had ; 
 who, when urged to renew the crusades against the poor Waldenses 
 in Dauphiny, refused to do it, saying, *' They are better Christians 
 than we are.'' Renee was born at Blois, A. D. 1 510. Her mother 
 was Anne of Brittany, widow of Charles VIII. Scarcely had she 
 reached the age of three years when she was bereft of her mother, 
 and at five she lost her father. She then had to depend upon the 
 care of her brother-in-law, Francis I, who ascended the throne A. D. 
 15 15. At an early age she was affianced to one prince, and then 
 another, as policy dictated ; first to Ferdinand of Austria, then to 
 Charles (afterwards Charles V, emperor of Germany), then to the 
 king of England, then to Joachim, marquis of Brandenburg, and, 
 lastly, to Ercole, or Hercules, whom, as we have stated, she mar- 
 ried, A. D. 1527. 
 
 It it said by historians that personally she was not beautiful ; but 
 she possessed that which was far more valuable — "a strong intellect, 
 a sound judgment, and great nobleness of soul, united with much 
 tenderness of heart, and a remarkably amiable spirit." In her youth 
 she manifested a striking fondness for those studies which are elevat- 
 ing in their character. She made rapid advancement in both the 
 exact and moral sciences, and had a thorough knowledge of the 
 Greek and Latin languages. She conversed in the Italian with the 
 same elegance and purity that she did in the French. Such a woman 
 was Renee of France, whom God raised up to protect for a season 
 the persecuted Protestants in Italy ; and when she was prevented by 
 her enemies from assisting the prostrate and bleeding cause of evan- 
 gelical religion in that country she was permitted to return to her 
 native land, and there offer an asylum to such of the poor persecuted 
 Protestants of France as gathered around the walls of the castle in 
 which she spent her decHning years. 
 
 This excellent woman unfortunately married a man who was in 
 every respect unworthy of her. Ercole, or Hercules, was a bigoted 
 Roman Catholic, and destitute of an independent spirit. The court 
 of Rome had inflicted upon his father indignities and injuries, com- 
 peUing him to wander for years as an exile, and serve in foreign 
 armies as a soldier, in order to sustain existence. Before he could 
 recover the estates belonging to him he was forced to ask pardon of 
 
MATTEO GENTILIS OF ANCONA. 25 1 
 
 the infamous Alexander VI, and to marry the worthless Lucretia 
 Borgia, his daughter. And yet this son had neither the desire nor 
 the ability to extricate his neck from the yoke which his house had 
 so long worn, but was ever ready to cringe at the feet of the pope. 
 During the first years of his marriage he seemed to have some 
 affection for his amiable wife ; but after the death of his father and 
 his own accession to the ducal throne he manifested a different dis- 
 position toward her. He complied with the first solicitation from 
 the pope and emperor, and entered into a league with them, by 
 which he bound himself to remove from his court all the French who 
 were suspected of heresy. The adoption of this league, A. D. 1536, 
 was followed by the retirement of Madame de Soubise and her fam- 
 ily, whose departure was deeply regretted by the duchess. Marot 
 went to Venice, but soon after obtained permission to return to his 
 native land. Lyon Jamet was allowed to remain with Renee, proba- 
 bly because he was less known than Marot, and she appointed him 
 her secretary after the departure of his friend. Morata returned to 
 Ferrara A. D. 1539, and was readmitted to his professorship in the 
 university. Concerning the movements of Hubert Lanquet, an 
 accomplished scholar, and one of the first, or at least soundest, poli- 
 ticians of his age, who became a Protestant while residing at Ferrara, 
 nothing definite has been recorded. 
 
 Ancona deserves to be mentioned in connection with the Italian 
 Reformation, because Matteo Gentilis and his two accomplished sons 
 were born there. The father was compelled to leave his native 
 country on account of his Protestant opinions, and settled in Carni- 
 ola, where he followed his profession as a physician. The two sons, 
 Alberic and Scipio, became eminent civilians. The former went to 
 England, and was made professor of laws at Oxford. His brother 
 held the same situation at Altorf, and, in addition to his legal knowl- 
 edge, was celebrated for his poetical talents and skill in Biblical 
 criticism. 
 
252 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 THE PROTESTANT CAUSE IN MO DEN A. 
 
 AS Modena was under the government of the house of Este it 
 is probable that its first acquaintance with the evangeHcal doc- 
 trines was owing to the same cause which introduced them into Fer- 
 rara. Among the early correspondents of Luther were several 
 Modenese. One of these was Giovanni Francesco Virginio, a native 
 of Brescia, and author of a paraphrase on the Epistles of Paul to the 
 Galatians and Hebrews, printed at Lyons, A. D. 1565. Sadolet and 
 three other members of the sacred college were citizens of Modena, 
 as were also Sigonio, the celebrated antiquary ; Castelvetro, a critic 
 of great acuteness, and many others whose names often appear in the 
 history of Italian literature. This city also possessed one of those 
 academies which originated in such large numbers in Italy during the 
 sixteenth century, and surpassed the old and well-endowed seminaries 
 of science. Its founder was Giovanni Grillenzone, an enlightened 
 physician, in whose house it assembled. Those who attended desired 
 to promote their mutual improvement by conversation and the read- 
 ing of papers on scientific and literary subjects. Afterwards lectures 
 were introduced and became so famous, especially those of Franciscus 
 Portus, a learned Greek, as to attract young men from all parts of 
 Italy to Modena. 
 
 At an early period it was believed that the academy was under 
 the influence of Protestant opinions. Tiraboschi, in his history of 
 Italian literature, states that the proceedings against this society had 
 their origin in one of those quarrels in which the literati of that age 
 were often involved with the religious orders, and in the resentment 
 of Annibale Caro against Castelvetro, a member of the academy, who 
 had written a severe criticism on one of his poems. It is evident, 
 however, that this opposition rested on a deeper foundation. Ac- 
 cording to the " Biblioteca Modenese," another work of Tiraboschi, 
 which contains more ample details supported by the most authentic 
 documents, the priests regarded the academy, from its beginning, as 
 the source of heresy in Modena, while the academicians did not hesi- 
 tate to express their contempt of the priests, and especially of the 
 monks, on account of their ignorance and hypocrisy. Grillenzone, 
 
THE PRIESTS AND ACADEMICIANS. 253 
 
 the originator of the academy, in a letter to Sadolet, accounts for 
 the charges made against him by the monks, in these words : * ' My 
 nature is such that I could never conceal my dipleasure at the con- 
 duct of the idle, ignorant, and hypocritical." It is not strange that 
 intelligent men employed these terms when a friar, preaching in the 
 cathedral of Modena during Lent, A. D. 1530, committed the sacri- 
 legious act of producing and reading td' his audience a pretended let- 
 ter from Jesus Christ, drawn up in the style of a papal brief, begin- 
 ning with "Jesus Episcopus." 
 
 Serafina, a canon regular of St. Augustine, preached in the cathe- 
 dral church in December, A. D. 1537, and declared to his audience 
 that the Lutheran errors had begun to spread in Modena, and in 
 proof of his statement referred to a heretical book which he had ob- 
 tained, saying that he had found it in the chamber of Lucrezia Pica, 
 widow of Count Claudio Rangone. He, along with the inquisitor of 
 heretical pravity and the vicar of the diocese, examined it, and then 
 endeavored to ascertain the author and also the individual who had 
 brought it into the city. They traced it without much difficulty to 
 Gadaldino, a printer and bookseller, but the author could not be dis- 
 covered. It was generally beheved that he was one of the members 
 of the academy, several of whom boldly approved the book, and 
 pronounced its doctrine both orthodox and edifying. It was pub- 
 licly burnt at Rome, and every copy of it destroyed. At the mar- 
 riage of a daughter of Niccolo Machelli, which -soon after occurred, 
 two masked persons entered the residence of the bride's father, who 
 was a member of the academy, and, in the place of entertainment, 
 recited a lengthy satire on the preacher Serafina. At the same time 
 similar pasquinades were placarded on the pillars of the cathedral, the 
 gate of the Dominican convent, and other public places in the city. 
 The Countess Lucrezia, considering herself scandalized by the event, 
 persuaded the duke to have two persons arrested, both tutors to two 
 of the promjnent families of the city, and thrown into prison, as the 
 authors of this insult to the clergy. They were soon after released, 
 because it could not be shown that any individual had been named 
 as the object of the satire. 
 
 While the clergy persevered in denouncing the new doctrines, the 
 academicians resorted to their favorite method of retaliation, and 
 often when annoyed by the ignorant harangues to which they were 
 compelled to listen, they would arise in the congregation, criticise 
 the sermon, and expose the preacher to the derision of the audience. 
 Fra Serafina, having been absent for some time, ventured to return, 
 
254 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 A. D. 1539, but was driven from the pulpit in disgrace. The monks 
 could neither arrest the progress of the truth among the people nor 
 prevent it from entering their own cloisters. A friar named Antonio- 
 della Catellina preached a sermon with great applause during the 
 feast of Pentecost, and though accused of heresy did not retract, but 
 appeared again in the pulpit and defended the doctrine which he had 
 taught. This alarmed the clergy and called forth a papal rescript 
 commanding the inquisitor to strictly investigate the opinions of the 
 religious orders established in the city. 
 
 Such was the state of the public mind when Paolo Ricio came to 
 Modena, A. D. 1540. He was born in Sicily, obtained the degree 
 of doctor of theology at Naples, and belonged to the order of Minor 
 Conventuals ; but in order that he might proclaim the Gospel with 
 greater freedom, he abandoned the cowl and assumed the name of 
 Lisea Fileno. The members of the academy cordially welcomed him, 
 and he earnestly labored to find the friends of the Reformation in the 
 city, whom he persuaded to meet for worship in a private house. 
 His instructions confirmed them in the true faith, and attracted others 
 to their standard. These results produced a great sensation in Mo- 
 dena ; the Bible was the common topic of conversation, and the peo- 
 ple freely and eagerly discussed the questions in controversy between 
 the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants. ** Persons of all 
 classes," says a contemporary popish historian, '*not only the learned, 
 but also the illiterate, and even women, whenever they met, in the 
 streets, in shops, or in churches, disputed about faith and the doctrine 
 of Christ, and all promiscuously tortured the sacred Scriptures, quot- 
 ing Paul, Matthew, John, the Apocalypse, and all the doctors whose 
 writings they never saw." 
 
 The news of the progress of the Gospel in Italy reached Germany, 
 and moved Bucer to write a letter of congratulation and advice to the 
 disciples at Modena. The priests, beholding the effects of this relig- 
 ious revolution, complained to the pope, and he remonstrated with 
 the duke. Ricio, foreseeing the danger, had departed from Modena, 
 but was arrested at the neighboring village of Staggio, and taken as 
 a prisoner to Ferrara. There he made a public recantation of his 
 opinions rather than be sent to Rome, where he expected no mercy. 
 But this defection could not prevent the seed sown by him from 
 germinating, because it had already taken deep root. The duke re- 
 solved that these contentions should not be renewed, and therefore 
 issued orders that the pulpit should not be occupied by any one with- 
 out the permission of the vicar of the diocese; but so great was the 
 
O CHINO A T MODENA~GIO VANNI DI POLITIANO. 255 
 
 desire of the people to hear the Gospel preached that some of the 
 clergy violated the rule, and were supported by the local magistrates, 
 who wrote to the ducal court in their favor. The celebrated Ochino, 
 whose career we shall describe in the proper place, visited Modena, 
 A. D. 1540, and preached in the cathedral church to such a large 
 audience that, according to the testimony of one who was present, 
 " there was scarcely room to stand." The academicians urged him 
 to remain during Lent, promising that he should have an opportunity 
 to conduct the services, as the preacher who had been engaged for 
 that season could be induced to yield his place to him; but Ochino 
 declined. At this time his defection from the Roman Catholic faith 
 was not known, but the priests were displeased at his method of 
 preaching, so different from their own, and at the applause which it 
 elicited, especially from their adversaries of the academy. 
 
 One of the most obnoxious of these was Giovanni di Politiano, 
 called also de ' Berettari. In his youth he had secured the esteem of 
 Cardinals Bembo and Bibbiena for his poetical talent, and was at this 
 period a tutor to Camillo, a son of the distinguished Francesco Molza. 
 As he was in priests' orders he preached in the house of his patron, 
 and the citizens in large numbers attended the service after the 
 departure of Ricio. A spy having reported that he presented three 
 erroneous propositions in his exposition of Paul's Epistles, Politiano 
 was accused of disloyalty to the papal Church. One of these prop- 
 ositions was that prayers in an unknown tongue were not acceptable 
 to God. The offender waited upon the inquisitors, and explained his 
 words ; but they were not satisfied, and summoned him to appear for 
 trial. Declining to attend, he was excommunicated for contumacy. 
 He immediately appealed to the pope, and through the influence of 
 Molza, with Cardinal Farnese, the nephew of Paul III, the inquisitor 
 was called to Rome. After a delay of several months a decision was 
 rendered acquitting Politiano, or Berettari, who, on the 1st of Octo- 
 ber, A. D. 1 541, returned, along with his pupil, in triumph to Mo- 
 dena ; but his enemies were vindictive, and, having commenced a new 
 process against him at Rome, they obtained a verdict of "guilty." 
 He was then sentenced to do penance privately in the presence of a 
 few select individuals. 
 
 During the progress of these events Cardinal Morone, bishop of 
 Modena, was chiefly absent in Germany on missions from the pope. 
 He had repeatedly heard of the spread of heresy in his diocese, and 
 the reports made him the more uneasy, because he was aware of the 
 corruptions in the Church, and cherished a deep regard for several 
 
256 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of the Modenese, who were accused. In a letter to the duke of 
 Ferrara, dated the 2ist of November, A. D. 1541, he says: "Eight 
 days ago I came to Modena to make residence at my Church, and 
 to endeavor with the divine assistance to do all in my power, con- 
 sistently with charity, to remove the bad fame which this city of your 
 excellency has incurred, not only in Italy, but abroad, in reference to 
 the modern novelties of opinion. I had proceeded so far in this affair, 
 and brought it to some issue, when I received an order from his holi- 
 ness to repair to Rome." While making another visit to his diocese, 
 he writes on the 20th of May, A. D. 1542, to his friend, Cardina) Con- 
 tarini: "I have found things which infinitely distress me, and while I 
 perceive the danger, am quite at a loss as to the means by which I 
 can extricate myself in the affairs of this flock which, with my blood, 
 I would willingly secure to Christ and clear from public infamy. 
 Wherever I go, and from all quarters, I hear that the city is become 
 Lutheran. Your suspicions are not without foundation, for it can 
 not be denied that much ignorance, joined with great audacity and 
 little charity, reigns among the monks ; but against the other side 
 are many violent suspicions and even some proofs, which I mean to 
 verify, with the view of adopting the remedies which God may 
 direct." And, on the 30th of July, he writes to the same person: 
 "Yesterday a minister of that order frankly told me that their 
 preachers would no longer go to Modena on account of the persecu- 
 tion to which they were exposed from the academy, it being every- 
 where spread abroad that the city is Lutheran." 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ITALY. 
 
 FLORENCE, the capital of Tuscany, became greatly distinguished 
 at the era of the revival of letters. No other Italian city con- 
 tained so many enlightened citizens and such flourishing academies, 
 while its university was not excelled in the number of its scholars 
 and the encouragement which it gave to every branch of science and 
 liberal art. But these studies did not promote either pure religion or 
 genuine liberty. The cultivation of the fine arts in the ' * Middle 
 Ages," by appealing chiefly to the senses, was intimately associated 
 with superstition, and the first introduction of letters into Europe 
 
258 ITAL Y STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 contributed in many cases to the growth of extravagance and cor- 
 ruption both among the patrons and their clients because munificent 
 gifts for their support were recklessly spent. The luxury which 
 prevailed among the rich, combined with the ignorance and bigotry 
 of the masses, ever under the influence of a numerous train of priests 
 and monks, constituted a serious barrier to the progress of evangeli- 
 cal truth in Florence. Besides, the celebrated family of the Medici, 
 after expending vast sums in adorning and exalting their native city, 
 finished by overthrowing its liberties ; and so true is the maxim "men 
 will praise thee when thou dost well to thyself," that their ambition 
 has found apologists among those who have extolled their early 
 patriotism. In the course of a few years Florence had considered 
 herself honored by the elevation of two of her^sons to the chair of 
 St. Peter under the respective titles of Leo X and Clement VII, and 
 therefore was strongly attached to the Romish See. 
 
 In view of all these obstacles it was to be expected that the 
 Reformation would encounter the most powerful resistance in that 
 city, yet we are assured that many of its citizens had accepted the 
 Protestant doctrines before A. D. 1525. It is a significant fact that 
 the Scriptures were translated about this time into Italian by no less 
 than three natives of Florence — Brucioli, Marmochini, and Teofilo. 
 Antonio Brucioli has been already mentioned in a preceding chapter 
 of this work, but deserves more particular notice on account of the 
 invaluable services which he rendered to Italy by his writings. He 
 was born about the close of the fifteenth century, and in the early 
 part of his life was a distinguished member of the Platonic Academy 
 in his native city. Ardently attached to popular liberty, and full of 
 youthful zeal, he was persuaded to embark in a conspiracy to expel 
 the house of the Medici from Florence ; but the project having been 
 discovered he was compelled to fly. After spending some time in 
 Venice, he traveled in France and Germany. The five years of his 
 exile infused a spirit of religious liberty into his soul and softened 
 his political feelings. Applying himself to the study of Hebrew at 
 Venice, he became very proficient, and afterwards obtained great dis- 
 tinction for his knowledge of that language ; and while in Germany 
 he had the best facilities for understanding the Scriptures. 
 
 After the emperor, Charles V, had humbled Pope Clement VII, 
 and the authority of the Medici was supended in Florence, Brucioli 
 returned to his native city, A. D. 1527; but his recent intercourse 
 with Lutherans had brought upon him the suspicion of heresy. He 
 talked freely concerning the clergy, and thereby rendered himself 
 
THE WRITINGS OF BRUCIOLL 259 
 
 still more unpopular. His friends having warned him to be more 
 careful in. his conversation, he replied, "If I speak truth I can not 
 speak wrong." The Dominicans of St. Marco were particularly indig- 
 nant at his censures, and one of them, Fojano, who was then a 
 popular preacher in Florence, denounced him from the pulpit as a 
 heretic, and, alluding to the meaning of his name, which, in Italian, 
 signifies twigs, or shavings of wood, exclaimed, ''Brucioli is fit for 
 nothing but to be burned." Soon after he was cast into prison, and, 
 in addition to the charge of heresy, was accused of corresponding 
 with France. An examination of his papers, however, revealed 
 nothing suspicious or prejudicial to Italy, but only some specimens' 
 of a translation of a Bible, and a cipher which he had employed in 
 writing to his friend Alamanno. The monks demanded the infliction 
 of capital punishment, and Brucioli, by the boldness of his defense, 
 irritated the judge before whom he was tried, and, no doubt, aggra- 
 vated his case ; but, through the influence of friends his sentence was 
 restricted to banishment for two years. 
 
 It is probable that Brucioli never entertained thoughts of return- 
 ing to Florence, but in dedicating one of his works to Cosmo de 
 Medici he addressed him in a respectful manner and praised the 
 mild character of his administration. Without soliciting any personal 
 favors he exhorted him to encourage the reading of the Bible by his 
 people as the best means of making devout men and dutiful subjects. 
 For his own safety Brucioli prudently wrote his letters and dedica- 
 tions without dating them from any place ; but it is generally believed 
 that he retired to Venice again, and there spent the remainder of his 
 life engaged in literary labors. At first he was compelled to endure 
 the privations of an exile, but, refusing to become dependent on the 
 bounty of a rich patron, he preferred to live in obscurity and to sup- 
 port himself by the productions of his pen. For some years he was 
 chiefly employed as a corrector of the press, which, at that time, was 
 an important position. At length he and his brothers, or, as some 
 say, his cousins, Francesco and Alessandro Brucioli, succeeded in 
 establishing a printing-office of their own. From A. D. 1530 to 
 A. D. 1556, the probable year of his death, he published many of 
 his own works, including translations of the classics, but his Biblical 
 labors were the most valuable. A specimen of his hymns, in con- 
 nection with a list of his writings, was published by Schelhorn. 
 
 In addition to his version of the Scriptures, already mentioned, 
 Brucioli wrote a commentary on the whole Bible, extending to seven 
 volumes in folio, a work of great value, and abounding in evangelical 
 
 18 
 
26o ITAL V Sm UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 views. Father Simon admits that he translated from the original, 
 and not, like the Roman CathoHcs, from the Vulgate, but says that 
 he, having an imperfect knowledge of Hebrew, committed many 
 errors by following Pagnini. This charge was not sustained by satis- 
 factory proof, but was one of those indiscreet statements so frequently 
 and hastily uttered by this ingenious critic. His remark that Bruci- 
 oli's version often offends against the purity of the Italian tongue 
 and abounds with Hebraisms, is more correct; but such a fault is 
 inevitable in giving a literal translation. The Roman Catholics have 
 endeavored to detract from the literary fame of the great author, 
 because they disliked his religious opinions. Some of their writers 
 were cautious in their commendations of his talents and erudition. 
 ''He was well acquainted," says one of them, ''with Greek, Hebrew, 
 and Latin, and endowed by nature with rare talents; but, trusting to 
 his genius, he plunged into grievous errors, which are scattered over 
 many of his writings; and he died without making any recantation." 
 Another writer, Poccianti, gives a similar representation of his 
 character. 
 
 The Romish authorities not only placed his translations of the 
 Bible into the first class of forbidden books, but also strictly prohib- 
 ited all his works on whatever subject, whether "published or to. 
 be published," together with all the books which were issued from 
 his press, even after his death. Schelhorn, a foreign writer, who 
 examined Brucioli's commentary and was competent to pronounce 
 a correct opinion, declares that it contains numerous and decisive 
 proofs of the author's attachment to evangelical truth. "Though 
 Italy be the fortress and strength of the papal empire," say the 
 Lucchees refugees at Geneva, "because the authority of the pope 
 is most firmly established over the people of that country, this 
 could not prevent the light from penetrating it in different quarters;, 
 in consequence of which the scales fell from the eyes and the shackles 
 from the hands of many who sat in darkness and captivity. This 
 was effected by means of an Italian translation of the Bible by Bru- 
 cioli, Avhich was published at that time, and which it was not judged 
 prudent to stifle in its birth by those violent measures which were 
 afterwards employed for its suppression." If the influence of a man's 
 writings is estimated in the bestowment of the title of "reformer," 
 surely Brucioli deserves it. 
 
 In no Italian city did the truths of the Reformation spread more 
 rapidly or more extensively than in Bologna, which in the sixteenth 
 century belonged to the kingdom of the pope. From it the various 
 
MOLLIO'S TRIAL AND ACQUITTAL. 261 
 
 pontiffs issued some of the severest of their edicts against heresy; but 
 this did not prevent the hght, which was shining around, from pene- 
 trating that city. Its university was one of the earhest and greatest 
 schools of Europe, and its members enjoyed extensive privileges. 
 They were accustomed to hear the essential principles of liberty 
 boldly proclaimed in public discussions in the halls of learning. The 
 students, therefore, imbibed liberal sentiments, and the new opinions 
 in religion were rapidly propagated in Bologna, while they had become 
 unpopular in those states of Italy which had been deprived to a 
 great extent of their former freedom. The principal instrument, 
 under the blessing of God, of promoting the Gospel in that city, was 
 John Mollio, a native of Montalcino, in the territory of Sienna. He 
 had belonged to the order of Minorites from his youth, but he was 
 more industrious than the most of his brethren, devoting himself to 
 the study of polite literature and theology, and wasting no time in 
 superstition or idleness. By a close examination of the Bible and 
 the works of the reformers he obtained clear views of evangelical 
 truth, and, having a reputation for culture and piety, possessed great 
 influence, which, as a professor and preacher, he exerted in favor of 
 reform. After acquiring considerable celebrity in the universities of 
 Brescia, Milan, and Pavia, he came to Bologna about A. D. 1533. 
 In his lectures he presented certain propositions relating to justifica- 
 tion by faith, and other questions then in controversy, and was- 
 opposed by Cornelio, a professor of metaphysics, who, being discom- 
 fited in a public discussion with Mollio, accused him of heresy, and- 
 caused him to be summoned to Rome. He defended himself with 
 such eloquence and ability that the judges, appointed by Paul III to> 
 try the cause, were compelled to acquit him, declaring that his doc- 
 trines were true, but should not be publicly taught, because they 
 might at that time create prejudice against the ''Apostolical Sfee. " 
 The papal authorities sent him back to Bologna, and admonished him, 
 to abstain from explaining the Epistles of St. Paul. This prohibition,, 
 however, did not prevent him from preaching the same doctrine as^ 
 formerly, which was received by his hearers with increasing inter- 
 est. At length the pope commanded him to be removed from the 
 university. 
 
 The progress which the Reformation had made at Bologna is indir 
 Gated by a letter, peculiar in its style and matter, which some of the- 
 inhabitants of that city addressed, A. D. 1533, to John Planitz:, 
 embassador from the elector of Saxony to Charles V, who was then 
 in Italy. After having alluded to the report that he had been sent 
 
262 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 to entreat the emperor to induce the pope to convene a general 
 council for the reformation of the abuses of the Church, they ex- 
 pressed their thanks that Germany had ''thrown off the tyrannical 
 yoke of Antichrist," and now demanded a council. In concluding 
 their earnest letter they entreated the embassador to ''obtain this 
 most desirable and necessary assembly." 
 
 The number of persons favorable to Protestantism in Bologna 
 continued to increase many years after this period. Bucer, in a letter 
 written A. D. 1541, congratulates them on their increasing numbers 
 and knowledge; and Baldassare Altieri, A. D. 1545, informed an 
 acquaintance in Germany that a nobleman in that city was ready to 
 raise six thousand soldiers in favor of the evangelical party if it was 
 found necessary to make war against the pope. The -court of Rome 
 adopted a measure at this time which confirmed the letter of the 
 Bolognese Protestants concerning the strong and almost universal 
 desire for ecclesiastical reform in Italy. Paul III would not convene 
 a general council, and yet he could not evade the importunities of 
 those who demanded it, and therefore he appointed, A. D. 1537, 
 four cardinals — Contarini, Caraffa, Sadolet, and, Pole; and five prel- 
 ates — Fregoso, Archbishop of Salerno ; Aleander, of Brindisi ; Gibert, 
 of Verona; Cortese, Abbot of St. George of Venice; and Badia, 
 master of the Sacred Palace, to meet at Bologna, and charged them, 
 after due deliberation, to suggest to him the best method of reform- 
 ing the abuses of the Church. This commission included some of 
 the most respectable dignitaries of the Church, and the result of its 
 meeting was some wholesome recommendations to the pope. They 
 acknowledged that both the head and members of the ecclesiastical 
 body "labored under a pestiferous malady, which if not cured, would 
 prove fatal." Among the evils which demanded a speedy remedy, 
 they named the admission of improper persons to the priesthood, the 
 sale of benefices, the disposition of them by testaments, the granting 
 of dispensations and exemptions, and the union of bishoprics, includ- 
 ing "the incompatible offices of cardinal and bishop." 
 
 Addressing the pope they say: "Some of your predecessors in 
 the pontifical chair, having itching ears, have heaped to themselves 
 teachers according to their own lusts, who, instead of instructing 
 them what to do, were expert in finding out reasons to justify what 
 they wished to do, and encouraged them in their simoniacal practices 
 by maintaining their right to dispose, at their pleasure, of all eccle- 
 siastical property." The proposal of the court of Rome to reform 
 these abuses was evidently not sincere. Paul III approved the 
 
THE TRUTH ENTERS NAPLES. 263 
 
 **Advice" and ordered it to be printed; but, instead of obeying its 
 injunctions, he openly violated them in various instances. Even the 
 advisers themselves neglected to exemplify their own rules. The 
 cardinals retained their bishoprics; Pole did not remove the purple 
 when he became primate of all England; and Carafifa, when he after- 
 wards ascended the papal throne under the title of Paul IV, placed 
 the * 'Advice" which he had given to his predecessor in the list of 
 prohibited books. This document, however, was not overlooked by 
 the Protestants, a copy having been sent to Germany and published 
 in Latin with a prefatory epistle by Sturmius, rector of the Academy 
 of Strasburg. It was also issued in German by Luther, accompanied 
 with satirical remarks from his pen, accusing the cardinals of content- 
 ing themselves with removing the small twigs, while they allowed 
 the trunk of corruption to remain unmolested, and, like the Pharisees 
 of old, strained at gnats and swallowed camels. To present this 
 forcibly to his readers he prefixed to the book an engraving repre- 
 senting the pope, seated on a high throne, surrounded by his cardi- 
 nals, who were all busy sweeping the room, each with a broom made 
 of a long pole with a fox's tail fastened to the end. Pallavicini was 
 displeased with this measure of the pope, who, by ordering a refor- 
 mation of manners, acknowledged the existence of corruptions and 
 countenanced the detracting speeches which heretics circulated among 
 the vulgar. 
 
 The doctrines of the glorious Reformation penetrated even the 
 distant provinces of Naples and Sicily, or the southern part of Italy, 
 and the adjacent island, which were then governed by separate vice- 
 roys, under Charles V, the emperor of Spain. As to Calabria, or 
 the southern extremity of the Italian peninsula, we have spoken 
 already of a colony of Vaudois, or Waldenses from the valleys of 
 Piedmont, as having existed two centuries in that department of the 
 kingdom of Naples, and as being in existence at the commencement 
 of the Reformation. In the city of Naples there were many who 
 early embraced evangelical truth, which they probably first received 
 from the German soldiers of Charles V, who, after the sack of Rome, 
 compelled Lautrec, the French general, to raise the siege of Naples, 
 and continued to garrison that city for some time. Determined to 
 destroy the seeds which had been sown by these foreigners, Charles V 
 issued a rigorous edict, A. D. 1536, commanding Don Pedro de 
 Toledo, his viceroy at Naples, to punish all who were infected with 
 heresy, or who were inclined to it. 
 
 According to a contemporary Romisli historian, Caraccioli, the 
 
PETER MARTYR VERMIGLL. 265 
 
 Germans were succeeded by an individual who ' ' caused a far greater 
 slaughter of souls than all the thousands of heretical soldiery." This 
 was Juan di Valdez, or, as he is sometimes called, Valdesso, a dis- 
 tinguished Spaniard, who had been forced to leave the court of 
 Charles V, and his native land, for the sake of the Gospel. He 
 accompanied his sovereign into Germany, and, having been knighted, 
 was sent to Naples, where he acted as secretary of the viceroy, Don 
 Pedro de Toledo. His character was admirably adapted to promote 
 the Protestant cause. In him were combined learning, refinement, 
 gentleness, politeness, eloquence in conversation, and fervent piety, 
 and he soon became a great favorite with the nobility, and all the 
 intelligent men who at a certain season of the year resorted in large 
 numbers to the NeapoHtan metropolis. His villa stood on the west- 
 ern arm of the Bay of Naples, near the tomb of Virgil, having a 
 magnificent view of the calm sea and the picturesque island of Capri, 
 with the opposite shore, on which Vesuvius, with its crown of flame, 
 kept watch over the cities which fourteen hundred years before it 
 had wrapped in a winding-sheet of ashes and buried in a tomb of 
 lava. There the friends of Valdez often assembled to discuss the 
 articles of the Protestant creed and confirm one another in their 
 adherence to the Gospel. 
 
 Among these were Peter Martyr Vermigli, as he is commonly called 
 by English writers. His Italian name is Pietro Martin Vermigli, and 
 sometimes is designated Petrus Martyr Vennilius, to distinguish him 
 from Petrus Martyr Mediolanensis, a martyr after whom he is named, 
 in consequence of a vow of his parents; and also to distinguish him 
 from an enlightened countryman and contemporary of his own, 
 Petrus Martyr AngleriiLs (of Anghiera), ''whose epistles," saj^s Dr. 
 M'Crie, ''are known to the learned as throwing great light on the his- 
 tory of the early part of the sixteenth century." Vermigli was 
 born at Florence, A. D. 1500, of an honorable family, and received 
 a liberal education. In his youth he was taught Latin by his mother; 
 and when he arrived at the age of sixteen he entered, in opposition 
 to the will of his parents, the canons regular of St. Augustine, and 
 passed his novitiate in their convent at Fiezoli, which, by the liberal- 
 ity of the Medici, contained an extensive library. He was then sent 
 to the University of Padua, where he obtained a thorough knowledge 
 of the Greek language and philosophy ; and afterwards visited the 
 most celebrated academies of Italy. While at Vercelli he was per- 
 suaded by Cusano, his intimate friend, to interpret Homer; and at 
 Bologna he was instructed in Hebrew by a Jewish physician, named 
 
266 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Isaac. The Augustinians having appointed him one of their public 
 preachers, he became noted for the solidity and eloquence of his 
 sermons in their churches at Rome, Bologna, Fermo, Pisa, Venice 
 Mantua, Bergamo, and Montferrat, during Lent, and on other great 
 occasions. The members of his order were favorably impressed with 
 his talents and labors, and he was unanimously elected abbot of 
 Spoleto. Soon after he was appointed provost of the College of St. 
 Pietro ad arain, in the city of Naples, a position of dignity and 
 emolument. This occurred about A. D. 1530, when he was in the 
 thirtieth year of his age. 
 
 It was not long after this, when he had bright prospects of sure 
 and rapid promotion in the Romish Church, that his religious senti- 
 ments were completely changed. From his youth, as he himself 
 declares, he was deeply interested in sacred studies, and,' having 
 obtained a copy of the Bible in the convent to which he belonged, 
 he read it with great care, and not without profit to himself and 
 others. The treatises of Zwingle on ''True and False Religion" and 
 on "Providence," and some of Bucer's commentaries on Scripture, 
 subsequently came into his hands, and the perusal of them made a 
 profound impression on his mind. This conviction of the truth was 
 confirmed and deepened by the conversation of Valdez, Flaminio, 
 and others, with whom he became acquainted at Naples. In the 
 wilderness of Romanism Peter Martyr was parched with spiritual 
 thirst, because he could not find the "water of life" to refresh his 
 soul ; but Valdez led him to a fountain, whereat he drank, and 
 thirsted no more. 
 
 Another member of that Protestant band was Caserta, a Neapol- 
 itan nobleman, who had a young relative, then wholly absorbed in 
 the gayeties and splendors of Naples. This was Galeazzo Caraccioli, 
 Avhom Caserta introduced to Valdez. He was the only son of the 
 marquis of Vico, and possessed some excellent traits of character. 
 After his conversion to the truth he served Christ with his whole 
 heart, and, when the tempest of persecution dispersed the brilliant 
 company to which he belonged, he abandoned his noble palace, his 
 rich patrimony, his affectionate wife, his dear children, and all his 
 honors, clinging to the cross, and repairing to Geneva, where, in the 
 words of Calvin, ' ' he was content with our littleness, and lives fru- 
 gally, according to the habits of the commonality — neither more nor 
 less than any one of us." 
 
 This select society received another member, A. D. 1536. Bernar- 
 dino Ochino, or, as he is sometimes called, Ocello, came at that time 
 
BERNARDINO OCHINO. 267 
 
 to Naples to preach the Lent sermons. He was born, A. D. 1487, 
 at Sienna, in Tuscany, of poor and obscure parents. From his ear- 
 Hest years he was deeply moved by religious impressions, and, 
 according to the opinions of that age, devoted himself to a monastic 
 life, entering the convent of Franciscan Observantines, the strictest 
 of all the orders of the regular clergy. For a similar reason he went 
 from them to the Capuchin brotherhood, A. D. 1534, recently 
 established with the most rigid rules of holy living. In the work 
 which he wrote after leaving Italy he acknowledges that during his 
 monastic retirement he escaped many vices which he might not 
 have avoided in his intercourse with a sinful world, and that even 
 from the barren and unprofitable studies of the cloister he obtained 
 some knowledge that was useful ; but he confesses his complete 
 failure in possessing what he anticipated when he chose that un- 
 natural and painful mode of life, with its voluntary humility and 
 mortification. Ochino did not find peace of mind and assurance of 
 salvation. 
 
 *' When I was a young man," he says, ** I was under the domin- 
 ion of the common error by which the minds of all who live under 
 the yoke of the wicked Antichrist are enthralled ; so that I believed 
 that we were to be saved by our own works — fastings, prayers, 
 abstinence, watchings, and other things of the same kind, by which 
 we were to make satisfaction for our sins, and purchase heaven 
 through the concurring grace of God. Wherefore, being anxious to 
 be saved, I deliberated with myself what manner of life I should 
 follow ; and believing that those modes of religion were holy which 
 were approved by the Roman Church, which I regarded as infallible, 
 and judging that the life of the friars of St. Francis, called de obser- 
 vantia, was above all others severe, austere, and rigid, and on that 
 account more perfect and conformable to the life of Christ, I entered 
 their society. Although I did not find wliat I expected, yet no 
 better way presenting itself to my blinded judgment, I continued 
 among them until the Capuchin friars made their appearance, when, 
 being struck with the still greater austerity of their mode of living, 
 I assumed their habit, in spite of the resistance made by my sensu- 
 ality and carnal prudence. 
 
 ''Being now persuaded that I had found what I was seeking I 
 said to Christ, * Lord, if I am not saved now, I know nothing more 
 that I can do.' In the course of my meditations I was often per- 
 plexed, and felt at a loss to reconcile the views on which I acted 
 with what the Scriptures said about salvation being the gift of God 
 
268 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 through the redemption wrought by Christ ; but the authority of the 
 Church silenced these scruples, and in proportion as concern for my 
 soul became more intense I applied myself with greater diligence 
 and ardor to those bodily exercises and mortifications which were 
 prescribed by the doctrine of the Church and by the rules of the 
 order to which I had submitted. Still, however, I remained a stran- 
 ger to true peace of mind, which at last I found by searching the 
 Scriptures and such helps for understanding them as I had access to. 
 I now came to be satisfied of the three following truths : First, that 
 Christ, by his obedience and death, has made a plenary satisfaction 
 and merited heaven for the elect, which is the only righteousness 
 and ground of salvation ; secondly, that religious vows of human 
 invention are not only useless, but hurtful and wicked ; and, thirdly, 
 that the Roman Church, though calculated to fascinate the senses 
 by her external pomp and splendor, is unscriptural and abominable 
 in the sight of God." 
 
 In Italy it was customary for the secular clergy to perform gen- 
 eral duties, but not to preach, as this devolved exclusively upon the 
 monks and friars. Those who had the best pulpit talents were 
 selected by the chapters of the different orders to visit the principal 
 cities and preach during the time of Lent, which was almost the 
 only season of the year in which the people enjoyed religious instruc- 
 tion. Ochino attained the highest position as a pulpit orator. He 
 possessed original talents, but was not an erudite scholar. The 
 fervor of his piety and the sanctity of his life rendered his discourses 
 very impressive. The hearts of his hearers were charmed by his 
 extraordinary eloquence, which was accompanied with emotion and 
 unction. His external appearance, too, after he had passed the mid- 
 dle period of life, was exceedingly imposing. A snow-white head, and 
 beard of the same color flowing down to his girdle, together with a 
 pale countenance, made his aspect venerable and impressive. He 
 never rode on horseback or in a carriage, but always traveled on foot, 
 even when he was advanced in years. Princes and bishops wel- 
 comed him to their palaces with all the honors due to one of superior 
 rank, and when he departed bestowed upon him the same marks of 
 distinction ; yet he, amid all the elegance and luxury that often sur- 
 rounded him, retained the austerity and simplicity of the religious 
 order to which he belonged. The intelligent and the ignorant, the 
 nobility and the commonalty, equally followed him and admired his 
 eloquence. "In such reputation was he held," says the annalist 
 of the Capuchins, after Ochino had brought on them the stigma of 
 
OCHINO '5 ELOQUENCE, 269 
 
 heresy, "that he was esteemed incomparably the best preacher of 
 Italy; his powers of elocution, accompanied with the most admirable 
 action, giving him the complete command of his audience, and the 
 more so that his life corresponded to his doctrine." Charles V, 
 when in Italy, listened with delight to his sermons, and said, ' * That 
 man would make the stones weep !" Sadolet and Bembo, who were 
 better judges than the emperor, pronounced Ochino the greatest of 
 living orators. 
 
 By his discourses, he persuaded the inhabitants of Perugia to bury 
 all their animosities and amicably settle their lawsuits; and in Na- 
 ples he preached to such a large audience, and with such popular 
 eloquence, that he collected at one time for a charitable purpose the 
 almost incredible sum of five thousand crowns. The most respect- 
 able inhabitants of Venice, A. D. 1538, employed Cardinal Bembo 
 to secure the services of the eloquent and devout Capuchin for the 
 ensuing Lent. Bembo addressed a letter to Vittoria Colonna, 
 marchioness of Pescaro, urging her to intercede with Ochino, over 
 whom she had considerable influence, to visit Venice, whose inhab- 
 itants, having heard of his fame, w^ere intensely eager to listen to his 
 sermons. He accepted the invitation, and, on his arrival at the sea- 
 girt city, received a perfect ovation. The elegant pen of Bembo 
 describes, in a letter to the marchioness, dated from Venice, the 23d 
 of February, A. D. 1539, the nature and effects of Ochino's preach- 
 ing: ''I send your highness the extracts of our very reverend Frate 
 Bernardino, to whom I have listened during the small part of this 
 Lent, which is over, with a pleasure which I can not sufficiently 
 express. Assuredly, I never heard so edifying and holy a preacher, 
 and do not wonder that your highness esteems him as you do. He 
 discourses very differently from any other that has mounted the pulpit 
 in my day, and in a more Christian manner; bringing forth truths 
 of superior excellence and usefulness, and enforcing them with the 
 most affectionate ardor. He pleases every body above measure, and 
 will carry the hearts of all with him when he leaves this place. From 
 the whole city I send your highness immortal thanks for the favor 
 you have done us, and I especially will ever feel obliged to you." 
 
 In another letter to the same lady, dated the 15th of March, 
 Bembo says: *'I talk with your highness as I talked this morning 
 with the reverend father, Frate Bernardino, to whom I have laid open 
 my whole heart and soul, as I would have done to Jesus Christ, to 
 whom I am persuaded he is acceptable and dear. Never have I 
 had the pleasure to speak to a holier man than he. I should have 
 
2/0 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 been now at Padua, both on account of a business which has engaged 
 me for a whole year, and also to shun the applications with which I 
 am incessantly assailed in consequence of this blessed cardinalate ; but 
 I was unwilling to deprive myself of the opportunity of hearing his 
 most excellent, holy, and edifying sermons." On the 14th of April 
 he writes: **Our Frate Bernardino, whom I desire henceforth to call 
 mine as well as yours, is at present adored in this city. There is not 
 a man or woman who does not extol him to the skies. Oh, what 
 pleasure ! Oh, what delight ! Oh, what joy has he given ! But I 
 reserve his praises until I meet your highness, and, in the mean time, 
 supplicate our Lord to order his life so as that it may endure longer 
 to the honor and the profit of men, than it can endure according to 
 the way in which he now treats himself." Cardinal Bembo also ad- 
 dressed the following letter to the parson of the Church of the Apos- 
 tles, expressing the deep interest which was felt in Venice for Ochino : 
 '^I pray you to entreat and oblige the reverend father, Frate Bernar- 
 dino, to eat flesh, not for the gratification and benefit of his body, 
 about which he is indifferent, but for the comfort of our souls, that he 
 may be able to preach the Gospel to the praise of our blessed Savior. 
 For he can not continue his present exercises, nor bear up under them 
 during the present Lent, unless he leave off the diet of the season, 
 which, as experience proves, always brings on him a catarrh." While 
 Bembo extolled the character of Ochino for piety and eloquence, he 
 did not suspect that he was a Protestant, though he uttered evan- 
 gelical sentiments ; but the future conduct of the cardinal indicates 
 that he would have felt and spoken very differently had he been 
 inform.ed that the doctrine to which he had listened with such delight 
 was the same that Luther preached. Names exert a controlling 
 influence, often exciting prejudice and causing men to reject the 
 truth. How unreliable sometimes are the warmest feelings which the 
 preaching of the Gospel may awaken, but which afterwards may be 
 chilled by the atmosphere of bigotry. 
 
 Ochino was unanimously chosen general or chief director of the 
 Capuchins in a general chapter of the order, held at Florence, A. D. 
 1538 ; and, in another chapter, which convened in the city of Naples, 
 at Whitsunside, A. D. 1541, he, notwithstanding his earnest protest, 
 was re-elected to the same office. The change in his religious senti- 
 ments had occurred before he had obtained such extensive popularity 
 as a preacher, or was the recipient of these honors. His hearers 
 realized that his sermons were different in their letter and spirit from 
 those he had once preached, but they could not assign the cause. 
 
OCHINO A PROTESTANT. 2/1 
 
 In support of the doctrines which he advocated he appealed directly 
 to the Bible, exhorting the people to rest their faith on the infallible 
 authority of the Word of God, and to build their hopes of salvation 
 on the obedience and death of Christ alone. His great prudence 
 enabled him for years to preach the Gospel to the delight of its friends 
 and without giving open offense to its enemies, by simply proclaim- 
 ing the truth and not attacking corresponding errors. Believing that 
 he should regard his own safety, and consulting the welfare of his 
 hearers, whose minds were not prepared to accept all the Protestant 
 doctrines, he refrained from exposing the superstitions and corrup- 
 tions of the Romish Church. When he came to preach at Naples, 
 the penetrating eye of Valdez quickly detected the Protestant under 
 the ''patched rocket and sharp-horned cowl" of the Capuchin, and, 
 having gained his confidence, he introduced him to the private meet- 
 ings held by the converts to the Protestant faith in that city. 
 
 The preaching of Ochino attracted large crowds to the church of 
 St. Giovanni Maggiore ; and his accession to the select society which 
 gathered around Valdez greatly increased its strength. He scattered 
 the seeds of divine truth among the common people, and not only 
 these, but persons of all ranks were delighted with his discourses. 
 Among his audience might be seen Giulia de Gonzaga, widow of the 
 duke of Frajetto, who was considered the most beautiful woman in 
 Italy, and what was still higher praise, one of the most sincere and 
 humble of its Christians. And there was Vittoria Colonna, mar- 
 chioness of Pescaro, also renowned for the loveliness of her person 
 as well as for her talents and virtues. And there was Pietro Carne- 
 secchi, a patrician of Florence, and a former secretary of Clement VII, 
 now a disciple of Christ, and afterwards to be a martyr to the Gospel. 
 These were some of the illustrious men and noble women that con- 
 stituted this Protestant propaganda in Naples. It seemed that in 
 such a galaxy of rank, oratory, talent, genius, and tact there were 
 elements of power, which promised brilliant results in the future, 
 even the triumph, in due time, of the Reformation in Italy, 
 
 The ravages which the Gothic nations had inflicted, and the still 
 more devastating ravages of the papacy, were about to be repaired, 
 and the physical beauty which Italy had possessed in her first days, 
 and a moral beauty greater than she had ever known, were about to 
 be restored to her. The flower of an ancient nation was assembling 
 on its own soil to engage in the noble work of developing, for the 
 second time, those mighty energies which had long slumbered, but 
 were not dead, in the bosom of a race that had given arts and letters 
 
2/2 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 and civilization to the West. This phalanx of devoted Protestant 
 champions, gathered on the shore of Naples, had every necessary gift 
 for the glorious enterprise. Though small in numbers, this little 
 host was great in names, including men of ancient lineage, of great 
 wealth, of noble birth, of accomplished scholarship, of popular elo- 
 quence, and of poetical genius. With pride they could appeal to a 
 brilliant past, the traditions of which had not yet perished, and the 
 recollection of which might strengthen them in the effort to release 
 themselves from the yoke of the present. Viewed from a human 
 stand-point, the evangelical movement at Naples had all the elements 
 of success; but history has often repeated the lesson, that it is the 
 truth of principles and not the grandeur of names that gives assup: 
 ance of victory. The young vine planted beneath the towers of the 
 ancient Parthenope, and which was shooting forth so hopefully in the 
 golden air of that classic region, was destined to wither and die. 
 
 By the blessing of God on the labors of Martyr and Ochino a 
 reformed Church was established in Naples, including persons of the 
 first rank in the kingdom, both male and female. Martyr excelled 
 as much in judgment and learning as Ochino did in popular elo- 
 quence; and, in their efforts to disseminate evangelical truth, they 
 were aided by Molho, formerly mentioned, who, at that time, was 
 lecturer to the monastery of St. Lorenzo, in Naples. While Ochino 
 employed his persuasive powers in the pulpit. Martyr and MoUio 
 read lectures, chiefly on Paul's epistles, which were attended by the 
 monks of different convents, by individuals of the episcopal order, 
 and by many of the nobility. The advocates of the established relig- 
 ion, supported by the authority of the viceroy, opposed the reform 
 which these three devoted men were inaugurating; but the latter, by 
 their prudence, and the encouragement extended to them by promi- 
 nent citizens, maintained their position, and for a time triumphed 
 over their adversaries. Justification by faith in Christ was a favorite 
 doctrine of Ochino, and his printed sermons indicate that he per- 
 fectly understood it, because his explanations of it are characterized 
 by great Scriptural simplicity. Purgatory, penances, and papal par- 
 dons fell before the preaching of this doctrine, as Dagon before the 
 ark of God. 
 
 Ochino and his colleagues were challenged to a discussion of these 
 points by an Augustinian monk of Trevigio, who desired to recom- 
 mend himself to his superiors ; but, possessing only ordinary talent 
 and a limited knowledge of the Bible, he was discomfited and silenced 
 by the champions of the evangelical cause. The Romish Church has 
 
OPPOSITION TO OCHINO— BONIFACIO— CARACCIOLL 273 
 
 always regarded the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth verses of the 
 third chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians as the strongest 
 passage in the Bible in support of the lucrative doctrine of purgatory. 
 Martyr did not directly attack the doctrine ; but, taking the words of 
 Paul, from which Romanists have been accustomed to draw their 
 most popular arguments in its favor, he gave a different interpreta- 
 tion of them, and confirmed it by reference to the text and context, 
 and also by extracts from the writings of the most judicious and 
 learned among the Fathers. This view of that favorite passage caused 
 considerable speculation, and, as the monks thought, destroyed one 
 of the main pillars of purgatory. Alarmed at the popularity of this 
 heresy among the people, and dreading the closing up of the most 
 profitable channel of their income, they exerted themselves to the 
 utmost to silence the daring innovator. By their own representa- 
 tions, and through the influence of the viceroy, they succeeded in 
 obtaining an order which interdicted him from lecturing and preach- 
 ing. Gonzago, Cardinal of Mantua, and protector of his order, 
 favored Martyr, who was also intimately acquainted with Cardinals 
 Contarini, Pole, Bembo, and Fregoso, all men of learning, and some 
 of them the friends of ecclesiastical reform. Depending upon their 
 influence, he appealed his cause to Rome, and obtained a removal of 
 the interdict. In addition to the eminent individuals already men- 
 tioned as having embraced the Protestant faith in Naples, there were 
 two who merit special consideration. One of them, Bernardino Boni- 
 facio, marquis of Oria, was a nobleman equally celebrated for his 
 learning and his piety, who, after traveling through various countries, 
 settled at last in Nuremberg. The other was Antonio Caraccioli, a 
 son of the prince of Melphi, and who was usually known by his 
 father's title. This Neapolitan nobleman secretly accepted the truths 
 of the Reformation, but did not openly profess them until after his 
 departure from Italy. Having gone to France, he was appointed 
 abbot of St. Victor, in Paris, and afterwards bishop of Troyes, in 
 Champagne. He had thoroughly read the writings of the reformers, 
 especially those of Calvin, and when he became a bishop, A. D. 
 1 55 1, he boldly and eloquently denounced the abuses of the Romish 
 Church. His sermons attracted multitudes, who, through curiosity, 
 flocked to hear a bishop preach, or perhaps by love to the truth. 
 The papal authorities soon summoned him to answer for his conduct, 
 and, yielding to the strong pressure against him, he made a public 
 recantation in his own cathedral, thereby dishonoring himself and dis- 
 appointing the hopes of many. 
 
274 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 On his return from a visit to Italy, A. D. 1557, he had an inter- 
 view with Calvin and Beza, at Geneva, which rekindled his zeal for 
 the reformed faith. He was at the conference between the Catholics 
 and Protestants at Poissy, A. D. 1560, and after its adjournment 
 returned to Troyes in company with his countryman, Peter Martyr, 
 to whom he expressed his determination, at all hazards, to proclaim 
 and abide by the truth, of which he was now completely convinced 
 in his conscience. He demonstrated his sincerity by meeting with 
 the Protestants in Troyes, professing his faith, and even stating his 
 doubts as to the validity of his episcopal orders. Having declared 
 his willingness to serve them, they gave him a call to the pastoral 
 office, and then unanimously selected him to be their minister. 
 He was pronounced a heretic by the papal clergy, and degraded 
 from the position he had occupied. At a subsequent period the 
 reformed bishop offended his new friends by deserting his Church 
 and attaching himself to the court ; but he did not cease to preach, 
 and persevered in the Protestant religion until the close of his life. 
 
 The death of Valdez occurred A. D. 1540, and while the Church 
 at Naples was enjoying peace, and daily increasing in numbers, it 
 was afflicted by the loss of this great man, to whom it chiefly owed 
 its existence. He was also deeply lamented by many distinguished 
 individuals, who called him their spiritual father. "I wish we were 
 again at Naples," says Bonfadio, in a letter to Carnesecchi. But 
 when I consider the matter in another point of view, to what pur- 
 pose should we go there now, when Valdez is dead? His death is 
 truly a great loss to us, and to the world ; for Valdez was one of the 
 rarest men in Europe, as the writings left by him on the epistles of 
 St. Paul and the psalms of David abundantly demonstrate. He was 
 beyond all doubt a most accomplished man in all his words, actions, 
 and counsels. Life scarcely supported his infirm and spare body ; 
 but his nobler part and pure intellect, as if it had been placed with- 
 out the body, was wholly occupied with the contemplation of truth 
 and divine things. I condole with Marco Antonio [Flaminio], for, 
 above all others, he greatly loved and admired him." His deep piety 
 and purity of life are universally admitted. After his death, the 
 report that he had entertained heterodox sentiments was extensively 
 circulated ; but it rested principally on the circumstance that some of • 
 his intimate friends ultimately inclined to the Socinians. The tenets 
 of this sect are not found in his writings, though they contained some 
 other opinions which are either untenable or unguardedly expressed. 
 Beza declares that while he could not indorse some things in the 
 
THE GOSPEL IN SICIL Y—REFORMA TION IN LUCCA. 275 
 
 ^'Divine Considerations" of Valdez, he discovered nothing contrary 
 to the regular orthodox standard. 
 
 Not only were the doctrines of the Gospel received in the capital, 
 but they spread also in all parts of the kingdom of Naples, and even 
 reached Sicily, which was, at that period, an appendage to the crown 
 of Spain. The viceroys, who governed that island under Charles V, 
 being engaged in defending their coasts against the Turks, had not 
 time to study the intrigues of Italian policy ; but, on the other hand, 
 exhibited a mild and tolerant spirit, which encouraged those who 
 fled from persecution on the Continent to seek protection from them. 
 Benedetti, surnamed Locarno, from the place of his birth, a minister 
 of great sanctity, having obtained the favor of the viceroy, preached 
 the Gospel under his patronage to crowded audiences in Palermo, 
 and other parts of that island, widely scattering the seeds of divine 
 truth. An abundant harvest was soon produced, giving to the in- 
 quisitors ample employment in extirpating heresy. For many years 
 persons accused of being Lutherans were sacrificed in the public 
 and private autos-da-fe celebrated in Sicily. 
 
 Lucca, the capital of a small but flourishing republic on the east 
 coast of the Gulf of Genoa, enjoyed the honor of having among its 
 inhabitants a greater number of converts to the Protestant faith than 
 perhaps any other city in Italy. This was chiefly the result of Peter 
 Martyr's labors in that place. After a trial of several years he dis- 
 covered that the climate of Naples was injurious to his health, and, 
 leaving there with the consent of his superiors, he was appointed 
 visitor-general of the Augustinians in Italy. His earnest efforts to 
 introduce reform into the monasteries, encouraged by Cardinal Gon- 
 zaga, and his rigid inspection of the internal condition of the order, 
 alarmed the monks, who determined to get rid of their troublesome- 
 visitor. Tl»s was accomplished by having him appointed prior of St.. 
 Fridiano, at Lucca, an honorable position which invested him with, 
 episcopal powers. There was an ancient feud between the inhabit- 
 ants of Lucca and Florence, and the enemies of Martyr hoped that 
 he, as a Florentine, would be unpopular in his new situation ; but he- 
 conducted himself so prudently that he was as much -esteemed as if 
 he had been a native of Lucca. He devoted himself particularly to- 
 the education of the novices in the priory, whose minds he desired 
 to imbue with the love of sacred literature. Having established a:. 
 private college, or seminary, he employed teachers who were both, 
 learned men and lovers of divine truth. Paolo Lacisio, a native of 
 Verona, taught the Latin language ; Celso Martinengho, of the noble 
 
 19 
 
276 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 family of the counts of that name, taught Greek; and Emanuel Trem- 
 ellio, of Ferrara, who afterwards became celebrated as an Oriental 
 scholar, gave instructions in Hebrew. Martyr himself applied the 
 literary knowledge which the young men obtained from these sources 
 to the exposition of the Bible, by reading lectures to them on the 
 New Testament and the Psalter, which were attended by all the edu- 
 cated men, and many of the patricians of Lucca. He also preached 
 publicly to the people, confining himself to the Gospels during Ad- 
 vent and Lent, according to the usual custom of the monks ; but 
 selecting his subjects from the Epistles during the rest of the year. 
 
 As the result of these labors a Church was organized in that city, 
 of which Martyr became pastor, and many, including individuals of 
 prominence, embraced the reformed faith, and, by the most positive 
 proofs, manifested genuine piety and ardent devotion to the truth. At 
 that time Pope Paul HI visited Lucca, accompanied by the emperor, 
 Charles V, who was then in Italy. The friends of Martyr feared that 
 his enemies, taking advantage of the opportunity, would make accu- 
 sations against him, and that his life would be endangered; but he 
 was not molested, probably because they considered it impolitic to 
 attack a teacher of his reputation and authority. His popularity with 
 the inhabitants was so great that any attempt to persecute him would 
 have been premature and ineffectual. About the same time he was 
 visited by Cardinal Contarni, who passed through Lucca on his return 
 from Germany, where he had been in the character of a papal legate. 
 They conversed confidentially on the state of the Church and on the 
 sentiments of the German reformers. Besides Peter Martyr, the 
 evangelical cause at Lucca was favored with the presence and counsel 
 of Ceho Secundo Curio, who taught in the university, having been 
 recommended to the senators by the duchess of Ferrara. 
 
 There were many converts to the Gospel at Sienna, through 
 Ochino, who, as we have already stated, was a native of that city, 
 which he often visited in his preaching tours. But the inhabitants 
 were mainly indebted to Aonio Paleario, a native of Veroli, in Cam- 
 pagni di Roma, for the knowledge of evangelical truth. He was first 
 a tutor in the house of Belanti, and about A. D. 1534 was nominated 
 public teacher of Greek and Latin by the senate of Sienna, where he 
 afterwards read lectures on ''Philosophy" and ''Belles-lettres." His 
 study of the Bible and the writings of the German reformers imparted 
 a liberal tone to his lectures on "Moral Philosophy," which were 
 different from those of his colleagues. While the students were de- 
 lighted with his advanced ideas, the advocates of the old school of 
 
THE FEARLESS REFORMER. 277 
 
 thought were offended. Cardinal Sadolet, in the name of his friends, 
 warned him of the danger of yielding to novelties, and advised him, 
 in view of the times, to confine himself to the ''safer task of clothing 
 the peripatetic ideas in elegant language." The liberal mind of 
 Paleario, strong in its devotion to the truth, did not relish this pru- 
 dential advice. Regarding it his duty freely and even severely to 
 censure vain pretenders to scholarship and piety, he did not hesitate 
 to perform it. This irritated that class of men who scruple at no 
 means to oppress and destroy an adversary, and, accordingly, they 
 adopted the popular method of those days, and accused him of heresy. 
 They watched his private conduct and circulated to his prejudice 
 expressions uttered unsuspectingly in private conversation. He com- 
 mitted an offense by laughing at a rich priest, who was seen every 
 morning kneeling at the shrine of a saint, but who refused to pay his 
 debts. "Cotta asserts," says Paleario in one of his letters, "that if 
 I am allowed to live there will not be a vestige of religion left in the 
 city. Why? Because, being asked one day what was the first 
 ground on which men should rest their salvation, I replied, Christ; 
 being asked what was the second, I replied, Christ; and being asked 
 what was the third, I still replied, Christ." 
 
 But Paleario's gravest offense in the estimation of his enemies 
 was the publication of his book on the "Benefit of the Death of 
 Christ," concerning which he made the following statement in the 
 defense of himself before the senate of Sienna: "There are some 
 persons so sour, so morose, so censorious, as to be displeased when 
 we give the highest praise to the author and God of our salvation, 
 Christ, the king of all nations and people. When I Avrote a treatise 
 this very year in the Tuscan language, to show what great benefits 
 accrue to mankind from his death, this was made the ground of a 
 criminal accusation against me. Is it possible to utter or conceive 
 any thing more shameful? I had said that since he, in whom the 
 divinity resided, has poured out his life's blood so lovingly for our 
 salvation, we ought not to doubt of the good will of heaven, but 
 might promise ourselves the greatest tranquillity and peace. I had 
 affirmed, agreeably, to the most unquestionable monuments of anti- 
 quity, that those who turn with their souls to Christ crucified commit 
 themselves to him by faith, acquiesce in the promises, and cleave 
 with assured confidence to him, are delivered from all evil and enjoy 
 a plenary pardon of their sins. These things appeared so grievous, 
 so detestable, so execrable to the twelve — I can not call them men, 
 but — inhuman beasts, that they judged the author worthy of being 
 
2/8 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 committed to the flames. If I must undergo this punishment for the 
 foresaid testimony (for I deem it a testimony rather than a hbel), 
 then, senators, nothing more happy can befall me. In such a time 
 as this I do not think a Christian ought to die in his bed. I am not 
 only willing to be accused, to be dragged to prison, to be scourged, 
 to be hung up by the neck, to be sewed up in a sack, to be exposed 
 to wild beasts, let me be roasted before a fire, provided only the 
 truth be brought to light by such a death." 
 
 Addressing his accuser, Paleario says: "You accuse me of being 
 of the same sentiments with the Germans. Good God, what an illib- 
 eral charge! Do you mean to bind up all the Germans in one bundle? 
 Are they all bad? Though you should restrict your charge to their 
 divines, still it is ridiculous. Are there not many excellent divines 
 in Germany? But your accusation, though full of trifling, has never- 
 theless a sting which, as proceeding from you, is charged with poison. 
 By Germans you mean Ecolampade, Erasmus, Melanchthon, Luther, 
 Pomeran, Bucer, and others, who have incurred suspicion. But surely 
 there is not a divine among us so stupid as not to perceive and con- 
 fess that the writings of these men contain many things worthy of 
 the highest praise, many things gravely, accurately, and faithfully 
 stated, repeated from the early Fathers, who have left us the institutes, 
 and also from the later commentaries of the Greeks and Latins who, 
 though not to be compared with those pillars, are still of use for 
 interpretation. 'But do not you approve of all that the Germans 
 have done?' This, Otho, is like the rest of your questions; yet I 
 will answer it. I approve of some things; of others I disapprove. 
 To pass by many things, I praise the Germans and consider them as 
 entitled to public thanks for their exertions in restoring the purity of 
 the Latin language, which, till of late, was oppressed by barbarism 
 and poverty of speech. Formerly sacred studies lay neglected in the 
 cells of idlers, who retired from the world to enjoy their repose (and 
 yet, amidst their snoring, they contrived to hear what we said in 
 cities and villages) ; now these studies are, in a great measure, revived 
 in Germany. Chaldaic, Greek, and Latin libraries are erected; books 
 are beautifully printed, and honorable stipends are assigned to divines. 
 What can be more illustrious than these things? What more glori- 
 ous? What more deserving of perpetual praise? Afterwards arose 
 civil discords, intestine wars, commotions, seditions, and other evils^ 
 which, for the sake of charity and brotherly love among Christians, I 
 deplore. Who does not praise the former? Who is not displeased 
 with the latter?" 
 
PALEARIO IN MILAN. 279 
 
 In this eloquent defense of Paleario, boldness and candor were 
 tempered by prudence and address, and he achieved a victory over 
 the violence and intrigues of his enemies. He was, however, com- 
 pelled soon after to leave Sienna; but this change in the place of his 
 residence did not relieve him from the odium which he had incurred. 
 From Lucca he went to Milan at the request of the authorities of 
 that city, and spent seven years there as professor of eloquence, 
 handsomely supported and greatly honored. It appears from his 
 published letters that he enjoyed the friendship and correspondence 
 of the most distinguished men of his time, both in the religious 
 and literary world. Among the former were Cardinals Sadolet, 
 Bembo, Pole, Maffei, Badia, Filonardi, Sfondrati, and among the 
 latter Flaminio, Riccio, Alciati, Vittorio, Lampridio, and Buonamici. 
 He was, indeed, a profound scholar. His poem on the immortality 
 of the soul elicited the highest praise from the learned, and his admi- 
 rable works, ''Letter on the Council of Trent," addressed to the 
 reformers, and ** Testimony and Plea against the Roman Pontiffs," 
 evince a thorough knowledge of the Bible and great soundness of 
 judgment. But no production of his exerted as wide an influence as 
 the book which was published, A. D. 1543, in Italian, under the 
 title, // Beneficio di Christo, and was afterwards translated into Span- 
 ish and French. Vergerio says of it: ''Many are of opinion that 
 there is scarcely a book of this age, or at least in the Italian lan- 
 guage, so sweet, so pious, so simple, so well fitted to instruct the 
 ignorant and weak, especially in the doctrine of justification. I will 
 say more: Reginald Pole, the British cardinal, and the intimate friend 
 of Morone, was esteemed the author of that book, or partly so ; at 
 least it is known that he, with Flaminio, Priuli, and his other friends, 
 defended and circulated it." 
 
 This treatise was eminently useful in diffusing evangelical doctrine 
 in Italy upon a subject of vital importance. Forty thousand copies 
 were sold in six years. Cardinal Morone was imprisoned and Car- 
 nesecchi consigned to the flames for their active efforts in circulating 
 it. There is evidence to show that it was translated into English 
 and read in Scotland. This and other works of Paleario, no doubt, 
 largely contributed to the spread of the reformed opinions in Sienna, 
 and some idea of the progress of the Gospel there may be formed 
 from the number of individuals who subsequently submitted to a vol- 
 untary exile for the sake of the truth, among whom were Lanctantio 
 Ragnoni, Mino Celso, and the Socini, who obtained celebrity by giv- 
 ing their name to a new sect. 
 
280 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 THE INQUISITION AT VENICE, MOD EN A, AND FERRARA. 
 
 THE rapid progress of the Reformation in Italy seriously alarmed 
 the court of Rome. The pope and his counselors had been 
 engrossed by foreign politics, and believed that whatever heresy pre- 
 vailed in their midst could at any time be easily suppressed. Many 
 statements of the growth of this evil had been made to them ; but 
 the papal authorities either regarded them as exaggerated, or con- 
 tented themselves with issuing prohibitory bulls and addressing letters 
 of warning to the bishops of suspected places. But during A. D. 
 1542 the clergy, and particularly the friars, from all parts of the coun- 
 try complained that the Roman Catholic faith was exposed to great 
 danger from the boldness of the reformers, the increase of conventi- 
 cles, and the lukewarmness of local magistrates in enforcing the 
 mandates of bishops. It was not only the voice of the inferior priests 
 and monks that called for vengeance upon those who held and prop- 
 agated Protestant opinions, but some occupying high positions 
 breathed out * * threatenings and slaughter," and attained infamous 
 notoriety in the bloody field of persecution. Among these was 
 Pietro Caraffa, a prelate, who made great pretensions to sanctity, 
 but became more celebrated by his ambition and violence when he 
 afterwards ascended the pontifical throne under the name of Paul IV. 
 He was commonly called the " Theatine Cardinal," because he 
 founded a religious order to which the title Theatine was given, 
 Caraffa being at that time bishop of Civita di Chieti, a city in Naples. 
 In his youth he was a patron of learning; and Erasmus, in dedicat- 
 ing his edition of the works of Jerome to him, extolled him in a 
 manner wholly unworthy his polished pen — a service which Caraffa 
 requited when he became Pope Paul IV by placing this very edition 
 of Jerome and the other works of Erasmus in the ''Index of For- 
 bidden Books." The record in that work is as follows: ''Desiderius 
 Erasmus of Rotterdam, with all his commentaries, annotations, 
 scholia, dialogues, epistles, critiques, translations, books, and manu- 
 scripts ; even if they contain nothing at all against religion, or con- 
 cerning religion." He laid before the Sacred College the discoveries 
 he had made respecting the extent to which heresy prevailed in Na- 
 
OCHINO IN VENICE. 28 1 
 
 pies and various parts of Italy, and convinced them of the necessity 
 of adopting the speediest and most vigorous measures for its exter- 
 mination. 
 
 The Inquisition resolved to proceed, in the first place, against 
 such of the ecclesiastics as Avere known to favor the Reformation. 
 Among these Ochino and Martyr were the most distinguished ; but 
 as they were very popular, and had not yet renounced the Roman 
 Catholic faith, spies were employed to w^atch their movements and 
 report their words, while their past conduct was secretly investigated 
 for the purpose of obtaining direct evidence of their heretical opin- 
 ions. Ochino had many enemies among the friars of the Capuchin 
 order, to which he belonged, because he, as their superior, had 
 introduced reforms into monastic establishments. His sermons had 
 made such an impression on the minds of the citizens of Venice that 
 they united in an application to the pope to grant them an opportu- 
 nity of hearing him a second time. Accordingly, the cardinal of 
 Carpi, who was protector of the order of Capuchins, was directed by 
 the pope to send him to Venice during Lent, A. D. 1542, with 
 instructions to observe his conduct. The whole city rushed to hear 
 their favorite preacher, who did not appear to use greater freedom 
 on 'that occasion than he had on the former; but he was soon accused 
 of having advanced doctrines not in harmony with the teachings of 
 the Roman Catholic Church, particularly on the subject of justifica- 
 tion. When summoned before the papal nuncio, however, he de- 
 fended himself with such ability that his accusers could not find a 
 plausible pretext for proceeding against him. Perceiving that he was 
 closely watched by spies, he was more careful in his pulpit expres- 
 sions ; but having heard that Julio Terentiano, a convert of Valdez, 
 with whom he had been intimate at Naples, was thrown Into prison, 
 he could no longer remain silent. In a sermon preached to the sen- 
 ators and prominent men of the city he introduced that subject, and 
 exclaimed : ' ' What remains for us to do, my lords ? And to what 
 purpose do we fatigue and exhaust ourselves, if those men, O noble 
 Venice, queen of the Adriatic, — if those men who preach to you 
 the truth are to be thrown into prison, thrust into cells, and loaded 
 with chains and fetters? What place will be left to us? what field 
 will remain open to the truth? Oh, that we had but liberty to 
 preach the truth ! How many blind, who now grope their way in 
 the dark, would be restored to light!" 
 
 When the papal nuncio heard that Ochino had made this bold 
 appeal he immediately interdicted him from preaching, and reported 
 
282 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 the circumstance to the pope. But the Venetians, by their impor- 
 tunity, succeeded in having the interdict removed within three days, 
 and the fearless orator again appeared in the pulpit. 
 
 At the close of Lent he went to Verona, and called together 
 those of his order who were engaged in studies preparatory to the 
 work of the ministry. Desiring to increase their Biblical knowledge, 
 he inaugurated a course of lectures on the "Epistles of Paul," but 
 was soon summoned to appear at Rome, to answer certain charges 
 based upon his lectures, and made by the nuncio at Venice. Ochino 
 started for Rome, but spent a short time at Bologna, where he had 
 an interview with Cardinal Contarini, who was then on his death-bed, 
 and is said to have expressed himself as agreeing with the Protest- 
 ants on the article of justification, though he was opposed to them 
 on the other points of controversy. This fact has been denied by 
 Cardinal Quirini, Boverio, and Baccatello, but has not been dis- 
 proved. In the month of August Ochino went to Florence ; and 
 receiving the information that the papal court hadyesolved to take 
 his life he hastened to Ferrara, and being assisted in his flight by 
 the Duchess Renee, escaped from Italy and reached Geneva in 
 safety. Armed men had been sent to arrest him ; but, fortunately, 
 he had eluded them. In his answer to Muzio, which is reprinted at 
 the end of the second volume of **Prediche," he has himself given 
 an account of his departure from Italy, and the reasons of it. His 
 countrymen, in proportion as they admired him, were amazed at his 
 defection and flight. Claudio Tolomeo, regarded as the best episto- 
 lary writer of his age, says, in a letter which he addressed to him, 
 that the news of his renunciation of the Roman Catholic faith and 
 his acceptance of the Lutheran heresy had completely stunned him, 
 and seemed utterly incredible and untrue. 
 
 Caraffa, the ''Theatine Cardinal" and friend of Ochino, poured 
 forth his lamentations in the most tragical manner. The following 
 quotation is a specimen of that mystical devotion which at this 
 period was combined with a spirit 'of bigotry and ambition in a cer- 
 tain class of papal teachers: ''What has befallen thee, Bernardino? 
 What evil spirit has seized thee, like the reprobate king of Israel of 
 old ? My father, my father ! the chariot and the charioteer of Israel ! 
 whom a little while ago we with admiration beheld ascending to 
 heaven in the spirit and power of Elias, must we now bewail thy 
 descent to hell with the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh ? All Italy 
 flocked to thee; they hung upon thy breast. Thou hast betrayed 
 the land ; thou hast slain the inhabitants. O doting old man, who 
 
MARTYR AND THE MONKS. 283 
 
 has bev/itched thee to feign to thyself another Christ than thou wert 
 taught by the CathoHc Church? Ah, Bernardino, how great wert 
 thou in the eyes of all men ! Oh, how beautiful and fair ! Thy 
 coarse but sacred cap excelled the cardinal's hat and the pope's 
 miter ; thy nakedness, the most gorgeous apparel ; thy bed of wat- 
 tles, the softest and most delicious couch ; thy deep poverty, the 
 riches of the world. Thou wert the herald of the highest, the 
 trumpet sounding far and wide ; thou wert full of wisdom, and 
 adorned with knowledge. The Lord placed thee in the garden of 
 Eden, in his holy mount, as a light above the candlestick, as the sun 
 of the people, as a pillar in his temple, as a watchman in his vine- 
 yard, as a shepherd to feed his flock. Still thy eloquent discourses 
 sound in our ears ; still we see thy unshod feet. Where now are all 
 thy magnificent words concerning contempt of the world? Where 
 thy invectives against covetousness ? Thou that didst teach that a 
 man should not steal, dost thou steal?" 
 
 Carafifa proceeded in this inflated state, which Cardinal Quirini calls 
 ** elegant and vehement," until he had exhausted all the metaphors 
 in the ''flowers of the saints." Ochino was not indifferent to the 
 attacks made upon him by such writers as Girolamo Muzio and Am- 
 brogio Catarino, who were hired to refute and defame him, but 
 addressed an apologetical letter to the magistrates of his native city 
 of Sienna and another to Tolomeo. Besides these, he published a 
 large collection of his sermons and various polemical treatises against 
 the Church of Rome, which being written in the Italian language, 
 and in a popular style, produced a great effect upon his countrymen. 
 After his flight, some of his most intimate friends were arrested, and 
 a strict investigation into the sentiments of his religious order insti- 
 tuted. Some of the members escaped, and others saved their lives 
 by recanting their opinions. The apostasy of Ochino, and the num- 
 ber of Capuchins who were infected with heresy, so incensed the 
 pope, that he proposed at one time to suppress the whole order. 
 
 In the mean time Martyr, finding himself in danger, prepared to 
 escape also to Switzerland. The monks of the Augustinian order, to 
 which he belonged, had acted as spies to scrutinize his conduct, and, 
 because he, as visitor-general, had endeavored to introduce a refor- 
 mation of manners among them, they became his bitter enemies, and 
 were the most prominent in accusing him. For a whole year they 
 secretly opposed and openly slandered him, and would have crushed 
 him if he had not received protection from the Lucchese. For 
 the purpose of ascertaining the feelings of the citizens, his enemies 
 
284 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 obtained an order from Rome to arrest Terentiano, one of his friends, 
 who was. confessor to the Augustinian convent, but rested under the 
 suspicion of heresy. Some noblemen, admiring the confessor's piety, 
 and beHeving that he was innocent, forced the doors of his prison 
 and hberated him ; but, having fallen and broken a limb in his flight, 
 he was again taken and carried to Rome in triumph. This successful 
 movement encouraged them to make a formal charge against Martyr 
 before the papal court. Messengers were sent to the different con- 
 vents, exhorting the monks not to neglect the opportunity of recov- 
 ering ''their ancient liberty" by punishing their adversary. A gen- 
 eral congregation of the order was convened at Genoa, and he was 
 immediately summoned to attend. Convinced of the fact that great 
 prejudice existed against him and, warned by his friends that snares 
 were laid for his life, he determined, after careful deliberation, to 
 avoid the impending danger by placing himself beyond the rage and 
 craft of his enemies. Giving up a part of his library to the convent, 
 over which he had presided, and committing the rest to Cristoforo 
 Trenata, a nobleman of Lucca, and his intimate friend, he requested 
 it to be sent after him to Germany. He also arranged the affairs of 
 the institution, and, leaving it in charge of his vicar, secretly retired 
 from the city accompanied by Paolo Lacisio, Theodosip Trebellio, 
 and Julio Terentiano, who had been released from prison. 
 
 After his arrival at Pisa, Martyr wrote letters to Cardinal Pole 
 and to the brethren of the monastery at Lucca, which he gave to 
 reliable persons, and instructed them not to deliver until a month 
 after his departure. In these he described the errors and abuses 
 of the papal religion generally, and particularly of the monastic life, 
 which he could not any longer conscientiously encourage. As addi- 
 tional reasons for abandoning it, he referred to the odium which he 
 had incurred, and the plots formed against his life. Fearing that he 
 might be accused of appropriating even the smallest part of the con- 
 vent property to his private use, he sent back the ring which he had 
 been accustomed to wear as the badge of his office. At Florence he 
 met Ochino, and, after arranging their respective routes, he, along 
 with his three companions, traveled rapidly and cautiously by way 
 of Bologna, Ferrara, and Verona, and safely reached Zurich. In a 
 short time they were invited by Bucer to visit Strasburg, where they 
 obtained situations as professors in the academy. From that city 
 Martyr wrote to the Reformed Church of Lucca, of which he had 
 been pastor, giving his reasons for leaving his native land, and exhort- 
 ing them to perseverance in the service of God. 
 
THE PROTESTANTS OF LUCCA. 
 
 285 
 
 After the discovery of Martyr's flight, the papal authorities 
 ordered an examination of the monastery over which he had pre- 
 sided, to ascertain the extent to which his heretical opinions had 
 corrupted its inmates. Many of the monks were imprisoned, and, 
 within less than a year, eighteen of them escaped to Switzerland. 
 The Protestant Church in Lucca, which' he had established, though 
 
286 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 discouraged by the loss of its founder, and threatened with persecu- 
 tion by its adversaries, was not dispersed. It was protected by some 
 of the prominent individuals of the state, continued to hold its 
 private meetings, enjoyed the instruction of regular pastors, and 
 increased both in knowledge and numbers. Martyr, in a letter writ- 
 ten to them more than twelve years after his departure from Lucca, 
 and subsequent to a disastrous change in their situation, says: ''Such 
 progress have you made for many years in the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
 that it was unnecessary for me to excite you by my letters ; and all 
 that remained for me to do was to make honorable mention of you 
 every-where, and to give thanks to our heavenly Father for the spir- 
 itual blessings^ with which he had crowned you. To this I had an 
 additional motive from reflecting that my hand was honored to lay 
 the foundations of this good work, in weakness I confess, but still, by 
 the grace of Christ, to your no small profit. My joy was increased by 
 learning that, after my labors among you were over, God provided 
 you with other and abler teachers, by whose prudent care and salutary 
 instructions the work begun in you was advanced." 
 
 One of the teachers to whom he refers was Celio Secundo Curio, 
 who was employed in the university. After Martyr's departure he 
 remained at Lucca more than a year, officiating as a religious teacher 
 among the Protestants, and holding his position as a professor in the 
 school. Notwithstanding the clamor of the priests the senate pro- 
 tected him for some time, but the pope having written to the magis- 
 trates of that city, demanding his arrest and appearance at Rome to 
 answer the charges which had been brought against him by various 
 parties, his friends, finding that they could no longer protect him, 
 advised him to make his escape privately. Accordingly he retired 
 to Ferrara, whence he went to Zurich and Berne with letters of 
 recommendation from the Duchess Renee to the magistrates of 
 those cities. Afterwards he went to Lausanne and resided there. 
 During the same year, he returned for his wife and children, whom 
 he had left in Italy, and while there made a narrow escape, which, 
 though well authenticated, invests the narrative of his life with an air 
 of romance. From the time he entered Italy Curio's route was dis- 
 covered by the inquisitors, who were scattered over the country, 
 and, deeming it unsafe to visit Lucca, he stopped at the neighboring 
 town of Pessa, and waited for his family. His enemies had tracked 
 him, and while he was sitting at dinner in the inn a captain of the 
 papal band,, called in Italy baiisello, suddenly made his appearance, 
 and entering the room commanded him, in the pope's name, to yield 
 
THE '' HOLY office:' 28/ 
 
 himself as a prisoner. Curio, abandoning- all hope of escape, rose to 
 deliver himself up, and unconsciously held in his hand the knife which 
 he had used in carving his food. When the barisello beheld an ath- 
 letic man approaching him with a large knife, he was seized with a 
 sudden panic, and retreated to a corner of the room trembling like a 
 convict. Curio, who had great presence of mind, walked deliberately 
 out of the door, and, passing without interruption through the armed 
 band, who were awaiting their leader, went instantly to his stable, 
 mounted a horse, and made good his flight. 
 
 A bull, dated the ist of April, A. D. 1543, was issued by Paul 
 III, proclaiming the establishment, at Rome, of the " Congregation 
 of the Holy Office." By this edict six cardinals were invested with 
 the title and rights of inquisitors-general of the faith, with all the 
 necessary authority on both sides of the Alps to try all cases of 
 heresy, with the power of arresting and imprisoning suspected per- 
 sons and their abettors, of whatever estate, rank, or order, of nomi- 
 nating officers under them, and of appointing inferior affiliated tribu- 
 nals of equal or inferior power, in all places. This court immediately 
 commenced operations in the ecclesiastical states, and during the 
 remainder of this century the popes made great efforts to extend its 
 power over other parts of Italy. The strongest resistance to it was 
 manifested in Venice, whose government insisted upon the condition 
 that a certain number of magistrates and lawyers should be present 
 at the examination of accused persons, and that a definitive sentence 
 should not be pronounced, at least, in the case of the laity, without 
 having been first submitted to the senate. 
 
 In Tuscany, three commissioners, elected by the congregation at 
 Rome, along with the local inquisitor, were designated as the judges 
 of all causes of religion, and were required to inform the duke of their 
 sentence, who was appointed to carry it into execution. The popes 
 found less opposition in the other states and cities of Italy. These 
 provisions, which the authorities of Venice, Tuscany, and other places 
 had adopted, should have satisfied the ''Holy Office," but, in addi- 
 tion, it continually urged the local governments to send the accused, 
 especially if they were either ecclesiastical persons, or strangers, to 
 be tried by the Inquisition at Rome. Even the senate of Venice, 
 though opposed to any interference with its authority, yielded, in 
 some instances, to such requests. As soon as the Inquisition, thus 
 remodeled, was erected throughout Italy, those who expressed senti- 
 ments favorable to the Reformation were persecuted, and fled in great 
 numbers. 
 
288 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The pope, having taken the precaution of gaining over Ercole, 
 duke of Ferrara, secured his co-operation in persecuting the Protest- 
 ants of his dominions, many of whom were found in Modena. It 
 has already been stated that there was a strong leaven of evangelical 
 doctrine in the academy of that city, which Pope Paul III and his 
 successors, Pius III, Marcellus II, and especially Paul IV, labored 
 for years to extirpate. As Ercole was a bigoted Roman Catholic, 
 and willing to be the merest tool of the pope, the members of the 
 academy and others in Modena were exposed to great danger. Con- 
 sultations relative to the growth of heretical opinions in that city 
 were repeatedly held at Rome ; and Paul III would have severely 
 censured the suspected academicians had not some of their personal 
 friends in the conclave interfered, and averted the papal anathema. 
 In June, A. D. 1542, it was proposed in the Vatican to summon 
 some of the most influential persons among them to Rome or Bo- 
 logna; but Cardinal Sadolet suggested that, first of all, a friendly let- 
 ter should be addressed to them. Accordingly, he wrote in the most 
 conciliatory spirit to Ludovico Castelvetro, stating what had occurred 
 in the consistory, and urging him and his colleagues to give assur- 
 ances of their attachment to the Roman Catholic faith, and abstain 
 from every practice which might cast suspicion upon them. Castel- 
 vetro and his companions, Grillenzoni, Portus, and Alessandro Mil- 
 ano, answered this letter to the satisfaction of Sadolet, who insisted, 
 however, that they should write to the pope himself, declaring that 
 they were faithful sons of the Roman Catholic Church. They de- 
 clined to do this, and thereby incurred anew the displeasure of the 
 papal hierarchy. It was now resolved to propose or submit certain 
 articles of faith to the members of the academy for their acceptance 
 or rejection. 
 
 The report of this created a great sensation in Modena. Portus, 
 the Greek lecturer, and two of his companions left the city on dif- 
 ferent pretexts, and those who remained loudly complained of the 
 treatment which they received, declaring that if the proposed measure 
 should be carried into effect freedom of investigation would be at an 
 end. They likewise insisted that no honorable man would consent 
 to think or write under such restrictions, and might as well sell his 
 books and renounce the study of the Bible. The excitement was 
 so intense that Cardinal Morone, who was deeply concerned for the 
 peace of his see and the honor of the academy, regretted that he had 
 sanctioned, though he did not originate, the measure. It is said that 
 he wrote to the pope, praying him to suspend the subscription of 
 
CARDINAL MORONE'S POSITION. 289 
 
 the formulary, because the academicians had given sufficient pledges 
 of their loyalty to the Church, and simply declined to subscribe, 
 because the world would then believe that they had been justly sus- 
 pected of heresy. 
 
 But the court of Rome was determined to enforce the obnoxious 
 measure. Considerable light is shed upon these transactions by a 
 document preserved in the ducal archives at Ferrara, which contains 
 the secret instructions given by the governor of Modena to his chan- 
 cellor, whom he sent, on the 2d of August, A. D. 1542, to consult 
 with Hercules on this perplexing affair. It states that the academi- 
 cians were opposed to subscription, and that, though they were will- 
 ing to indorse some of the articles of the formulary, such matters 
 should be referred to the determination of a council. This document 
 also asserts that the bishop had proceeded in the matter with all pos- 
 sible haste, and acted in concert with the governor, whom he had 
 reminded that through the severity of Cardinal Cajetan, the papal 
 legate to the Lutherans, a small spark had burst into a conflagration 
 which continued still to rage, and that he feared lest God, for the 
 sins of the world, should permit so many men of genius, spirit, and 
 subtlety to be driven to despair, and thereby enkindle another such 
 flame in Italy. In this same document it is also stated that the pope, 
 believing Morone's administration to be lacking in firmness, had em- 
 ployed six cardinals in Rome to manage this affair at Modena, one of 
 whom had already come to that city to see what could be done with 
 the heretics, and that the bishop, being offended at this step, declared 
 his intention to withdraw from the whole business, but was persuaded 
 by the governor to aid in accomodating the parties and in receiving 
 the subscriptions. 
 
 In the beginning of September, 1542, Cardinals Sadolet and Cartese 
 went to Modena to meet the bishop of that city, and endeavor to effect 
 a reconciliation. Through the exertions of these commissioners from 
 the pope a formulary of doctrines, drawn up with singular moderation 
 by Contarini, at the request of Morone, was reluctantly subscribed 
 by the suspected academicians. They refused, when first solicited, 
 and demanded that the conservators of the city should set the exam- 
 ple. It was with difficulty that three of them were induced to affix 
 their names; and to encourage them still more, the cardinals con- 
 sented to add their own signatures. But the members of the academy 
 continued to demur, and, had it not been for the efforts of Morone, 
 the negotiation would have failed. During interviews which he had 
 with them, individually, he learned their objections, and he had list- 
 
290 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ened with special candor and forbearance to the scruples of Berettari 
 on the subject of the mass, and collateral topics. Having assembled 
 tliem together, he spoke so earnestly and affectionately, that they 
 complied with his request. A friendly invitation was extended to 
 the brethren who had withdrawn, and, on their return, the whole 
 body, together with the official men of the city, accepted the formu- 
 lary, to the great joy of the commissioners. 
 
 This arrangement, so eagerly urged by one party and so reluc- 
 tantly acceded to by the other, did not produce real or permanent 
 peace. The members of the academy retained their former senti- 
 ments and embraced every opportunity of humiliating the priests, 
 whom they regarded as the chief instigators of the late proceedings 
 against their body. On the first Sunday of Advent, A. D. 1543, no 
 sermon was preached in Modena, because, as one who lived in the 
 city at that time expresses it in his journal, ** every preacher, how 
 excellent soever, was criticised by certain literati, and none would come 
 to contest with them on their own ground." In the following year 
 the bishop sent a minor-conventual friar, named Bartolomeo della 
 Pergala, whose preaching the journalist just quoted describes in the 
 following quaint manner: **A11 the members of the academy went to 
 hear him, to the number of more than twenty-five, including the book- 
 seller, Antonio, who first introduced the prohibited books in the vulgar 
 language, which were afterwards burnt at Rome as heretical. The 
 said friar did not preach the Gospel," — meaning that he selected his 
 text from the Epistles, and not from the Gospels — ''nor did he make 
 mention of any saint, male or female, nor of any doctor of the Church, 
 nor of Lent or fasting. This was to the taste of the academicians. 
 Many believed that they would go to paradise in their stocking soles ; 
 for, said they, Christ has paid for us." The bishop, discovering that 
 he had sent the wrong preacher, ordered the arrest of Pergala, who 
 was delivered over to the Inquisition. This tribunal condemned forty- 
 six propositions in his doctrine, and commanded him to retract them 
 publicly in the church in which he had preached. He complied by 
 retracting in a formal manner ; but immediately after, an address was 
 presented to him signed by the most respectable citizens, and testify- 
 ing in the highest terms to his talents and character. Pontremolo, 
 another monk of the same order, who preached at Modena during 
 the same year, was condemned for teaching heretical doctrines. 
 
 The persecution against the academicians was renewed, A. D. I545> 
 and a strong effort made to seize Filippo Valentino, a young man of 
 great intellectual precocity and versatile genius. Castelvetro says 
 
PERSECUTION RENE WED A T MODENA— VALENTINO. 29 1 
 
 that, at seven years of age, Valentino composed letters in a style 
 worthy of Cicero, and sonnets and canzoni which would have done 
 honor to a poet of mature age. He could repeat, verbatim, sermons 
 or lectures which he had heard only once; and had the principal 
 poets in Latin and Italian by heart. Pellegrino Erri, or Heri, a mem- 
 ber of the academy, was insulted by some of his colleagues, and, 
 having resolved to inform against them, he went to the "Holy Office" 
 at Rome and accused the literati of Modena of disaffection to the 
 Roman Catholic Church. He also asserted that some of them were 
 actively engaged in disseminating heresy in private. After hearing 
 this statement, the pope addressed a letter to the duke of Ferrara, in 
 which he referred to the information communicated by Erri, that the 
 Lutheran heresy was daily increasing in Modena, and that Filippo 
 Valentino was the author of the Protestant movement. He declared 
 that such a condition of affairs must be a source of grief to a person 
 of the duke's piety, and, therefore, exhorted him to arrest Filippo 
 without delay, examine his papers and books, and destroy those 
 which contained heretical sentiments. Erri, having been appointed 
 apostolical commissiary, returned to Modena to suppress the alarm- 
 ing evil, by seizing the leader, and thus more effectually reduce his 
 accomplices to submission. With an armed force, which he obtained 
 from the civil authorities, he surrounded the residence of Filippo* 
 one night; but the latter had been warned and escaped, leaving 
 behind his book and papers, which were taken by the Inquisition. 
 On the following morning a ducal edict was issued, prohibiting alls 
 persons from having heretical books, or from disputing in public or 
 private on any religious subject, under the penalty, for the first of- 
 fense, of a hundred crowns of gold, or of being subjected to the straps 
 pado if unable to pay that sum ; for the second offense, two thousands 
 pounds, or banishment from the state; and, for the third offense, 
 confiscation of goods, or death. The proclamation of this severe 
 edict caused great consternation in the city, and resulted in the over- 
 throw of the academy. 
 
 The duke, however, was persuaded to relent, and permitted! 
 Filippo to return to Modena. During the pontificates of Julius III 
 and Marcellus II the Protestants were not disturbed ; but when 
 Paul IV commenced his reign violent measures were adopted^ 
 There were still many persons in the city who were deeply attached 
 to the evangelical cause ; and accordingly orders were sent from 
 Rome that a secret investigation should be instituted to ascertain the. 
 sentiments of some of the prominent citizens. As this arrangement 
 
292 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 was made without the knowledge either of the governor or of Fos- 
 carari, who was now bishop of Modena, both of these dignitaries 
 were offended at a movement which appeared to them unnecessary, 
 and, besides, was an encroachment upon their authority. When the 
 duke was informed of the proposed scheme he endeavored, through 
 his minister at Rome, to defeat it, and thus prevent the enkindHng 
 of a fire which had cost so much to be extinguished; but he was 
 compelled to yield to the pope. He reluctantly consented to the 
 pubHc enforcement of the order on the 6th of July, A. D. 1556, 
 and Castelvetro, Filippo Valentino, his cousin Bonifacio, at that 
 time provost of the cathedral church, and Gadaldino, the printer and 
 and bookseller, were summoned to appear before the Inquisition at 
 Rome. This event produced great excitement in Modena, and the 
 conservators, at a meeting held on the 17th of July, prepared a 
 strong remonstrance to the duke, in which they declared that it was 
 unusual to summon laymen to Rome, thereby subjecting them to 
 expense and inconvenience ; and that the charge of heresy would 
 tarnish the good name of their city, which, the officials asserted, 
 was then noted for its tranquillity. The address also stated that the 
 revival of buried suspicions and the prosecution of individuals upon 
 vague rumors would only add scandal to scandal ; and that the per- 
 sons who were about to be arraigned before the court of Rome were 
 virtuous men, very respectable, and universally esteemed. Why, then, 
 should they be disgraced? The conservators reminded his excellency 
 of a fact, known to himself, that there were many men who, under the 
 pretense of defending the faith, sought to gratify their personal revenge ; 
 and that there was reason to believe that the prosecution had origi- 
 nated in prejudice or hatred. The duke was exhorted to remember the 
 past, how that numerous expedients had already been tried without 
 pacifying the authorities at Rome ; how that the whole city was 
 compelled by the cardinals to submit to the test of subscription ; and 
 how that his excellency had interposed his authority, and the local 
 inquisitors had been diligent in their labors. What could they dis- 
 cover in Rome that had not been discovered at Modena? 
 
 After waiting a proper time for an answer, the conservators ap- 
 pointed one of their number to visit the duke and urge him to pro- 
 tect the interests of their fellow-citizens. The governor also addressed 
 a letter to him in support of their application. The duke could not 
 resist these appeals, and therefore requested the pope either to sus- 
 pend the trial or, if this could not be granted, permit it to take 
 place at Modena. Paul IV refused both of these requests. The 
 
THE TRIAL OF CASTELVETRO. 293 
 
 duke, desiring to conciliate the stern pontiff, informed him in an- 
 other communication that he had imprisoned the bookseller, Gadal- 
 dino, who, on account of decrepitude, could not be safely conveyed 
 to Bologna ; yet he should be sent if his holiness demanded it. The 
 vice-legate of Bologna, however, soon after appeared at the court of 
 Ferrara, and in the name of his master commanded the three Modenese 
 gentlemen and the accused bookseller to be taken to Rome. The 
 duke consented to send the provost, Filippo Valentino, because, 
 being a priest, he was under greater obligations than his companions 
 to obey the pope. The vice-legate promised that the trial should be 
 so conducted that the prisoner would not be injured in his person or 
 honor ; but the promise was disregarded. He was detained a whole 
 year in prison, and then compelled to make public recantation of the 
 errors imputed to him in the church of Minerva at Rome, and after- 
 wards to repeat the ceremony in his own church at Modena, on the 
 28th of May, A. D. 1558. Although more than eighty years of 
 age, Gadaldino, the poor printer, was carried to Rome, and detained 
 in prison for a still longer period than Filippo had spent there. The 
 latter, like Castelvetro, did not appear before the Inquisition at the 
 appointed time, and both were excommunicated for contumacy. 
 Orders were sent to the bishop that he should cause the sentence to 
 be intimated at Modena, and he consulted the duke, who, indignant 
 on account of previous treatment, forbade the intimation. 
 
 It is not known where Filippo Valentino sought refuge from the 
 fury of the relentless pontiff; but his friend Castelvetro appears to 
 have lived secretly in Ferrara. Pope Paul IV and Hercules II, duke 
 of Ferrara, died A. D. 1559, ^^^ their successors were respectively 
 Pius IV and Alfonso II. The new duke, hoping to find the new 
 pontiff more conciliatory, applied for a commission to try the cause 
 of Castelvetro within his territories. The request was not granted; 
 and Castelvetro, having received assurances of protection from the 
 duke and persons belonging to the papal court, was induced to go 
 to Rome. At first he was treated with great courtesy, and, instead 
 of being thrust into prison, was invited to reside in the convent of 
 Santa Maria in Via, with permission to receive his friends ; but after 
 his third appearance before the inquisitors he learned that they had 
 obtained strong evidence against him, and, fearing that they would 
 torture him, he suddenly left Rome, along with his brother Giamma- 
 ria. The cardinals of the congregation published their final sentence 
 on the 26th of November, A. D. 1560, pronouncing him a fugitive 
 and impenitent heretic, who had incurred all the pains, spiritual and 
 
294 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 temporal, decreed against such criminals, and urging every person 
 who might have it in his power to arrest him and send him as a 
 prisoner to Rome. He was publicly burned in effigy, and earnest 
 letters were written to the duke of Ferrara to seize the fugitive 
 brothers and confiscate their property. 
 
 One of the principal charges against Castelvetro was that he had 
 translated into Italian a work of Melanchthon on the *' Authority of 
 the Church and the Fathers," a copy of which, said to be in his own 
 handwriting, was produced on his trial. The charge was mentioned 
 by Pallavicini, but the name of the book was not given. Fontanini 
 assumed that it was the ''Common Places" of Melanchthon which 
 led Muratori to call in question the truth of the whole charge. But, 
 as Dr. M'Crie declares, "the book — the indentical corpus delicti, 
 which was verified before the Inquisition — has since been discovered 
 in the archives of St. Angelo." In a short epistle to the reader the 
 translator states that he had added a few notes, chiefly explanatory 
 of certain Greek words used in "this noble little work." Tiraboschi 
 expresses the opinion that the style of this book corresponds per- 
 fectly with that of the undoubted works of Castelvetro. 
 
 Ferrara was regarded by the Romish hierarchy as the nursery of 
 heresy in Italy, and therefore, Avhile making vigorous efforts to crush 
 the reform movement in Modena, its enemies seemed to be more 
 determined to extirpate it in the city of Renee. Paul III instructed 
 the ecclesiastical authorities there to be diligent in investigating the 
 conduct of persons of every rank and order who were suspected of 
 entertaining erroneous sentiments. The usual method of procedure 
 was urged — the taking of depositions, the use of the torture, the 
 definitive sentence, and the transmission to Rome for final judgment. 
 The execution of this edict produced great distress, which was 
 increased by the adoption of new but dishonorable expedients for 
 detecting those who wavered in their attachment to the Romish 
 Church. At this time, A. D. 1545, commissioned spies were sent 
 forth into all parts of Italy, and, having been supplied with recom- 
 mendations, were admitted to private families, insinuated themselves 
 into the company and the confidence of all classes, and then con- 
 veyed to the Vatican the information thus secretly collected. By 
 assuming a variety of characters they could associate with the learned 
 and ignorant, and were to be found equally in courts and cloisters. 
 By this means many excellent persons were entrapped in Ferrara. 
 These pests of society succeeded in alienating the mind of the duke 
 from the accomplished Olympia Morata, who, on the death of her 
 
PERSECUTIONS UNDER POPE JULIUS III 295 
 
 father, A. D. 1548, left the palace, to take charge of her widowed 
 mother and the younger members of the family. The court treated 
 her in a harsh and ungrateful manner; and she would have passed 
 through a severer ordeal had not a German student, named Andrew 
 Grunthler, who was preparing himself for the medical profession, 
 married her, and carried her along with him to his native country. 
 
 Paul III died A. D. 1550, and was succeeded by Cardinal De 
 Monte, under the title of Julius III. This pontiff was indolent and 
 voluptuous, but personal indulgence did not entirely divert his atten- 
 tion from current events, and he signed without any remorse the 
 cruel orders dictated by those whom he had appointed to manage 
 public affairs. In the same year of his elevation to the papal throne 
 the Protestant Church at Ferrara was dispersed ; many were cast into 
 prison, and one of their preachers, distinguished for piety, was put 
 to death. Olympia Morata writes to Celio Secundo Curio on this 
 subject: ''We did not come here with the intention of returning to 
 Italy; for you are not ignorant how dangerous it is to profess Chris- 
 tianity in that country where Antichrist has his throne. I hear that 
 the rage against the saints is at present so violent that former sever- 
 ities were but child's play compared with those which are practiced 
 by the new pope, who can not, like his predecessor, be moved by 
 entreaties and intercession." And in another letter she says: "I 
 learn, from letters which I have lately received out of Italy, that the 
 Christians are treated with great cruelty at Ferrara; neither high nor 
 low are spared; some are imprisoned, others banished, and others 
 obliged to save their lives by flight." 
 
 While the Romish authorities were successful in abolishing the 
 Protestant Church at Ferrara, they were not entirely satisfied so long 
 as a prominent member of the ducal family refused obedience to 
 their authority. The clergy v/ere aggravated by Renee's opposition 
 to them, because her high rank and great accomplishments gave her 
 influence, which she used for the promotion of the evangelical move- 
 ment. Not having the power to subdue her firmness, they resolved 
 to humble her pride ; but she did not waver. Instead of concealing 
 her partiality to the Protestant doctrines, she openly expressed her 
 disapproval of the late persecutions, and did all within her power to 
 protect those who were exposed to the fury of the Inquisition. The 
 pope, therefore, earnestly and repeatedly remonstrated with her hus- 
 band concerning the corrupt influences that were perverting the minds 
 of his children and servants, and the pernicious example that was 
 presented to his subjects. He also reminded the duke that the house 
 
296 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of Este, which had been so long celebrated for the purity of its faith 
 and its devotion to the Holy See, was in danger of being stained 
 with heresy, and that, if he did not speedily suppress the evil, he 
 would personally incur the censures of the Church and forfeit the 
 friendship of all Catholic princes. These remonstrances moved the 
 duke, and led him to importune the duchess to avert the displeasure 
 of the pope by renouncing the Protestant doctrines, and engaging in 
 the rites of the established worship. As she persistently refused to 
 yield, the Inquisition resolved to employ foreign influence. It is 
 probable that the duke disliked to resort to extreme measures, and, 
 accordingly, permitted the pope to take the responsibility. He pro- 
 cured the assistance of the king of France, who was Renee's nephew. 
 
 The French monarch, Henry II, sent Oritz, his inquisitor, to the 
 court of Ferrara. He appears to have been the same individual of 
 whom we read at an earlier period of the history of France. * ' Notre 
 Maitre Oris," the inquisitor of the faith, was appointed, A. D. 1534, 
 to search for heretics in Sancerre; but the inhabitants, discovering 
 his fondness for good living, treated him with such hospitality that 
 he reported them to be an excellent class of people. His deputy, 
 Rocheli, on his return, made a similar statement concerning them. 
 The Lieutena7tt Criminel was indignant because his prey had escaped, 
 and declared that ''good wine would at any time make all these 
 fellows quiet." But "Notre Maitre" was then young, and had not 
 yet tasted blood. When appointed to visit the court of Ferrara, he 
 was instructed to ascertain to what extent Renee had imbibed error, 
 and then to request a personal interview with her, at the same time 
 stating to her how deeply grieved his most ''Christian Majesty" felt 
 when he heard that "his only aunt," whom he had always loved so 
 tenderly and esteemed so highly, had embraced these detestable and 
 heretical doctrines. 
 
 Oritz was also commanded, should gentle means, such as argu- 
 ments and remonstrances, be unsuccessful, to employ severe measures 
 to reduce her to submission, and, in the mean time, he was to preach 
 a series of discourses on those principal points, concerning which she 
 had erred, and compel her and all the family to attend the service, 
 "whatever refusal or objection she might think proper to make." 
 If all these efforts should fail to reclaim her, he was next required to 
 entreat the duke in her presence, and, in his majesty's name, to 
 "sequester her from all society and conversation," that she might 
 not have the opportunity of contaminating the minds of others, to 
 remove her children from her and not permit any of the family, of 
 
RENEE'S CONSTANCY. 297 
 
 whatever nation they might be, who were accused or strongly sus- 
 pected of heresy, to approach her. In fact, he was even empowered 
 to bring them to trial and to pronounce a sentence of exemplary 
 punishment on those who were found guilty, the duke reserving the 
 right to indicate such a mode of process and of inflicting punishment 
 that would promote justice without causing scandal or disgracing the 
 duchess and her dependents. 
 
 Chapter XVIIL- 
 
 PERSECUTION IN NORTHERN ITALY. 
 
 THE daughter of Louis XII was neither to be persuaded nor 
 frightened into an abandonment of what she conscientiously 
 believed to be the truth. Combined with her fervent piety was an 
 independent spirit which spurned these conditions. When she refused 
 to violate her conscience her children were taken away from her, 
 charges of heresy preferred against her confidential servants, and she 
 herself detained as a prisoner in the palace. She could have patiently 
 endured the insolence of Oritz, but she keenly felt the upbraidings 
 of her husband, who, disregarding her explanations, commanded her 
 immediately and unconditionally to conform herself to the Roman 
 Catholic Church. The pope subsequently rewarded the duke for his 
 zeal by depriving his grandson of the dukedom of Ferrara, and adding 
 it to the possessions of the Church. The duchess bravely submitted 
 to the harsh treatment of her husband for some time, aggravated as 
 it was by a life of shameful intrigues and criminality, but when that 
 truculent pontiff, Paul IV, began his reign, A. D. 1555, the persecu- 
 tion commenced to rage with greater violence. It seems that Renee 
 was more bitterly assailed than ever, and, desiring to be restored to 
 the society of her children, she at last was induced to make some 
 unimportant concessions. Ercole, or Hercules II, duke of Ferrara, 
 died A. D. 1558, and, notwithstanding his immoralities, he was hon- 
 ored by Paul IV with the title of ''Defender of the Church." After 
 the death of her husband Renee returned to France, where her 
 nephew, Henry II, was still on the throne, and took up her abode in 
 the Castle of Montargis, a small and ancient city some forty miles 
 south-east of Paris. There she spent the remainder of her life and 
 made an open profession of the Protestant religion. 
 
298 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 During the sixteen years which she Hved after her return from 
 Italy Renee devoted all her energies and resources to the relief of 
 the poor, persecuted Protestants of her native land. In this work of 
 benevolence she was compelled, of course, to encounter the hatred 
 of the fanatical priest-party of the kingdom, at the head of which 
 stood the Guises, one of whom was the husband of her daughter, 
 Anne. Francis II, the son and the successor on the throne of 
 Henry II, was a mere youth without experience, and entirely under 
 the control of a bigoted faction when he commenced the persecution 
 of the Protestants. The houses of those whose names appeared on 
 the lists of the proscribed were pillaged and torn down, and many 
 persons were put to death. The prince of Conde, a distinguished 
 Protestant, was cast into prison at Qrleans, and his sister-in-law, the 
 countess of Roye, was thrown into that of St. Germain-en-Laye. 
 Renee hastened to Orleans to save Conde. She met the duke of 
 Guise, her son-in-law, and, in denouncing his perfidy, boldly said 
 that, ' ' if she had been there she would have prevented what had been 
 done ; whoever gave the king such advice has deceived him ; this 
 wound will bleed a long time hereafter, and so much the more as no 
 one has ever become fond of shedding the blood of France without 
 finding evil in so doing." 
 
 The duke of Guise subsequently sent an armed force to Montar- 
 gis, under the conduct of Jean de Souches-Malicorne, to arrest the 
 unfortunate Protestants who were being protected by the duchess 
 Renee. During the struggle a number of these people were killed, 
 their houses were burned, and then razed to the ground. The duch- 
 ess retired to the castle, into which all fled that could. De Souches 
 threatened to advance his cannon and demolish the fortress. But he 
 received this bold answer from the courageous Renee: '''Consider 
 well what you do; know that no one has the right to command me 
 but the king himself; and that, if you come hither, I will be the first 
 to mount the breach, where I shall see if you have the audacity to 
 kill the daughter of a king who desires only to protect her subjects, 
 and whose death heaven and earth will be bound to avenge upon you 
 and all your line, even to your children who are in their cradles." 
 When this noble answer was reported to the duke of Guise, he ceased 
 to threaten the Protestants. His death, by the hand of a fanatical 
 Protestant named Poltrot, occurred soon after, and caused Renee the 
 deepest sorrow. She deplored the civil war which the Roman Cath- 
 oHcs, supported by the government, had inaugurated to destroy by 
 force the new religion. 
 
DUCHESS RE NEE. 
 
 299 
 
 The only crime of which Protestants were guilty was their belief 
 in a rehgion founded on the Gospel, which inculcated the practice 
 of good works instead of vain superstitions, and taught men to 
 rely for salvation upon the merit of a once crucified but now 
 exalted Savior. The Romish Church urged the necessity of pen- 
 ances, pilgrimages, and other human inventions, and breathed out 
 
 DUCHESS RENEE. 
 
 * ' threatenings and slaughter" against all who believed in the doc- 
 trine of salvation by faith, and trusted in the merits of Christ alone, 
 without the mediation of priests and confessors. Renee had ex- 
 perienced the power of divine grace in her own heart, and labored 
 to bring others into the ways of righteousness and holiness, which she 
 had herself found. She desired this religion to be propagated by 
 reason and persuasion, and not by force. But the voice of humanity 
 was not hkely to be heard in those days, and all that this noble 
 woman could do was to labor in behalf of the Protestant cause, and, 
 
300 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 as far as her influence extended, to shield the pastors. She main- 
 tained a constant correspondence with the principal men among them 
 until her death, which occurred at Montargis, on the I2th of June, 
 1575. To the close of her life she was a consistent and devoted 
 Protestant, and by her opposition to Romanism showed that she 
 was a worthy daughter of him who caused to be inscribed on the 
 medal which was struck on the occasion of the council of Lyons — 
 the council which proclaimed the liberties of the Galilean Church — 
 ^' Destniam Babylonem,'' or, ^^ I will destroy Babylon,'' meaning Rome. 
 
 The Protestants of France to this day revere the memory of this 
 noble princess, who was an ornament to the religion which they pro- 
 fess. Renee had five children : two sons, Alfonso, who became duke 
 of Ferrara, celebrated as the patron, and afterwards the enemy of 
 Torquato Tasso ; Louis, Cardinal d'Este ; and three daughters, Anne, 
 who married first, Francis of Lorraine, called the duke of Guise, and 
 afterwards the duke of Savoy ; Lucretia, duchess of Urbino, and the 
 Princess Elenora, who died unmarried. For the latter poor Tasso 
 entertained a strong affection, which has been considered the cause 
 of the misfortunes which overshadowed and embittered the closing 
 years of his life. The eldest daughter, Anne of Este, * ' whose integrity 
 of understanding and sensibility of heart were worthy of a better age," 
 did not, like her mother, openly avow her attachment to the Protestant 
 cause, but she exerted all her influence to moderate the violence of 
 her bigoted husbands, Francis, duke of Guise, and James of Savoy, 
 duke of Nemours, who were two of the most ardent Roman Catho- 
 lics in France. In her youth, the example and instructions of Olym- 
 pia Morata were of inestimable value to her. She was the only one 
 of Renee's children that resembled her, either in goodness of heart or 
 vigor of intellect. Condorcet, De Thou, Riccio, Paleario, Calcagnini, 
 and other French and Italian authors, have extolled this amiable prin- 
 cess. In the published works of Olympia Morata, there is a beauti- 
 fulletter, addressed to "Annae Estensi, Principi Guisianae." 
 
 While the Romish hierarchy was anxious to suppress the Refor- 
 mation in the dominions of the duke of Ferrara, its desire to extir- 
 pate heresy within the territories of the Venetian republic was not 
 less strong. The flight of Ochino caused a searching investigation to 
 be made for the purpose of ascertaining the sentiments of the Capu- 
 chins residing in that part of Italy. For several years after this the 
 pope sent letters and nuncios to the senate, urging the suppression 
 of the Lutheran doctrines, which had been embraced by many promi- 
 nent citizens, especially in Vicenza. At that time Cardinal Rodolfo 
 
THE PROTESTANTS OF VICENZA DISPERSED. 30 1 
 
 was administrator of the bishopric of Vicenza, and manifested great 
 zeal in opposing the Protestant movement ; but the local magistrates 
 would not permit the secular power to be employed against it. It 
 may be that they disliked to interfere, or perhaps they knew that the 
 superiors, who publicly issued the orders, did not wish them to be 
 enforced. When the pope became acquainted with the situation of 
 affairs, he wrote a long and earnest letter to the senate, first compli- 
 menting them on their former religious zeal and devotion to the 
 court of Rome, and then informing them that innovation in religion 
 would result in civil dissensions and sedition among them, as it had 
 done elsewhere. In this letter, written A. D. 1546, Paul III com- 
 plains that the podesta and capitano of Vicenza had disobeyed the 
 commands so often given to them, and permitted the Lutheran 
 heresy to be openly professed before their masters of the CEcumenical 
 Council, which had been called and was now in session at Trent, 
 chiefly for the purpose of suppressing this evil. The pontiff, there- 
 fore, earnestly exhorts the doge and senators that they should com- 
 pel these magistrates to seize and punish the heretics, and thus, by 
 assisting the vicars of the diocese, compensate for their past negli- 
 gence. The senate complied with this request, and promulgated 
 orders which resulted in the dispersion of the Protestant Church at 
 Vicenza, A. D. 1547. 
 
 The senate adopted similar measures throughout their dominions. 
 An edict was issued, A. D. 1548, ordering all who possessed books 
 which contained any thing contrary to the Roman Catholic faith to 
 deliver them up within eight days, or be proceeded against as heretics. 
 This was followed by great severities against the Protestants, not only 
 in the city of Venice but in all its territories. The excellent Altieri, 
 who was one of the most steadfast friends of the truth in Venice, 
 gives affecting accounts in his letters to Bullinger and other Protest- 
 ants in Switzerland of the state of things around him. He writes: 
 "The persecution here increases every day. Many are seized, of 
 whom some have been sent to the galleys, others condemned to per- 
 petual imprisonment, and some, alas, have been induced by fear 
 of punishment to recant. Many have been banished along with 
 their wives and children, while still greater numbers have fled for 
 their lives. Matters are brought to that pass that I begin to fear for 
 myself; for, though I have frequently been able to protect others in 
 this storm, there is reason to apprehend that the same hard terms 
 will be proposed to me ; but it is the will of God that his people be 
 tried by such afflictions." Altieri continued to exert his influence 
 
302 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 with unwearied and commendable zeal in behalf of his brethren, pro- 
 curing letters favorable to them from the elector of Saxony and other 
 German princes, for whom he acted as agent with the Venetian 
 republic. He also visited Switzerland to persuade the Protestant 
 cantons to espouse the cause of his persecuted countrymen, and 
 when on his homeward journey he attended an assembly of the 
 deputies of the Grison Confederation at Coire, where he made an 
 earnest plea in behalf of the Venetian Protestants. 
 
 Altieri was successful in both places in obtaining letters to the 
 senate of Venice, imploring lenient treatment of the Protestants ; but 
 he was much disappointed because he failed to procure a public com- 
 mission to act for these states. If his expectations in this matter could 
 have been realized, he would have possessed greater influence with 
 the authorities at Venice. It may be that the civil rulers of Switzer- 
 land and the Grisons had sufficient reasons for not complying with 
 his request ; but, after reading his letters to Bullinger, a distinguished 
 minister of Zurich, we sympathize with this good man in his bitter 
 disappointment and sad repinings, and admire his rare example of 
 disinterested devotion to the cause of Christ and the best interests 
 of his country at a period when comparatively few either knew or 
 cared for them. In a letter written to Bullinger from Coire he says: 
 *'I have delivered your letter and that of Myconius to the ministers 
 of this Church ; I have also conversed with them on my business, 
 but find them rather lukewarm, either because this is their natural 
 disposition, or because they think the matter too difficult to be 
 obtained, especially after your friends in Switzerland have refused it. 
 They, however, give me some hopes of success. In another letter to 
 the same correspondent, he writes: ''From the assembly of the 
 Grison states, which has been held here, I have only been able to 
 obtain commendatory letters ; had it not been for the opposition 
 made by some enemies of religion, I would have also obtained a 
 public commission. They have concluded a treaty with France ; the 
 emperor's embassador was present, but could do nothing." 
 
 After mentioning the discouragements he had met with from 
 those of whom he had expected better things, Altieri exclaims: 
 *'Thus do the minds of men now cleave to the world! If the spirit 
 of the Lord had not long ago taken possession of my heart, I would 
 have followed the common example, and, hiding myself in some 
 secret corner, attended to my own private affairs instead of taking an 
 active part in the cause of Christ. But God forbid that I should 
 entertain the blasphemous thought of desisting to labor for him, who 
 
THE BANISHMENT OF ALTIERL 303 
 
 never ceased to labor in my cause until he had endured tlie reproach 
 of the cross. Therefore, I return to Italy ready, as before, to 
 encounter whatever may befall me, and willing to be bound for the 
 name of Christ." Before leaving the Orisons he received the infor- 
 mation that the persecution was daily becoming more severe at 
 Venice. **It is not, therefore, without danger that I return," says 
 he, in another letter, ''for you know how much I am hated by the 
 papists and wicked. I do not undertake the journey rashly ; God 
 will preserve me from all evil; do you pray for me." On his arrival 
 at Venice he discovered that his enemies had arrayed the magistrates 
 against him, and he was commanded either to renounce the Protest- 
 ant faith or immediately leave the territories of the republic. Without 
 hesitation he chose the latter alternative ; but, not despairing of the ref- 
 ormation of his native land, and desiring to aid his persecuted breth- 
 ren, he wandered with his wife and child from city to city — now stay- 
 ing a short time at Ferrara, then at Bologna, and again at Florence. 
 
 At length, when he could no longer appear in public, he sought 
 an asylum for himself and his family in a retired place near Brescia. 
 Soon after his banishment from Venice he wrote to Bullinger, saying : 
 "Take the following particulars concerning my return to Italy. I 
 am well, with my wife and little child. As to other things, all the 
 effect of my commendatory letters was an offer on the part of the 
 senate that I should be allowed to remain in safety among them, 
 provided I would yield conformity to their religion — that is, the 
 Roman ; otherwise it behooved me to withdraw without delay from 
 their dominions. Having devoted myself to Christ, I chose exile 
 rather than the enjoyment of pleasant Venice, with its execrable 
 religion. I departed accordingly; and went first to Ferrara, and 
 afterwards to Florence." In another letter, written to Bullinger 
 from his place of retirement, he says: ''Know that I am in great 
 trouble and danger of my life, nor is there a place in Italy where I 
 can be safe with my wife and boy. My fears for myself increase 
 daily ; for I know the wicked will neveu rest till they have swallowed 
 me up alive. I entreat a share in your prayers." This is the last 
 intelligence that was ever heard of that noble man. It is probable 
 that he never escaped from Italy; and his fate will no doubt remain 
 a secret until the mysteries and crimes of the Romish Inquisition 
 shall be disclosed. 
 
 If the Protestants of the capital received such treatment, it is not 
 surprising that the magistrates of Venice permitted the severest 
 measures to be employed against them in the more distant provinces. 
 
304 ITAL V STJi UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Dreadful scenes of suffering were witnessed in the beautiful peninsula 
 of Capo d'Istria. The agents of the papal court were greatly irri- 
 tated by the more than suspected defection of the two Vergerii, of 
 whom we have already spoken as the bishops, respectively, of Capo 
 dTstria and Pola. The Romish inquisitor, Annibale Grisone, was 
 sent into these dioceses, A. D. 1546, and by his activity and cruelty 
 spread alarm and distress among the inhabitants. The papal bull 
 was read by him from all the pulpits, and was, as usual, full of 
 threatenings. It required all, under the pain of excommunication, 
 to inform against those whom they suspected of heresy, and to de- 
 liver up the prohibited books which might be in their possession. 
 He promised to forgive the penitent when they confessed and sup- 
 plicated mercy ; but those who, concealing their crimes, should be 
 convicted on information, would be consigned to the flames. Not 
 content with public denunciations, he visited every house in search 
 of heretical books. Whoever confessed that they had read the New 
 Testament in the vulgar tongue were commanded, under the severest 
 pains, to abstain from that dangerous practice in the future. The 
 rich were allowed to perform private penance, but the poor were 
 compelled to make a public recantation. At first only a few persons 
 of weaker minds were induced to inform against themselves or their 
 acquaintances ; but at last every one feared that his neighbor would 
 get the start of him, and a reign of terror was inaugurated. The 
 wife informed against her husband, the son against his father, the 
 client against his patron. Grisone, taking advantage of the excited 
 state of the public mind, ascended the pulpit in the cathedral of 
 Capo dTstria on a great festive day, and, after celebrating mass, 
 addressed the crowd. *'You see," said he, *'the calamities which 
 have befallen you for some years past. At one time your fields, at 
 another your olive-trees, at another your vines, have failed; you 
 have been afflicted in your cattle, and in the whole of your substance. 
 To what are all these evils to be ascribed? To your bishop, and the 
 heretics whom he protects ; nor can you expect any alleviation of 
 your distress until they are punished. Why do you not rise up and 
 stone them?" This harangue so inflamed the ignorant and alarmed 
 multitude that Vergerio was compelled to conceal himself. 
 
 Amid this excitement the bishop of Pola suddenly died, and 
 many believed that he had been poisoned. His brother, leaving his 
 diocese, took refuge at Mantua with his patron, Cardinal Gonzaga, 
 who soon dismissed him because the celebrated Delia Casa, the papal 
 nuncio at Venice, communicated to him certain facts concerning the 
 
VERGERIO, ^ 305 
 
 bishop's course. Vergerio then visited the Council of Trent for the 
 purpose of vindicating himself, or, as some assert, of demanding his 
 seat in that assembly. The pope would have issued an order for his 
 arrest, but he feared that the impression might be made upon the 
 minds of the German Protestants that the council was not free. As 
 he professed to be anxious to have them present, he deemed it prudent 
 not to molest Vergerio. The papal legates, desiring to remove such 
 a dangerous person from Trent, resolved to change the summons 
 which ordered him to appear at Rome, and remit the trial of the 
 charges brought against him to the nuncio and patriarch of Venice. 
 Vergerio conducted his defense with such ability and tact that the 
 trial was protracted for two years, at the end of which he was pro- 
 hibited from returning to his diocese. Francesco Spira, a lawyer of 
 Padua, died about this time in a state of great mental anguish, be- 
 cause, dreading the terrors of the Inquisition, he had recanted the 
 Protestant faith. Vergerio, who had come from Venice to Padua, 
 was present when he died, and united with some other learned and 
 pious persons in endeavoring to comfort the miserable penitent. 
 
 Such a deep and solemn impression was made upon the mind of 
 Vergerio by this death-bed scene that he determined to abandon his 
 bishopric and native country, and to select a place of refuge where 
 he could publicly and safely profess the truth which he had embraced. 
 **To tell the truth," says he, *' I felt such a flame in my breast that 
 I could scarcely restrain myself at times from going to the chamber- 
 door of the legate at Venice and crying out : * Here I am ; where 
 are your prisons and your fires? Satisfy your utmost desire upon 
 me ; burn me for the cause of Christ, I beseech you, since I have 
 had an opportunity of comforting the miserable Spira, and of pub- 
 lishing what it was the will of God should be published.' " The his- 
 tory of Spira was compiled by Vergerio, with the assistance of letters 
 from Celio Secundo Curio and other writers. In a letter to BuUinger, 
 dated the 15th of August, A. D. 1549, Calvin refers to a recent let- 
 ter which he received from Vergerio, who sent him the history of 
 Spira, saying that the chief cause of his exile from Italy was this 
 book, and requesting him to write a preface to it. Calvin consented, 
 and the work was printed A. D. 1550. Two years previously Ver- 
 gerio, to the surprise equally of those whom he had deserted and of 
 those whom he joined, retired into the Grisones. 
 
 The inquisitor Grisone was succeeded by Tomasso de Santa Stella, 
 who, after annoying the inhabitants by his outrageous proceedings, 
 endeavored to persuade the senate of Venice to place garrisons in 
 
306 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 their principal cities, under the pretext that Vergerio intended to 
 invade Istria. The latter published a defense of his conduct, ad- 
 dressed to the doge and senate, and containing his views of the 
 secret and violent methods employed by the persecutors throughout 
 Italy. After complaining of their cruelties, he states several facts 
 relative to their conduct in the Venetian dominions. "Nothing," 
 says he, * * can be more shameful than what this pope has done. He 
 has conferred honors and rewards on such of your prelates as are 
 unprofitable and godless ; but the bishop of Bergamo, your country- 
 man of the house of Soranzo, he has thrown into prison, for no 
 other reason than that he opposed non-residence and superstition, 
 and testified a regard for the doctrine of the Gospel. What is it to 
 exercise oppression and tyranny over you if this is not? Is it pos- 
 sible that this should not awaken you?" The papal agents, having 
 encroached on criminal jurisdiction, were about this time resisted by 
 the senate, which manifested a disposition to check their violent pro- 
 ceedings. ''The news from Italy is," says Vergerio, ''that the 
 senate of Venice have made a decree that no papal legate nor bishop 
 nor inquisitor shall proceed against any subject except in the pres- 
 ence of a civil magistrate, and that the pope, enraged at this, has 
 fulminated a bull, interdicting under the heaviest pains any secular 
 prince from interposing the least hinderance to trials for heresy. It 
 remains to be seen whether the Venetians will obey." 
 
 The court of Rome, however, by its perseverance and intrigues, 
 finally achieved a victory over patrician jealousy. The Inquisition 
 even arrested and detained foreigners who visited the republic to 
 transact business. Frederic de Salice, who had been sent to Venice 
 from the republic of the Grisons to demand the release of some of its 
 subjects, wrote, A. D. 1557, the following account of matters there: 
 "In this commonwealth, and in general throughout Italy, where 
 the pope possesses what they call spiritual jurisdiction, the faithful 
 are subjected to the severest inquisition. Ample authority is given 
 to the inquisitors, on the smallest information, to seize any one at 
 their pleasure, to put him to the torture, and (what is worse than 
 death) to send him to Rome ; which was not wont to be the case 
 until the time of the reigning pontiff. I am detained here longer 
 than I could wish, and know not when I shall be able to extricate 
 myself from this labyrinth." This embassador had scarcely returned 
 home, after accomplishing his object, when another of his coun- 
 trymen, a merchant, was cast into prison by the Inquisition at 
 Vicenza. 
 
VENETIAN PROTESTANTS IMPRISONED. 307 
 
 Hercules de Salice, late governor of the Grisons, was sent to 
 procure his release; but the remonstrances of this prominent man, 
 seconded by the influence of the French embassador, were for some 
 time disregarded by the senate. This body endeavored to evade the 
 terms of the treaty between the two countries, and the concessions 
 which they had made during the preceding year. The embassador 
 from the Grisons, having secured a public audience, denounced the 
 intolerable arrogance of the papal claims with such boldness and elo- 
 quence that, though the elder patricians murmured, a majority of the 
 senate voted for an immedate discharge of the prisoner. Several of 
 the senators afterwards thanked Hercules de Salice for his courage, 
 which enabled him, as a foreigner, and formerly in the military service 
 of Venice, to declare what would have cost a patrician his life. The 
 pope rewarded the zeal which the senate of Venice had manifested 
 against the Lutheran heresy by conferring on that assembly, A. D. 
 1559, the perpetual right of electing their own patriarch. 
 
 Notwithstanding all that was done to suppress the Protestant 
 religion in Venice, there continued to be a considerable remnant who 
 faithfully adhered to it. Those who professed this faith met regu- 
 larly in a private house for the worship of God, and called a minis- 
 ter, A. D. 1560, to organize them into a Church, and administer to 
 them the Lord's-supper. The papal court, by means of its spies, 
 soon ascertained that the heretics were holding meetings, and ordered 
 the attendants to be arrested. Those who failed in making their es- 
 cape were thrown into prison. Many fled to the province of Istria, 
 and, after remaining in concealment there for some time, twenty- 
 three of them purchased a vessel to transport them to a foreign 
 country. When they were about to sail, an avaricious foreigner, who 
 had been informed of their project, arraigned three of them before 
 the local magistrates to secure the payment of a debt, which he 
 claimed they owed him. Failing to extort money from them, he 
 accused them of being heretics, who had fled from justice. Accord- 
 ingly they were arrested, taken to Venice, and thrown into the same 
 prisons with their brethren. The senate had refused all previous 
 requests for the infliction of capital punishment on the Protestants, 
 though, in the remoter provinces, the local magistrates, in some in- 
 stances, yielded to the demand of the inquisitors, and condemned 
 some to death. But at this period the senators obeyed the counsels 
 of the Inquisition, which they had so long resisted, and the reign of 
 cruelty was inaugurated, disgracing, during its continuance, the crim- 
 inal jurisdiction of the republic. Drowning was the mode of capital 
 
308 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 punishment adopted by the Venetian authorities, either because it 
 was less cruel and odious than that of burning, or because it was in 
 accordance with the customs of Venice. While the autos-da-fe of the 
 "Queen of the Adriatic" were hot so barbarous as those of Spain, 
 yet they were accompanied with a terrible silence and solitude, which 
 rendered them appalling. The prisoner was taken from his cell at 
 the hour of midnight, and placed in a gondola, as the small and 
 swiftly gliding boat of Venice is called, with no other attendants but 
 the rowers, and a priest to act as a confessor. After being rowed out 
 into the sea, beyond the Two Castles, another boat approached, and 
 came alongside of them. The prisoner was then laid on a plank 
 whose ends rested on the two boats. His body was chained, and a 
 heavy stone was attached to his feet. A signal being given, the 
 gondolas separated, and the victim was plunged into the deep, to rise 
 no more ''till the sea gives up her dead." 
 
 The first person who suffered martyrdom in the city of Venice, 
 was Julio Guirlauda, a native of the Trevisano. When set on the 
 plank, he cheerfully said, "Farewell," to the captain, and sank into 
 the deep, calling on the Lord Jesus. He passed away on the 19th 
 of October, A. D. 1562, in the fortieth year of his age. Antonio 
 Ricetto, of Vicenza, a most honorable man, was the next martyr. 
 After he had been convicted, so highly was he esteemed that the 
 senators promised to restore to him, not only his liberty, but also the 
 whole of his property, part of which had been sold, and the rest 
 promised away, provided he would renounce the Protestant faith. 
 His firmness was more severely tried by his son, a boy of twelve 
 years of age, who, when admitted into the prison, fell at his feet, be- 
 seeching him, in the most pathetic manner, to accept the conditions 
 of deliverance made to him, and not leave his child an orphan. 
 When informed, one day by the keeper of the prison, that one of his 
 companions had recanted, he merely replied, "What is that to me?" 
 He retained his courage in the 'gondola and on the plank, praying 
 for those who ignorantly put him to death, and commending his 
 soul to his Savior. His death occurred on the 15th of February, 
 A. D. 1566. Francesco Sega, a native of Rovigo, composed several 
 religious works during his confinement, for the comfort of his fellow- 
 prisoners, part of which was preserved after his death. He was 
 drowned on the 25th of February, A. D. 1566. Francesco Spinula, 
 a native of Milan, being a priest, was more closely questioned than 
 his brethren. He was arraigned thrice before the judges, and the 
 papal legate, together with many of the chief clergy, attended, on 
 
FRA BALDO LUFETINO. 309 
 
 one of these occasions. They threatened him with a fiery death ; 
 but he openly professed the Protestant faith, and fearlessly denounced 
 the usurpations of the pope, the doctrine of purgatory, and the 
 invocation of saints. The length and severity of his confinement 
 prostrated him, and, taking advantage of his sickness, his enemies 
 extorted some concessions from him ; but when he recovered he im- 
 mediately retracted them. He was then formally degraded from the 
 priesthood, and, on the 31st of January, A. D. 1567, was consigned 
 to a watery grave. 
 
 But the most distinguished of all the martyrs of Venice was the 
 venerable Fra Baldo Lupetino. The following account of him by his 
 nephew, in a book now become very rare, deserves to be preserved 
 entire : "The reverend Baldus Lupetinus sprung from a noble and an- 
 cient family was a learned monk and provincial of the order to which 
 he belonged. After having long preached the Word of God in both 
 the vulgar languages (the Italian and Sclavonian) in many cities, and 
 defended it by public disputation in several places of celebrity, with 
 great applause, he was at last thrown into close prison at Venice by 
 the inquisitor and papal legate. In this condition he continued, dur- 
 ing nearly twenty years, to bear an undaunted testimony to the Gos- 
 pel of Christ; so that his bonds and doctrine were made known, not 
 only to that city, but to the whole of Italy, and even to Europe at 
 large, by which means evangelical truth was more widely spread. 
 Two things among many others, may be mentioned as marks of the 
 singular providence of God toward this person during his imprison- 
 ment. In the first place, the princes of Germany often interceded 
 for his liberation, but without success. And, secondly, on the other 
 hand, the papal legate, the inquisitor, and even the pope himself, 
 labored with all their might, and by repeated applications, to have 
 him, from the very first, committed to the flames as a noted here- 
 siarch. This was refused by the doge and senate, who, when he was 
 at last condemned, freed him from the punishment of fire by an 
 express decree. It was the will of God that he should bear his testi- 
 mony to the truth for so long a time ; and that, like a person affixed 
 to a cross, he should, as from an eminence, proclaim to all the world 
 the restoration of Christianity and the revelation of Antichrist. At 
 last, this pious and excellent man, whom neither threatenings nor 
 promises could move, sealed his doctrine by an undaunted martyr- 
 dom, and exchanged the filth and protracted tortures of a prison for 
 a watery grave." 
 
 There is reason to believe that many others suffered the same 
 
310 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 death in Venice, of whose names history makes no mention. Be- 
 sides, many died in prison, or of diseases contracted during a tedious 
 and unhealthy confinement. Among the latter was Jeronimo Galateo, 
 who manifested his devotion to the true faith by enduring a severe 
 imprisonment of ten years. A large number of persecuted Protest- 
 ants escaped to other lands. It would seem that such violent meas- 
 ures were sufficient to extirpate the Protestants in Venice, and yet 
 we learn that they had secret meetings for Avorship in the seventeenth 
 century, distinct from those which the embassadors of Protestant 
 states were permitted to hold. During this period, the same cruelty 
 which the Inquisition practiced in the Venetian territories was vis- 
 ited upon all who were suspected of heresy throughout Italy. Its 
 terrible proceedings in the interior states, whose politiqal and com- 
 mercial relations with Protestant countries were not intimate, can be 
 ascertained only from incidental references and collateral circumstan- 
 ces, since the papal archives are not open to investigation. As for 
 Cremona, the Inquisition was worked with remarkable energy and 
 success in that city and its territories. The same thing may be said 
 of Parma, whose duke entered into a treaty with that violent pontiff, 
 Paul IV, by which he surrendered the properties and lives of his 
 subjects to the Inquisition. At Faenza, a nobleman of distinguished 
 virtues, having fallen under the suspicion of favoring the Lutheran 
 doctrine, was thrown into a foul prison, confined for a long time, and 
 then put to the torture. The inquisitors, not being able to extort 
 from him what they hoped, ordered the operation to be repeated, 
 during which the prisoner expired in their hands. The report of this 
 barbarous deed spread through the city and excited such a tumult 
 that the house of the Inquisition was attacked, its altars and images 
 torn down, and some of the priests trodden to death by the enraged 
 multitude. 
 
THE FEARLESS REFORMER, 311 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 THE CRUELTIES OF THE PAPAL INQUISITION. 
 
 THE existence of a flourishing Protestant Church at Locarno, a 
 small city on Lake Maggiore, and within the limits of Italy, 
 but under the government of the cantons of Switzerland, was a source 
 of regret and annoyance to the pope. Its distance from Rome did 
 not exempt it from persecution ; but, as it included persons of respect- 
 ability and wealth, and as the sovereignty of the city belonged to the 
 Swiss cantons, some of which were Protestant, and all of them jeal- 
 ous of their authority, the papal court was compelled to proceed 
 cautiously in its efforts to suppress the heresy there. Since the dis- 
 cussion formerly mentioned, which occurred A. D. 1549, the Roman 
 Catholics employed every means to excite prejudice in the minds of 
 the people against the Protestants, and to involve them in a quarrel 
 with the inhabitants of the surrounding districts and the government 
 of Milan. As the Protestants were but a small minority, it was not 
 difficult to render their position extremely uncomfortable through the 
 annoyance which they suffered from their Roman Catholic neighbors 
 under a government which took part with the oppressor against the 
 oppressed. Several years of these intestine troubles and persecutions 
 passed on, during which the excellent Beccaria, the most earnest 
 advocate of the evangelical cause, though dismissed from prison, was 
 exposed to such personal danger that he deemed it prudent, by the 
 advice of his friends, to banish himself and retire to Chiavenna in 
 the Orisons. Taddeo de Dunis was another Protestant whose talents 
 and zeal rendered him obnoxious to the court of Rome. His fame 
 as a physician extended into the adjacent country, and many desired 
 to avail themselves of his medical advice. Believing that he should 
 reside in a more central locality, he moved to a place within the 
 territory of Milan. When his old antagonist, the priest of Lugano, 
 ascertained that he was beyond the jurisdiction of the Swiss Confed- 
 eracy, he informed the inquisitor at Milan that the leader of the 
 heretics was in Italy, and immediately a party was sent to intercept 
 and arrest him on one of his professional journeys; but, being warned 
 of his danger, he retreated hastily to the mountains, and escaped. 
 Conscious of his innocence, and depending upon the influence of the 
 
312 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 families who employed him, he appeared voluntarily before the inquis- 
 itor, and was fortunately dismissed on condition that he would leave 
 the territory of Milan and confine his medical practice to his native 
 district. 
 
 During four years the Protestants of Locarno, though not sub- 
 jected to open violence, were outrageously treated. For some time 
 they had not employed the priests to confess their sick and bury 
 their dead according to the Romish custom, with torches and the 
 cross ; and, when they had no pastor of their own, they brought min- 
 isters from Chiavenna to baptize their children. The mercenary 
 priesthood, deprived of their gains by the increase of the Protestants, 
 denounced them as dangerous innovators, whose conduct was both 
 unnatural and sacrilegious. Determined to crush them, the Romish 
 clergy circulated the base report that the Protestants were guilty of 
 the most licentious practices in their private meetings. The ignorant 
 and superstitious multitude believed these rumors, and even some of 
 the more Intelligent, who knew their falsity, pretended to credit them. 
 In the mean time a man named Walther, a native of the popish 
 canton of Uri, who was at that time town-clerk of Locarno, and 
 who, some years after, was banished for holding a treasonable coitc- 
 spondence with the duke of Alva, governor of Milan, concocted a 
 deep plot. He forged a deed purporting that the senators, citizens, 
 and other Inhabitants of the town and bailiwick of Locarno had bound 
 themselves, by oath, to the seven papal cantons, that they would 
 adhere to the pope and the Roman Catholic religion until the meet- 
 ing of a "General Council." Having dated this paper several years 
 back, he sent it as a genuine document to an assembly of the Seven 
 Cantons, held in March, A. D. 1554. Without any investigation 
 they Immediately decreed that all the Locarnese should, in accord- 
 ance with their bond, confess to the priests during the ensuing Lent; 
 that they should give their names to the superior of the Church, and 
 that the rites of burial should be denied to those who had not , 
 received the mass on their death-beds. 
 
 When this decree was promulgated at Locarno, the Protestants 
 were astounded, and they immediately sent a commissioner to the 
 Protestant cantons to declare the utter falsehood of the allegation 
 upon which the decree proceeded. They were also entreated, as pro- 
 fessors of the same faith, and as their joint temporal superiors, to 
 strive, by their influence, to avert the ruin which threatened two 
 hundred heads of families who had always been faithful in their alle- 
 giance, and who had never been accused, except concernmg the law 
 
THE POLICY OF THE PAPAL NUNCIO. 313 
 
 of their God. After hearing this representation the deputies of the 
 Protestant cantons assembled at Aran, and wrote to those of the 
 popish persuasion, requesting them not to take any further action in 
 the Locarno matter until the meeting of the next diet of the confed- 
 eracy. They were also requested not to take any step which would 
 infringe the rights of the Protestant cantons in that territory. The 
 enemies of the persecuted Locarnese, desiring to defeat this effort in 
 their behalf, actively circulated the report through Switzerland that 
 they were not entitled to the protection of the Protestant cantons, 
 because they were infected with Servetianism, anabaptism, and other 
 fanatical opinions. Being apprised of this by their commissioner, 
 they sent to Zurich a confession of their faith, in which they avowed 
 their agreement with the Reformed Churches concerning the Trinity, 
 the incarnation, the mediatory work of Christ, justification, and the 
 sacraments. This statement of their belief silenced the slander of 
 their opponents. Two ''General Diets" for the discussion of this 
 subject assembled A. D. 1554, and they unanimously set aside the 
 false bond. When they came to the main point, however, the Rom- 
 ish party insisted that it should be decided by the majority of votes 
 in the diet, contrary to the rule usually observed concerning religious 
 questions. 
 
 But the court of Rome, having resolved to adopt a bolder policy, 
 sent Riverda, bishop of Terracina, as a papal nuncio to the diet of 
 Switzerland, to excite the Romish deputies to violent measures, while 
 those of the Protestant cantons were influenced, partly by jealousy 
 of one another, and partly by dread of disturbing the peace of the 
 confederacy. Riverda desired to secure the passage of a decree 
 compelling the Protestants of Locarno to abandon that city. The 
 district including it, as well as several other small districts in its 
 vicinity, was governed by the Swiss cantons, which, in rotation, sent 
 a prefect or governor to this province, who held his office for two 
 years. As the Roman Catholic cantons were more numerous than 
 the Protestant — though far inferior in population, education, wealth, 
 and all other resources — the vote by cantons was certain to be unfa- 
 vorable to the cause of the Protestants in Locarno. The question was 
 referred at last to arbiters chosen from the two mixed cantons, in 
 which the two parties were nearly equally divided. Their decision 
 was what the pope's legate desired; namely, that the inhabitants of 
 Locarno, who were free from crime, should either embrace the Roman 
 Catholic religion or leave their native land, taking with them their 
 families and property; that they should not return thither nor be per- 
 
3 14 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 mitted to settle within the seven CathoHc cantons ; and that those 
 who had spoken reproachfully of the Virgin Mary, and were charge- 
 able with anabaptism or other opinions contrary to both confessions, 
 should be punished. It was determined also that this sentence should 
 be intimated to the prefect of Locarno, and carried into effect by 
 deputies sent by the seven Catholic cantons if those from the four 
 Protestant ones refused to take part in the affair or absented them- 
 selves. The deputies of Zurich protested against this decision, 
 declaring that, while they would abide by the league and not excite 
 any disturbance, they would not consent to have this sentence inti- 
 mated in their name, and still less to assist in carrying it into execu- 
 tion. Their constituents afterwards sanctioned this protest. At this 
 time Locarno was under the government of Isaiah Reuchlin, the 
 prefect appointed by the canton of Zurich. The Roman Catholics 
 had repeatedly annoyed him in the discharge of his duties, but this 
 excellent man was still more perplexed when he was informed that 
 the diet had promulgated a decree hostile to the Protestants. In 
 this emergency he was relieved by instructions from home to adopt 
 a policy in accordance with the protest taken by the deputies of his 
 native city. 
 
 The Roman Catholic cantons desired an immediate enforcement 
 of their edict, and, fearing that something would occur to prevent it, 
 they sent their deputies across the Alps in the depth of Winter. On 
 their arrival at Locarno they assembled the people and addressed 
 them in a threatening manner, declaring that they justly deserved 
 exemplary punishment, because they had been rebellious and intro- 
 duced pernicious innovations into the true religion, besides disturbing 
 the peace and almost destroying the union of the Helvetic body. 
 The deputies announced to them, however, that the diet had gener- 
 ously pardoned their past faults and had enacted a law for the 
 regulation of their future conduct. The decree was then read and 
 immediately ratified by the subscriptions of the municipal authorities. 
 As the inhabitants were divided in sentiment, they were allowed 
 another day in which to prepare an answer. On the following morn- 
 ing those who had decided to adhere to the papal Church appeared 
 before the deputies, and, imploring pardon for whatever was offensive 
 in their past conduct, promised entire submission and conformity to 
 the laws for the future. In the afternoon the Protestants, marching 
 in regular order, two men, followed by their wives, walking abreast, 
 the women carrying their infants in their arms, the men leading their 
 children, and those highest in rank taking the lead, proceeded to the 
 
THE PROTESTANTS OF LOCARNO INVINCIBLE. 315 
 
 council-room, and the deputies, instead of receiving them with that 
 respect and sympathy to which their appearance and prospects 
 entitled them, treated them with levity. One of the Protestants, in 
 the name of his brethren, addressed the deputies, stating that, as 
 "they had been accused of believing novel doctrines and dangerous 
 opinions, he humbly desired to express their real views. 
 
 The speaker then made a full statement of their faith, declaring 
 it to be the same as that prefigured under the Old Testament, and 
 more clearly revealed by Christ and his apostles ; and, that after care- 
 fully searching the Bible, with prayer for the illumination of the 
 Holy Spirit, they had accepted the doctrine summarily contained in 
 the Apostle's Creed, and rejected all human traditions contrary to the 
 Word of God. He also asserted that they disclaimed Novatianism 
 and all novel opinions, and abhorred every thing that would produce 
 licentiousness of manners, as they had often protested to the seven 
 papal and four Protestant cantons ; and moreover, that, trusting in 
 the Lord, they were ready to endure any suffering rather than stir 
 up strife, or be the occasion of war in the confederacy. He then 
 referred to the fact that they had always maintained inviolate their 
 allegiance to the confederate cantons, and were willing to shed their 
 blood and spend their treasure in their defense. In conclusion, he 
 made an appeal, in behalf of his fellow-Protestants, to the mercy and 
 generosity of the lords of the seven cantons, beseeching them, in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, to have compassion on such a large number 
 of persons, including delicate females and helpless infants, who, if 
 driven from their native land, would suffer great privations. He 
 requested the deputies, whatever action they -might take, to insti- 
 tute a rigid investigation into the crimes with which the Protest- 
 ants had been charged, and that, if any of them Avere found guilty, 
 they should be punished according to their demerit, with the utmost 
 severity. 
 
 The deputies, with hearts as obdurate as the Alps, which they 
 had recently crossed, replied to this magnanimous and touching 
 appeal, saying: "We are not come here to listen to your faith. 
 The lords of the seven cantons have, by the deed now made known 
 to you, declared what their religion is, and they will not suffer it to 
 be called in question or disputed. Say, in one word, are you ready 
 to quit your faith or are you not?" To this the Protestants, with one 
 voice, replied: **We will live in it, we will die in it;" while the 
 exclamations, "We will never renounce it;" "It is the only true 
 faith;" "It is the only holy faith;" "It is the only saving faith," 
 
3i6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 continued for a considerable time to resound from different parts of 
 the assembly, like the reverberations that follow the loud peal in a 
 thunder-storm. Before leaving the room, each of them was required 
 to give his or her name to the clerk, and two. hundred persons imme- 
 diately came forward, rejoicing in having the privilege of enrolling 
 themselves as confessors of "the truth as it is in Jesus/' 
 
 The deputies having sternly refused to allow the Protestants 
 to remain until the severity of Winter was over, the latter made 
 preparations for an immediate departure, and sent Taddeo de Dunis 
 before them to request an asylum from the magistrates of Zurich. 
 But greater trials awaited them. The infamous Riverda, the papal 
 nuncio, following up his success at the diet of Switzerland, came to 
 Locarno to secure a literal enforcement of the decree. At a meet- 
 ing of the deputies, he thanked them, in' the pope's name, for their 
 defense of the Roman Catholic faith, and urged them to compel the 
 Grison league to deliver up the fugitive preacher, Beccaria, that he 
 might be punished for the daring crime of corrupting the faith of 
 his countrymen. Riverda's second request was, that the Locarnese 
 emigrants should not be permitted to take with them their children 
 and property, but that the former should be retained and educated in 
 the Roman Catholic Church, and the latter forfeited. The deputies 
 readily consented to the first proposition, but desired to be excused 
 from officially indorsing the second, because their instructions did not 
 warrant such extreme measures. They urged Riverda, however, to 
 invest the priests of Locarno with authority to receive such Protest- 
 ants as might be persuaded to return to the bosom of the "Mother 
 Church." The papal nuncio not only granted this power, but also 
 offered his own services and those of two Dominican doctors of 
 theology, whom he had brought along with him to convince the 
 deluded heretics. The faithful followers of Christ, though compelled 
 to hear the unprofitable harangues of monks, and to hold conferences 
 with Riverda, submitted to the arrangement Avithout opposition, but 
 not a single convert was made to Romanism. 
 
 There were three prominent ladies — Catarina Rosalina, Lucia di 
 Orello, and Barbara di Montalto, all devoted Protestants, whom the 
 papal nuncio earnestly desired to bring under Romish influence, but 
 in his controversy with them his arguments were promptly and effect- 
 ually answered. His female antagonists so fully exposed the idolatry 
 and abuses of the Romish Church, that his eminence was mortified 
 and irritated. By the boldness and keenness of her replies and the 
 severity of her retorts Barbara di Montalto, the wife of the principal 
 
NICOLAS, THE MARTYR. 317 
 
 physician of the place, greatly provoked him and incurred his resent- 
 ment. He therefore determined to have her arrested, and persuaded 
 the deputies to issue an order charging her with uttering blasphe- 
 mous sentiments against the sacrifice of the mass. The house of her 
 husband had been built as a place of defense on the banks of Lake 
 Maggiore, during the violent feuds which prevailed between the 
 Guelfs and Ghibellines, and in it was a concealed door which required 
 six men to move it. At the place where it opened upon the water, 
 a boat was kept in waiting, when a sudden alarm was given, to con- 
 vey the inmates of the house to a safe locality. . Her husband had 
 an alarming dream which led him to apprehend danger, not to his 
 wife indeed, but to himself. Hence, on that night, he ordered the 
 servants to open that door. At an early hour on the next morning 
 the officers entered the house, and, bursting into the room where the 
 lady was dressing herself, presented a warrant from the deputies to 
 take her to prison. With great presence of mind she entreated 
 them, with an air of feminine delicacy, to allow her to retire for a 
 moment to an adjoining apartment for the purpose of putting on 
 some article of clothing. This request being granted, she hastily 
 descended the stairs, and, leaping into the boat, was rowed off in 
 safety before the eyes of her enemies, who were assembled in the 
 court-room to receive her. 
 
 Riverda and the (^eputies, enraged at this disappointment, wreaked 
 their vengeance upon the husband of the lady, whom they deprived 
 of all his property. Not satisfied with this act of robbery, they 
 compelled two members of the Reformed Church to pay large sums 
 of money, because they refused to have their children baptized 
 according to the popish ritual. But a poor tradesman, named 
 Nicolas, suffered the severest punishment. In conversing with some 
 of his neighbors, he used certain expressions, which were considered 
 disrespectful to the Virgin Mary, in honor of whom a celebrated 
 chapel had been erected and called Madon7ia del Sasso. As this 
 sacred shrine was in the vicinity of Locarno, the priests of that city 
 were deeply incensed against Nicolas, and, to silence their clamors, 
 the prefect Reuchlin had punished his imprudence by condemning 
 him to an imprisonment of sixteen weeks. He was brought a second 
 time to trial, and, after being put to the torture, had the sentence of 
 death passed upon him. The Roman Catholic citizens interceded in 
 his behalf, but the deputies were unrelenting, and the order was 
 executed. 
 
 The Protestants had selected the third day of March, A. D. 1555, 
 
3 1 8 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 as the day of their departure for Switzerland and, though they loved 
 their native city, they anticipated with joy the hour which would wit- 
 ness the commencement of their journey. But before they started 
 the priests persuaded the government of Milan to issue an edict pro- 
 hibiting the Locarnese exiles from remaining more than three days 
 within the Milanese territory under pain of death, and imposing a 
 fine on those who should afford them any assistance or enter into 
 conversation with them on any religious subject. As they could not 
 pass through the territory of Milan to the easiest passage across the 
 Alps, they were compelled to take a north-eastern route, sailing to 
 the northern point of Lake Maggiore, thence to the Helvetian bal- 
 liages by way of Bellinzone, until they reached Rogoreto, a town 
 subject to the Grison league. At this point the Alps presented an 
 impassable barrier of ice and snow, compelling them to take up 
 their Winter- quarters ; and, in view of their numbers, their sojourn 
 among strangers was necessarily attended with many inconveniences. 
 After remaining there two months, they started, the May thaw hav- 
 ing opened a passage for them, and soon arrived at the canton of the 
 Grisons, w^here they received a joyful welcome from brethren of the 
 same faith. Almost the half of their number accepted the invitation 
 of the magistrates to become permanent citizens of that mountainous 
 but to them happy republic. The remainder, amounting to one 
 hundred and thirty three, went forward as the Summer advanced to 
 Zurich, whose inhabitants came out to meet them at their approach, 
 and extended such a kind and fraternal welcome that the hearts of 
 the sad and weary exiles were revived and consoled. 
 
 If a plague had been removed from the city the inhabitants of 
 Locarno could not have been more rejoiced than they were at the 
 banishment of these Protestant families ; but their exultation was of 
 short duration. The most peaceable and industrious of their citizens 
 had moved away. Trade declined, and with it the prosperity of the 
 community. During the succeeding year their lands were laid waste 
 by a violent tempest, and this was followed by a destructive pestilence. 
 To fill up the cup of their calamity and misery, intestine commotions 
 and feuds arrayed the people in hostile parties, by which the peace 
 of the city was disturbed. The two powerful families of the Buchi- 
 achi and Rinaldi, who had formed a league against the Protestants, 
 were soon striving for the superiority of the neighboring village of 
 Brisago, rendered vacant by the expulsion of the Orelli, and to 
 enforce their claims these competitors raised bands of armed men, 
 attacked each other, and committed such depredations on the peace- 
 
THE L UCCHESE PR O TESTANTS IMPRISONED. 3 1 9 
 
 able citizens that the Swiss government was compelled to maintain, 
 at great expense, a garrison in Locarno. 
 
 While the fate of the Locarnese Protestants was hard, yet when 
 compared with that of their brethren in the interior of Italy it was 
 mild. The latter had no friendly power to protect them from the 
 vengeance of the Inquisition, and no convenient asylum to which 
 they could flee when their own governments refused to shelter them. 
 As it was impossible for them to retire in a body they were com- 
 pelled to fly singly; and when they ventured to return, for the pur- 
 pose of removing their families or recovering their property, they 
 were often seized by the inquisitors and cast into the same prisons 
 with their brethren whom they had left behind. It is not strange 
 that so many recanted when we consider the perils and hardships to 
 which they were exposed by professing the truth. Still greater 
 numbers outwardly favored the Romish form of worship, though 
 they inwardly detested ft as superstitious and idolatrous, because 
 they desired either to avoid or allay suspicion. This was the condi- 
 tion of affairs at Lucca. The Protestants in that republic became 
 secure, and commenced to boast of their superior courage in main- 
 taining their ground, while many of their brethren had abandoned it 
 through cowardice, and permitted the banner of truth, which had 
 been unfurled in different parts of Italy, to fall to the ground. They 
 disliked to leave their native land and to relinquish their possessions 
 and honors. Trusting in their numbers and influence, they appre- 
 hended no danger from the open opposition of the Romish Church ; 
 but had they known how actively its agents had for many years 
 worked secretly in their private meetings they would have been less 
 confident. Their bright hopes, which had been inspired by self- 
 confidence and false security, were soon to be dissipated. Soon after 
 the accession of Paul IV to the papal throne the Lucchese conventi- 
 cle was ordered to be suppressed, and in, accordance with a precon- 
 certed plan its principal members were in one day cast into the 
 dungeons of the Inquisition. At the sight of the instruments of 
 torture some, who had been the most courageous, were glad to 
 escape from the dreadful persecutions of the papal power by pre- 
 tending to accept its teachings. They could scarcely apologize for 
 the flight of Peter Martyr, whose example they had refused to follow- 
 when it was in their power, but now he reminds them of their own 
 timidity, expressing his sorrow at the overthrow of a Church in 
 which he was deeply interested, and at the sudden recantation and 
 defection of so many persons whom he had warmly praised. 
 
320 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Ill a letter which Martyr addressed to them on this occasion he 
 says : ' ' How can I refrain from lamentations when I think that such 
 a pleasant garden, as the Reformed Church at Lucca presented to 
 the view, has been so completely laid waste by the cruel tempest as 
 scarcely to retain a vestige of its former cultivation. Those who did 
 not know you might have entertained fears that you would not be 
 able to resist the storm; it never could have entered into my mind that 
 you Avould fall so foully. After the knowledge you had of the fury 
 of Antichrist, and of the danger which hung over your heads when 
 you did not choose to retire, by availing yourselves of what some 
 call the common remedy of the weak, but which in certain circum- 
 stances I deem a wise precaution, your friends were disposed to say, 
 * These tried and brave soldiers of Christ will not fly, because they 
 are determined by their martyrdom and blood to open the way for 
 the progress of the Gospel in their native country, emulating the 
 noble examples which are given every day by their brethren in 
 France, Belgium, and England.' Ah, how much have these hopes 
 been disappointed ! What matter of boasting has been given to our 
 antichristian oppressors ! But this confounding catastrophe is to be 
 deplored with tears rather than words." 
 
 These severities did not entirely suppress the evangelical reform in 
 Lucca, but they caused some of the best families in that city to transfer 
 themselves and their wealth to Switzerland and France, with the view 
 of exercising freedom of opinion and action in- religious matters. 
 Many of them reached Geneva, A. D. 1556, where their descendants 
 are to be found at this day, including the Micheli, Turretini, Calen- 
 drini, Balbani, Diodati, Burlamacchi, and Minutoli, some of whom 
 have attained great distinction in both Church and state in that 
 ancient commonwealth. The authorities of Lucca were so enraged 
 at their departure that they offered a reward of three hundred crowns 
 to any person who would kill one of them in Italy, France, and 
 Flanders ! The council of Geneva wrote to Lucca, requesting the 
 authorities to revoke this barbarous proclamation, but they refused to 
 do so. The only effect which it produced was to keep the refugees 
 in a state of constant alarm for their safety. The Romish writers 
 complained, A. D. 1562, that the heretics in Lucca maintained a 
 regular correspondence with their countrymen in foreign countries, 
 and procured Protestant books from merchants who came from Lyons 
 and Geneva. More families from Lucca arrived at Geneva A. D. i55^» 
 and in the following year the authorities of Lucca passed a severe 
 ordinance, prohibiting all intercourse by speech or letters with those 
 
THE REPLY TO SPINOLA. 321 
 
 who had been denounced as ''rebels for the cause of religion." 
 Among the persons named in this ordinance as rebels is ' * Messer 
 Simoni Somone, Medico." This ingenious but versatile man resided 
 at Geneva, Heidelberg, Leipsic, Prague, and Cracow ; and was as 
 unsettled in his religious creed as in his place of residence, having 
 been successively a Calvinist, Lutheran, Arian, Jesuit, and (if we 
 may believe his countryman, Squarcialupo) atheist. 
 
 The refugees from Lucca were not forgotten in the land of their 
 fathers, as will appear from a curious circumstance which occurred 
 more than one hundred years after the first exiles reached Geneva. 
 Cardinal Spinola, then bishop of Lucca, addressed a letter, A. D. 
 1679, ^'^ '^^ descendants of these Lucchese Protestants, in which he 
 expressed his paternal solicitude for the diocese over which Inno- 
 cent XI had placed him. He stated that he had learned with sorrow 
 that during the dissensions of the past century multitudes, remarka- 
 ble for their nobility and intelligence, had abandoned a city in which 
 they occupied the highest offices, and had gone to Geneva. The 
 bishop further declared that his affection for the descendants of these 
 illustrious men would not permit him to rest until he had invited 
 them to return to the bosom of the '* Mother Church;" that he had 
 ordered a public supplication in their behalf throughout the whole 
 of his diocese, and hoped they would realize how glorious and how 
 essential to their safety it would be to obey God by returning to the 
 only sanctuary of truth. After reading the cardinal's letter the 
 refugees at first concluded not to reply, because they might be com- 
 pelled by convictions of duty to write unpleasant things to a prelate 
 who had complimented their ancestors in such flattering terms. 
 There were other considerations, however, that made it necessary for 
 them to proclaim to the world their real sentiments. They had 
 learned that at this time the Roman Catholic powers were united in 
 their efforts to proselyte Protestants, that reports of their own incon- 
 stancy had been circulated abroad, and that Cardinal Spinola had 
 actually applied to the pope for their absolution. In view of these 
 facts the refugees sent him a respectful and able answer, which was 
 written by the pastors Burlamacchi and Turretini, worthy grandsons 
 of those noble sires who had forsaken Italy for Christ. After giving 
 a sketch of the progress which the Protestant religion had made at 
 Lucca in the preceding century, they examined the propositions 
 contained \\\ the cardinal's letter, and pronounced them inadmissible. 
 In closing their reply to him they made an earnest and affectionate 
 appeal to their "kinsmen according to the flesh," who were still 
 
3^2 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 gro]:)ing in the darkness of popish Lucca. When the cardinal re- 
 ceived this answer he sent one copy of it to the pope, and another 
 to the "Congregation of the Holy Office," who ordered the execu- 
 tioners to burn all the copies which came into Italy. 
 
 At Mantua, also, the inquisitors boldly prosecuted their mission 
 of extirpating heresy. The severity of the persecution in this duchy 
 is indicated by two facts. Guglielmo, the reigning duke, A. D. 1566, 
 was a man of humane feelings, respecting the rights of his subjects 
 as well as his own authority. He deeply offended the pope by refus- 
 ing to send to Rome for trial certain persons suspected of heresy. 
 Full of indignation, Pius V not only threatened him with excommun- 
 ication, but war also, declaring that he had made Mantua a "nest 
 of heretics." He would have executed his threats had it not been 
 for the interference of the princes of Italy, who persuaded him to 
 pardon the duke on his submission. Two years after, the chief in- 
 quisitor seized a friend of the duke, on suspicion of heresy, and cast 
 him into prison. The duke commanded him to be released ; but the 
 haughty monk refused, saying that while he acknowledged him as his 
 temporal lord, yet, in the present case, he was the pope's agent, and 
 his power was paramount to that of any secular prince. Some days 
 after the duke sent a second message, urging his former request, 
 when the arrogant inquisitor, holding out the keys of the dungeon, 
 insolently informed the messengers that they might release the pris- 
 oner at their peril. 
 
 In no part of Italy did persecution rage more violently than in 
 the duchy of Milan, especially after it fell into the hands of Philip, 
 king of Spain. Galeazzo Trezio, a young nobleman of Lodi, had 
 embraced the doctrines of the Reformation from Maynardi, an Au- 
 gustinian monk, while attending the university of Pavia, and was 
 afterwards confirmed in the truth by the instructions of Curio. Find- 
 ing him guilty of heresy, the Inquisition, A. D. 155 I, sentenced him 
 to be burned alive, a punishment which he endured with the great- 
 est fortitude. But the persecution became more cruel and dreadful 
 when the duke af Alva was made governor. Two persons were com- 
 mitted alive to the flames, A. D. 1558. One of them, a monk, was 
 forced by an attending priest into a sort of pulpit placed near the 
 stake, in order that he might make his recantation ; but, instead of 
 doing this, he used the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel with 
 boldness, and, while thus engaged was driven into the fire with blows 
 and curses. During the following year scarcely a week passed with- 
 out some one being compelled to suffer as a heretic, and eleven per- 
 
THE REIGN OF TERROR AT FLORENCE. 323 
 
 sons of rank were thrown into prison, A. D. 1563, because they 
 sympathized with the reform movement. The execution of a young 
 priest, A. D. 1569, was an event of pecuHar barbarity. He was 
 condemned to be hanged and dragged to the gibbet, to suffer that 
 penalty, at a horse's tail. The last part of the sentence was dispensed 
 with at the earnest intercession of his friends ; but, after being half 
 strangled, he was cut down, and, refusing to recant, was literally 
 roasted to death, and his body thrown to the dogs. 
 
 The spirit of persecution early manifested itself within the terri- 
 tories of Tuscany. A law was proclaimed at Florence, A. D. 1547, 
 calling upon all who had heretical books, particularly those of Ochino 
 and Martyr, to deliver them up within fifteen days, under a penalty 
 of a hundred ducats and ten years' confinement in the galleys. The 
 houses of those who were suspected of having them were searched 
 at the expiration of the fifteen days, and the publication of any'more 
 prohibited under heavy penalties. After the establishment of the 
 Inquisition more decisive measures were adopted by the *' Commis- 
 sioners of the Holy Office," the vicar of the archbishop, the provost 
 of the metropolitan Church, and the spadalingo, or director of the 
 hospital of Sante Maria Nuova. An auto-da-fe was celebrated in the 
 city of Florence, in December, A. D. 1554, in which twenty-five 
 persons walked in procession as penitents, among whom was Bartol- 
 ommeo Panchiarichi, a wealthy citizen, and former embassador to 
 France. They were clothed in caps and cloaks painted with crosses 
 and devils, and were publicly reconciled in the cathedral church, 
 while the heretical books found in their possession were burned in 
 the piazza. 
 
 A native of Piacenza, who visited Florence, A. D. 1547, dedi- 
 cated to the duke a translation of Xenophon. The record, which ia 
 still preserved, says that " Ludovico Domenichi, a learned man of 
 about thirty years of age, had translated the Nicodemiana of Calvin 
 from Latin into Italian, corrected and published the dishonest book 
 in Florence, not at Basle, as it falsely pretended, on which account 
 he was suspected of heresy, though he strongly denied having ever 
 held any dangerous opinions: that he should therefore abjure as one 
 violently suspected, having a copy of the book translated by him 
 hung from his neck, and be afterwards condemned to the galleys for 
 ten years, less or more, for transgressing the laws which regulated 
 the press." These severities were increased at a subsequent period, 
 when Pius V altered the constitution of the Inquisition in Tuscany, 
 
 by dispensing with the commissaries of the state, under the pretext 
 
 22 
 
3 24 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that the secrets of this tribunal should not be divulged to a number 
 of persons, and assigning the whole work to one inquisitor. This 
 change was considered by the pontiff more simple, convenient, and 
 satisfactory, but it excited terror and discontent in the city. 
 
 The appointment of one individual to conduct trials for heresy was 
 simply transferring the power to the congregation at Rome, and this 
 despotic act, together with the facility with which Cosmo delivered 
 up to the pope the excellent Carnesecchi, whose fate will hereafter be 
 recorded, alarmed the people. Many fled, and others were sent to 
 Rome. The inquisitor was anxious to display his power, and render 
 himself popular by his activity. He annoyed the inhabitants inces- 
 santly, by interrogating the ignorant on the deepest mysteries of 
 religion, and then accusing them of heresy, because they used ex- 
 pressions which were ambiguous. A remonstrance against the con- 
 duct of the inquisitor was sent to the pope, A. D. 1567, by the 
 regent, who insisted that the archbishop and nuncio should also be 
 consulted in "the trials of heretics ; but this request was not granted. 
 The pope, however, removed the inquisitor, and appointed one who 
 was less ignorant and indiscreet. The result of this proscriptive pol- 
 icy was that Florence, so long renowned for its literature, its science, 
 and its refinement, was avoided by foreigners, and ceased to be the 
 resort of enlightened men from all parts of the world. Visitors from 
 Germany and Switzerland were suspected of disseminating heretical 
 opinions in Italy, and, unless they had good testimonials, were ex- 
 posed to a rigorous examination and surveillance. 
 
 These proceedings drove many persons distinguished for their 
 rank and talents from Tuscany into foreign countries. Among these 
 we may mention Michael Angelo Florio, a popular preacher in his 
 own country, subsequently pastor of a Protestant Church among the 
 Grisons, and afterwards at London, and celebrated as the author of a 
 rare and curious book, including a life of the unfortunate and accom- 
 plished Lady Jane Grey ; Nardi, so eminent in Italian literature ; 
 Pietro Gelido, a native of Samminiato, an ecclesiastic of great learn- 
 ing, educated at the court of Clement VII, and finally a resident of 
 Florence. He had served the duke as secretary at the court of 
 France, and acted as his agent in Venice from A. D. 1552 to A. D. 
 1562, during which period he reflected honor both on his prince and 
 the republic by the faithful discharge of duty. During his visits to 
 Ferrara he had imbibed the Protestant doctrines, and greatly offended 
 the Romish clergy, not only by the intercourse which he held with 
 the Germans, but also by the protection which he extended to those 
 
ANTONIO ALBIZIO—THE SOCCINI OF SIENNA. 325 
 
 who were suspected of heresy. This opposition induced him to retire 
 to France, and to take up his abode with the Duchess Renee, of 
 Ferrara. But he was not permitted to enjoy this retirement. A spy 
 of his former master falsely accused him to the Florentines, who 
 surrounded the court of Catherine, and he was compelled to retreat 
 to Geneva, where he united with the Italian congregation, already 
 organized in that city. From that place he addressed a letter to 
 Cosmo, defending his own conduct, and urging the duke to use his 
 influence with the pope to convene a council in the heart of Germany, 
 and to attend it in person. The example of Gelido was followed at 
 a later period by Antonio Albizio, who belonged to one of the no- 
 blest families in Tuscany. He was the founder of the academy of 
 Alterati, at Florence, and had been sent by the Grand Duke as 
 embassador to the Emperor Maximilian II ; but having become 
 acquainted with the truth by reading the Bible, he voluntarily sacri- 
 ficed his honors and retired to Kempten, in Suabia, where he divided 
 his time between devotional exercises and literary studies until his 
 death, A. D. 1626. His friends endeavored to win him back to the 
 Romish Church, but were not successful; and his process was going 
 on before the Inquisition at Rome when he died. 
 
 At Sienna, which about this time was annexed to the duchy of 
 Tuscany, similar proceedings occurred. During a number of years 
 after the discovery of the defection of Ochino, the Soccini, and Pale- 
 ario from the Romish faith, the inquisitors alarmed the government 
 by circulating reports of the spread of heresy in the city and territo- 
 ries of Sienna. The bishop of Bologna was sent, A. D. 1560, to con- 
 duct a process against Cornelio Soccini, who was accused of having 
 adopted the peculiar opinions of his relation, Faustus Socinus. All 
 that he confessed during the examination was, that he believed eveiy 
 thing contained in the Bible. As this was not entirely satisfactory, 
 he was, with the consent of the duke, transferred to Rome. The 
 persecution became severer, A. D. 1567; many fled, others were sub- 
 jected to trial on the spot, and not a few were delivered up to the 
 ''Holy Office" at Rome. 
 
 The Spanish government endeavored for several years to intro- 
 duce the Inquisition as it existed In Spain Into Naples, but was 
 compelled to yield to the repugnance of the people, apparently sus- 
 tained by the pope. The dissensions which characterized the discus- 
 sion of this question for some time saved the Protestants from open 
 persecution. Lorenzo Romano, a native of Sicity, had, at a former 
 period Instilled the doctrine of Zwingle into the minds of many of 
 
326 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the inhabitants of Caserta, a town lying about fifteen miles north of 
 Naples. Having visited Germany, where he was more fully instructed 
 in the truth, he returned to Italy A. D. 1549, and opened a class in 
 logic, to the members of which he preached the Gospel. The Rom- 
 ish clergy were informed of his course, and proceeded to arraign him 
 before the Inquisition. Romano, not possessing the firmness of a 
 martyr, was alarmed at the danger which threatened him, and sought 
 an interview with the Theatine cardinal. He not only recanted by 
 confessing his own errors, but also betrayed many of the most dis- 
 tinguished of his brethren by giving the names of all, male and 
 female, who professed the Protestant faith both in the capital and in 
 other parts of the kingdom. After abjuring his opinions publicly in 
 the cathedral churches of Naples and Caserta, and enduring certain 
 other penances at Rome, he obtained his liberty. Acting upon 
 Romano's information, the pope sent inquisitors to find the heretics. 
 Many were thrown into prison, and not a few were carried to Rome 
 to undergo death by being burned. These severities continued 
 several years and produced great distress. Two noblemen, Giovan 
 Francesco d' Alois, of Caserta, and Giovanni Bernardino di Gargano, 
 of Aversa, having been convicted of heresy, were beheaded in the 
 market-place on the twenty-fourth of March, A. D. 1564, and their 
 bodies consumed to ashes in the sight of the people. 
 
 The prosecutions for heresy, and the dread of the inhabitants in 
 anticipation of the introduction of the Inquisition, seriously affected 
 the interests both of trade and literature. In the city of Naples whole 
 streets were deserted by the people. The academies of the Sireni, 
 Ardenti, and Incogniti, which had been recently erected for the cul- 
 tivation of poetry, rhetoric, and astronomy, were closed by the viceroy 
 under the pretext that the merobers neglected to study the branches 
 of secular learning, and devoted their attention to the discussion of 
 the Bible. Besides this violence, already mentioned, two things con- 
 tributed to the overthrow of the Protestant cause in Naples. The 
 first was the efforts of certain adherents of Anabaptism and Arianism, 
 v/ho entered the secret meetings of the Protestants and made disciples 
 to their peculiar doctrines. The spirit of speculation diverted men's 
 minds from the simple Gospel, and when the true source of spiritual 
 life is abandoned, sooner or later, even the form of religion will dis- 
 appear. The second thing which assisted in the ruin of the reform 
 movement was the practice indulged by some of attending Romish 
 worship, partaking of mass and conducting themselves publicly in 
 every respect as if they were Roman Catholics. 
 
COWARDLY NEAPOLITAN PROTESTANTS. 327 
 
 Some writers called these individuals Valdesians, because tlie}^ 
 justified their conduct by appealing to the example of Valdez, and 
 to the advice which he gave those whom he had instructed in the 
 doctrine of justification, but whose minds were yet fettered by preju- 
 dices in favor of the Romish Church and the ancient ceremonies. As 
 the persecution increased this practice became more general, and was 
 not only offensive to those conscientious persons who shunned Rom- 
 ish worship as idolatrous, but gradually eradicated from the minds 
 of those who conformed to it the impressions of that faith which they 
 had embraced, and prepared them to abandon it on the slightest 
 temptation. The course pursued by this class destroyed all true 
 decision of character, all courage in the cause and service of Christ, 
 and all proper sensibility of conscience. Even many of these, being 
 suspected of believing the evangelical doctrines, were arrested, and had 
 to purchase their lives by denying their convictions. Others had 
 incurred the hatred of the inquisitors or the jealousy of informers, 
 and were arrested a second time and subjected to tortures and a cruel 
 death as relapsed heretics. To avoid these persecutions, or actuated 
 by a desire to enjoy the pure worship of God, many of the Protest- 
 ants started to make their homes in other countries, and, while some 
 of them certainly persevered in the determination to abandon forever 
 their native land, others, it is said, upon reaching the Alps, looked 
 back from their summits to take a last view of their beloved Italy, 
 and, beholding its beauties, and recalling the friends and comforts 
 they were forsaking, burst into tears and had not the courage to pro- 
 ceed. Like Lot's wife, they turned back, and most of them, soon 
 after their return to Naples, were thrust into prison, and, having 
 submitted to do penance, spent the remainder of their lives, shunned 
 by all good men, and rendered miserable by a feeling of remorse and 
 self-degradation . 
 
 When the Protestant cause had been suppressed in the capital, 
 the Neapolitan government allowed the inquisitors to roam through 
 the country like wild beasts unrestrained, and to devour its innocent 
 citizens. While the Romish hierarchy was guilty at this period of 
 many barbarous crimes, none was more atrocious than that committed 
 against the descendants of the ancient Waldenses, It seemed as if 
 the papal authorities were determined to exceed the cruelties which 
 Simon de Montfort, of bloody memory, inflicted during the Dark 
 Ages upon the ancestors of that people under the holy banners of 
 the Church. As we have already stated, this Waldensian colony in 
 Calabria Citeriore was planted in the fourteenth century by emigrants 
 
328 ITALY STRUGGLING LNTO LIGHT. 
 
 chiefly from the Valley of Pragela, in Piedmont. They brought with 
 them little except the simple piety which their fathers had maintained 
 from the primitive ages of Christianity. They asked for lands in 
 Calabria and obtained them in the neighborhood of Consenza. For 
 two hundred years they cultivated the ground in peace and lived on 
 good terms with their Roman Catholic neighbors. At first the priest 
 annoyed them because they neither came to the mass nor to the 
 confessional, but held their own meetings in private houses. But 
 the proprietors of the lands upon which they had settled, finding 
 them peaceable and industrious tenants, and punctual in paying their 
 rents, protected them from molestation. Even the priests were com- 
 pelled to admit that these excellent people were exemplary in render- 
 ing the tithes and in meeting all the other claims of the Church. 
 
 In the course of time, however, they lost to some extent the 
 abhorrence of the doctrines and services of the Roman Catholic 
 Church which their fathers entertained, for, at the commencement 
 of the Reformation in Germany and Switzerland, they were in the 
 habit of attending mass in the Romish churches. Cut off from inter- 
 course with their brethren of the same faith, and destitute of the 
 means of education for their pastors, this simple people, though not 
 relinquishing their own forms of worship, gradually conformed to the 
 Romish ceremonies, and were thus enabled to maintain friendly rela- 
 tions with the original inhabitants. As they had few schools, and 
 no facilities for educating their pastors, they had to look for ministers 
 of the Gospel to the Churches which held the same faith in the val- 
 leys of Piedmont. But at that time it was dangerous for Waldensian 
 teachers to travel from their homes to Calabria, and therefore the 
 Churches of that community were frequently, and for considerable 
 periods, very poorly supplied with pastors. Indeed, they were some- 
 times entirely destitute of spiritual leaders. 
 
 Having heard of the progress of a religion in other parts of Italy, 
 strongly resembling that of their fathers, the curiosity of the Cala- 
 brian Waldenses was awakened, and they eagerly desired to become 
 acquainted with it. Feeling the need of more ministers of the Gos- 
 pel, and conscious of their past error in conforming to the Romish 
 worship, they applied to their brethren in the valleys of Pragela and 
 to the ministers of Geneva to procure pastors who should instruct 
 them more fully and organize their Churches on a Scriptural basis. 
 Their application was not in vain. Devoted missionaries came, and 
 by diligent preaching and catechising revived the spirit of true piety, 
 and promoted the knowledge of the truth, not only among the Cala- 
 
PAPAL DELEGA TION A T SANTO SIS TO. 329 
 
 brian Waldenses, but also among the few who had embraced it in the 
 neighboring towns in the province of Basihcata. Great success 
 attended their efforts. But at length Rome was aroused, hke a 
 lioness greedy for the prey. Her emissaries, the iniquisitors, while 
 searching for victims in every part of Italy, did not pass by the vil- 
 lages occupied by these inoffensive people. These cruel agents of the 
 Vatican had already tasted blood, and were accustomed to behold the 
 most distressing scenes. When the Sacred College ascertained that 
 Protestant ministers had been sent from Geneva to the Waldenses in 
 Calabria, the inquisitor-general and two Dominican monks, Valerio 
 Malvicino and Alfonso Urbino, were appointed to reduce the her- 
 etical Churches to the obedience of the Papal See, or entirely sup- 
 press them. This delegation, which has won for itself an imperish- 
 able infamy, started with alacrity from the ''Eternal City" on the 
 bloody errand. On their first arrival at Santo Sisto, or San Sexto, 
 the monks were gentle and kind in their manners. Having assem- 
 bled the inhabitants, they assured them that no harm was intended, 
 if they would only dismiss their Lutheran teachers and come to mass. 
 After disclaiming any design to injure the people, these representa- 
 tives of the Inquisition declared that they were sent as friends to warn 
 them against false prophets who had led them away from the truth, 
 and, that if they would CQnsent to listen only to those who were 
 appointed by their ordinary, and live according to the rules of the 
 Roman Catholic Church, all would be well, but that, if they refused, 
 they would be in danger of losing their lives and property, the pun- 
 ishment inflicted upon heretics. 
 
 The visiting monks then appointed a time for the celebration 
 of mass, which they required all present to attend. The bell was 
 rung, but the citizens, instead of complying with the injunction by 
 attending the service, left the town in a body, and retired to a neigh- 
 boring wood. Such was the result of the first movement to persuade 
 the Waldenses of San Sexto, one of the two chief places occupied 
 by that people. Concealing their chagrin, the monks immediately 
 went to La Guardia, the other prominent Waldensian town, situated 
 on the seashore, and, after entering it, locked the gates behind them 
 to prevent a second flight. Assembling the inhabitants, who had not 
 yet heard of the proceedings at San Sexto, they told them that their 
 brethren there had renounced their erroneous opinions and dutifully 
 attended mass, at the same time exhorting them to imitate their wise 
 and good example and return to the fold of the Roman shepherd. 
 The poor people, taken unawares, credited the report of the monks, 
 
330 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and, Intimidated by the probable consequences of refusal, went to the 
 Romish church and partook of the mass; but no sooner was the 
 ceremony ended, and the gates of the town opened, than they learned 
 the deception which had been practiced upon them. Indignant, and 
 also ashamed of their own weakness, they resolved instantly to leave 
 the place with their wives and children and join their brethren, who 
 had taken refuge in the woods — a resolution from which they were 
 with difficulty diverted by the persuasion and promises of Salvator 
 Spinello, the feudatory superior of the town. 
 
 The inquisitor-general, Alexandrini, now made request for two 
 companies of men-at-arms to enable him to execute his mission. 
 The soldiers were sent to him, and he directed them to the woods, 
 with instructions to pursue and murder the inhabitants of San Sexto. 
 Tracking them like beasts of prey to their hiding-places in the thick- 
 ets and the caves of the mountains, they fell upon them with cries of 
 '' Aniazzi! ainazzi! Murder them! murder them!" Many of them 
 were slain on the spot ; others, who escaped, were pursued with 
 blood-hounds as if they had been wild beasts. Some of these fugi- 
 tives scaled the craggy summits of the Apennines. Having secured 
 themselves among the- rocks, they demanded an interview with the cap- 
 tain of the soldiers. After beseeching him to have compassion on 
 them, their wives, and children, they said that they and their fathers 
 had inhabited that country for several ages without any complaint con- 
 cerning their conduct ; that if they could not be permitted to remain in 
 it any longer without renouncing their faith, they hoped to be allowed 
 the privilege of retiring to som.e other country. They expressed a 
 Avillingness to go by sea or land to any place which their superiors 
 might select ; promised not to return ; and solemnly declared that 
 they would take no more with them than what was necessary for their 
 support on the journey, as they were ready to sacrifice their prop- 
 erty rather than violate their consciences by practicing idolatry. 
 They implored him to withdraw his men, to spare the effusion of 
 blood, and not compel them reluctantly to defend themselves, as, in 
 their desperation, they might resort to extreme measures. Instead 
 of listening to this reasonable offer, and reporting it to his superiors, 
 the captain ordered his men to advance by a defile, and when they 
 had reached a certain point, the Waldenses, stationed on the sum- 
 mits, hurled down the stones upon them, killing the greater part and 
 putting the rest to flight. 
 
 Alexandrini, the inquisitor- general, resolved to avenge on the 
 whole body this unpremeditated act of resistance on the part of the 
 
THE WALDENSES EXTERMINATED. 33 1 
 
 few. He wrote to Naples, stating that the country was in a tumult, 
 resulting from the rebellion of the Vaudois, and asking for more 
 troops to suppress it. On the arrival of the messenger, the viceroy 
 dispatched several companies of soldiers to Calabria. To gratify the 
 pope, and to see that the bloody work was effectually done, he 
 accompanied the army in person. Following the advice of the inquis- 
 itors, he issued a proclamation delivering up San Sexto to fire and 
 sword, which compelled the inhabitants to remain in their retreats. 
 He attempted to storm them while they were strongly intrenched in 
 the great mountains, whose summits of splintered rocks, towering high 
 above the pine forests that clothe their sides, presented to the fugi- 
 tives an almost inaccessible place of concealment. The Waldenses 
 offered to emigrate, but the viceroy refused to accept any terms but 
 their return to the papal Church. They replied that they would 
 rather yield their lives than accept peace on such conditions. The vice- 
 roy now commanded his men to attack them ; but, as they advanced, 
 a shower of rocks hurled them to the bottom a discomfited mass, in 
 which the bruised, the maimed, and the dying were confusedly min 
 gled with the corpses of the killed. The viceroy, seeing the diffi- 
 culty of the enterprise, issued a proclamation promising a free par- 
 don to the bannitti, or persons proscribed for crimes, who formed a 
 numerous class in Naples, who might be willing to undertake the 
 task of scaling the mountains and attacking the stronghold of the 
 Waldenses. In obedience to the summons a mob of bandits, out- 
 laws, and other criminals assembled to commence the war of exter- 
 mination. They were acquainted with the secret paths of the Apen- 
 nines, and tracked the fugitives through the recesses of the forest. 
 Clambering over the great rocks, these assassins rushed from every 
 side on the barricades on the summit, and butchered the poor Vau- 
 dois. The greater part of them were slaughtered, while the remain- 
 der of these poor wretched people took refuge in the caverns of the 
 high rocks, where many of them died of hunger. Thus were the 
 inhabitants of San Sexto exterminated, some dying by the sword, 
 some by fire, while others were torn by blood-hounds or perished by 
 famine. 
 
 But worse things, if possible, remained for the inhabitants of La 
 Guardia. While the desperadoes of the Neapolitan viceroy were 
 busy in the mountains butchering the flying Vaudois of San Sexto, 
 the inquisitor-general and his monks were pursuing their work of 
 blood at La Guardia. The military force at their command not 
 enabling them to take summary measures with the inhabitants, they 
 
332 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 resorted to stratagem. Pretending to be displeased with the severity 
 of mihtary execution, the inquisitors retired to some distance from 
 the place, and kindly invited the people to come out and hold a con- 
 ference with them. Encouraged by the report which they had heard, 
 the Vaudois complied ; but no sooner had they made their appear- 
 ance outside the gates than the soldiers, who had been placed in 
 ambush, seized, according to Monastier's statement, sixteen hundred 
 persons. Of these, seventy were sent in chains to the neighboring 
 village of Montalto, and tortured by the orders of the inquisitor, 
 Panza, to induce them not only to renounce their faith, but also to 
 accuse themselves and their brethren of practicing shameful crimes 
 in their religious assemblies. 
 
 To accomplish this some of them were compelled to endure the 
 most dreadful agonies, but no such confession could be wrung from 
 them. "Stefano Carlino," says the historian M'Crie, "was tortured 
 until his bowels gushed out." Another prisoner, named Verminel, 
 in the extremity of pain, promised to attend mass, and the inquisitor,- 
 encouraged at this evidence of reform, thought that by increasing 
 the violence of the torture he could extort a confession of the charge 
 which he Avas anxious to fasten upon t^iem. The exhausted sufferer 
 was kept during eight hours on the horrid instrument called the hell; 
 but notwithstanding this prolonged torture he persisted in denying 
 the atrocious calumny. Another man, named Marzone, was stripped 
 naked, beaten with iron rods, dragged through the streets, and then 
 knocked down with the blows of torches. One of his sons, a mere 
 boy, having refused to become a Romanist and embrace the crucifix, 
 was thrown headlong, by order of the inquisitors, from the top of a 
 tower. Bernardino Conte, on his way to the stake, threw away a 
 crucifix which the executioner had forced into his hands, for which 
 act Panza remanded him to prison until a more dreadful mode of 
 punishment should be devised. He was conveyed to Cozenza, where 
 his body was covered with pitch, in which he was burned to death 
 in the presence of a vast multitude of people. A priest, named 
 Anania, who had taken an active part in these persecutions, wrote 
 an account of it in Latin verse. The treatment of the women, by 
 order of the brutal inquisitor, is too disgusting to be described. 
 Sixty tender females were put to the torture, the greater part of 
 whom died in prison in consequence of their wounds remaining 
 undressed. When Panza returned to Naples he delivered a large 
 number of Protestants to the secular arm at St. Agata, where he 
 excited terror in the hearts of the people; for whoever attempted to 
 
WHOLES A LE SLA UGHTER, 333 
 
 intercede in behalf of the prisoners was immediately put to the tor- 
 ture as a heretic. 
 
 But these horrors are not to be compared with the barbarous and 
 bloody- tragedy enacted among the same people at Monalto, A. D. 
 1560, under the government of the marquis di Buccianici, whose 
 zeal was quickened, it is said, by the promise of a cardinal's hat to 
 his brother, if he would clear Calabria of heresy. It was witnessed 
 by a servant to Ascanio Caraccioli, himself a Roman Catholic, and 
 described by him in a letter, which was published in Italy along with 
 other accounts of the horrible transaction. The following is a prin- 
 cipal part of it, as quoted by M'Crie: **Most Illustrious Sir, — Having 
 written you from time to time what has been done here in the affair 
 of heresy, I have now to inform you of the dreadful justice which 
 began to be executed on these Lutherans early this morning, being the 
 nth of June. And, to tell you the truth, I can compare it to noth- 
 ing but the slaughter of so many sheep. They were all shut up in 
 one house, as in a sheep-fold. The executioner went, and, bringing 
 out one of them, covered his face with a napkin, or benda, as we 
 call it, led him out to a field near the house, and causing him to 
 kneel down, cut his throat with a knife. Then, taking off the bloody 
 napkin, he went and brought out another, whom he put to death 
 after the same manner. In this way the whole number, amounting 
 to eighty-eight men, were butchered. I leave you to figure to your- 
 self the lamentable spectacle, for I can scarcely refrain from tears 
 while I write ; nor was there any person who, after witnessing the 
 execution of one, could stand to look on a second. The meekness 
 and patience with which they went to martyrdom and death are 
 incredible. Some of them at their death professed themselves of the 
 same faith with us, but the greater part died in their cursed obsti- 
 nacy. All the old men met their death with cheerfulness, but the 
 young men exhibited symptoms of fear. I still shudder while I 
 think of the executioner, with the bloody knife in his teeth, the 
 dripping napkin in his hand, and his arms besmeared with gore, 
 going to the house, and taking out one victim after another, just as 
 the butcher does the sheep which he means to kill. 
 
 ' ' According to others, wagons are already come to carry away 
 the dead bodies, which are appointed to be quartered and hung up 
 on the public roads from one end of Calabria to the other. Unless 
 his holiness and the viceroy of Naples command the marquis di 
 Buccianici, the governor of this province, to stay his hand and leave 
 off, he will go on to put others to the torture and multiply the 
 
334 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 executions, until he has destroyed the whole. Even to-day a decree 
 has passed that a hundred grown-up wonrien shall be put to the 
 question, and afterwards executed, in order that there may be a com- 
 plete mixture, and we may be able to say in well-sounding language 
 that so many persons were punished, partly men and partly women. 
 This is all I have to say of this act of justice. It is now eight 
 o'clock, and I shall presently hear accounts of what was said by 
 these obstinate people as they were led to execution. Some have 
 testified such obstinacy and stubbornness as to refuse to look on a 
 crucifix or confess to a priest, and they are to be burnt alive. The 
 heretics taken in Calabria amount to sixteen hundred, all of whom 
 are condemned ; but only eighty-eight have as yet been put to death. 
 This people came originally from the valley of Angrogna, near Savoy, 
 and in Calabria are called Ultramontani. Four other places in the 
 kingdom of Naples are inhabited by the same race, but I do not 
 know that they behave ill ; for they are a simple, unlettered people, 
 entirely occupied with the spade and plow, and, I am told, show 
 themselves sufficiently religious at the hour of death." 
 
 Should the reader doubt the simple statement of these terrible 
 atrocities given by an intelligent servant, let him take the following 
 summary account of them by a Neapolitan historian of that age, 
 who is not likely to have exaggerated any thing that relates to the 
 treatment of these poor people: ''Some had their throats cut, 
 others were sawn through the middle, and others thrown from the 
 top of a high cliff; all were cruelly but deservedly put to death. 
 It was strange to hear of their obstinacy ; for, while the father 
 saw his son put to death, and the son his father, they not only ex- 
 hibited no symptoms of grief, but said joyfully that they would be 
 angels of God — so much had the devil, to whom they had given 
 themselves up as a prey, deceived them." The remaining portion 
 of the history of the Waldensian colony in Calabria may be told in 
 a few words. When their persecutors were satiated with blood it 
 was not difficult to dispose of the rest of the prisoners. The men 
 were sent to the Spanish galleys, the women and children were sold 
 for slaves ; and, with the exception of a few who renounced their 
 faith, this whole colony, which at the commencement of the six- 
 teenth century comprised a population of four thousand souls, was 
 exterminated. "Many a time have they afflicted me from my 
 youth," may the race of the Waldenses say — " many a time have 
 they afflicted me from my youth. My blood — the vioknce done to 
 me and to my flesh — be upon" Rome! 
 
THE ITALIAN AND THE SPANISH INQUISITION 335 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 ITALIAN MARTYRS. 
 
 WHILE the popes were actively engaged in suppressing the 
 Protestant movement in other parts of Italy they were not 
 idle in the territories of the Church. Some writers have stated that 
 the procedure of the Inquisition was milder in Italy than in Spain ; 
 but it is necessary to qualify both the statement of the fact and the 
 reasons by which it is usually accounted for. One of the reasons is 
 that the Italians, including the popes, have always consulted their 
 pecuniary interests, to which all other considerations must yield; 
 The second reason, which is not less significant, is, that the popes, 
 being temporal princes in the States of the Church, had no occasion 
 to employ the Inquisition to undermine the rights of the secular 
 authorities among them, as in other countries. This is unquestion- 
 ably true, and it accounts for the fact that the court of Inquisition, 
 long after its operations had been suspended in Italy, continued to 
 be warmly supported by papal influence in Spain. But during the 
 latter part of the sixteenth century it was fully and constantly em- 
 ployed, and the popes were enabled to accomplish by it what they 
 as secular rulers could not do. The principal difference between the 
 Italian and Spanish Inquisitions at that period consisted in their 
 poHcy respecting the mode of punishment. The latter endeavored 
 to inspire terror by the solemn spectacle of a public act of justice, 
 in which the scaffold was crowded with criminals. The former, 
 except in the case of the remote and friendless Calabrians, avoided 
 all unnecessary publicity and eclat. Hence the mode of punishment 
 usual at Venice was adopted at Rome, as in the case of Bartolommeo 
 Fonzio. In other instances the victims were brought to the stake 
 singly or in small numbers, and often strangled before being com- 
 mitted to the flames. The report of the autos-da-fe of Seville and 
 Valladolid was immediately spread over Europe ; but the executions 
 at Rome created less excitement in the city, because they were less 
 splendid as well as more frequent, and the rumor of them died away 
 before it could reach the ear of foreigners. 
 
 Paul III cast many of the Protestants into the prisons of Rome ; 
 they were brought forth to execution by Julius III ; and Paul IV 
 
336 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 followed in the bloody footsteps of his predecessor. During the 
 reign of the latter pontiff the Inquisition spread consternation every- 
 where, and produced the very evils it labored to remove. Princes 
 and princesses, clergy and laity, bishops and friars, entire academies, 
 the sacred college, and even the **Holy Office" itself, were sus- 
 pected of heresy. The conclave was subjected to an expurgatory 
 process. Cardinals Morono and Pole, with Foscarari, bishop of Mo- 
 dena, Luighi, Priuli, and other eminent persons, were prosecuted as 
 heretics. It was at last found necessary to introduce laymen into 
 the Inquisition, because (to use the words of a contemporary writer) 
 '*not only many bishops and vicars and friars, but also many of the 
 inquisitors themselves, were tainted with heresy." The personal 
 fanaticism and jealousy of the pontiff caused much of the extrava- 
 gance which prevailed at this time. Such was the "frenzied zeal 
 of this infallible dotard" that he summoned some of his cardinals to 
 his death-bed, and with his latest breath urged them to sustain the 
 Inquisition. If his life had been spared a little longer the poet's 
 description of the effects of superstition would have been realized, 
 "and one capacious curse enveloped all." The inhabitants of Rome 
 were irritated by his violence, extortion, and rapine, and when the 
 tidings of his death reached them they gathered in tumultuous 
 crowds, burned the house of the Inquisition to the ground, and after 
 liberating all the prisoners, and breaking down the statue which 
 Paul III had erected for himself, they dragged its members with 
 ropes through the streets and threw them into the Tiber. 
 
 As Paul IV was naturally of a mild disposition, he would not 
 permit the violent and arbitrary policy of his predecessor to be con- 
 tinued ; but, being unable to control the cardinal who was at the 
 head of the Inquisition, he was powerless to prevent the massacres 
 which disgraced his pontificate in Calabria and various parts of Italy. 
 The house of the Inquisition having been demolished in the tumult, 
 an edifice belonging to one of the cardinals, and situated beyond the 
 Tiber, was used by the inquisitors, and cells were added to it for the 
 reception of prisoners. It was commonly called the Lutheran prison, 
 and is said to have been built on the site of the ancient "Circus of 
 Nero," in which so many Christians were delivered to the wild beasts. 
 Philip, the son of the learned Joachim Camerarius, and Peter Rieter 
 de Kornburg, a Bavarian gentleman, were confined in this prison for 
 two months, A. D. 1565, having been arrested, when visiting Rome 
 on their travels, through the information of a Jew, who mistook 
 Rieter for another German with whom he had quarreled. The in- 
 
THE CRUEL REIGN OF PIUS V. 337 
 
 former acknowledged his mistake, but the prisoners were still detained 
 as heretics, and obtained their liberty only through the interposition 
 of the imperial embassador, accompanied with a threat from the 
 Protestant princes, that the agents of Rome should receive the same 
 treatment when traveHng through Germany. Pompeio di Monti, a 
 Neapolitan nobleman, was seized by the familiars of the Inquisition, 
 as he was crossing the bridge of St. Angelo on horseback, in com- 
 pany with his relation, Marcantonio Colonna, and lodged in the same 
 apartment with Camerarius, who derived from his conversation great 
 religious consolation, and also wise counsel to avoid the snares which 
 the inquisitors generally laid for their prisoners. They shared to- 
 gether the use of a Latin Bible which the baron had procured and 
 kept concealed in his bed. Camerarius having applied for a Psalter 
 to assist him in his devotions, the noted Jesuit, Petrus Canisius, by 
 whom he was visited, pressed on him the ** Office of the Holy Virgin," 
 as more conducive to edification ; and, when it was declined, sent 
 him "Araadis de Gaul," and Caesar's "Commentaries." During the 
 following year Di Monti was sentenced to be burned alive; but in 
 consideration of a sum of seven thousand crowns being advanced by 
 his friends he was only strangled, and his body afterwards committed 
 to the flames. 
 
 Under Pius V, who ascended the papal chair, A. D. 1566, perse- 
 cution raged again in the States of the Church. The name of this 
 infamous pontiff was Michele Ghisleri, who had been president of the 
 Inquisition, a position which he had held under the designation of 
 the Alexandrian cardinal since the late establishment of that tribunal. 
 The cruelties committed during the two preceding pontificates were 
 in no small degree attributable to his influence. Persecution in its 
 most violent forms prevailed in Bologna, where "persons of all ranks 
 were promiscuously subjected to the same imprisonments and tortures 
 and death." A writer of that period says: "Three persons have 
 lately been burnt alive in that city, and two brothers of the noble 
 family of Ercolani seized on suspicion of heresy, and sent bound to 
 Rome. At the same time many of the German students in the uni- 
 versity were imprisoned or obliged to fly. The following description 
 of the state of affairs is from the pen of one who resided, A. D. 
 1568, on the borders of Italy: "At Rome some are every day burnt, 
 hanged, or beheaded : all the prisons and places of confinement are 
 filled, and they are obliged to build new ones. That large city can 
 not furnish gaols for the numbers of pious persons who are contin- 
 ually apprehended. A distinguished person named Carnesecchi, for- 
 
,338 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 merly embassador to the duke of Tuscany, has been committed to 
 the flames. Two persons of still greater distinction, Baron Bernardo 
 di Angole and Count di Petigliano, a genuine and brave Roman, 
 are in prison. After long resistance they were, at last, induced to 
 recant, on a promise that they should be set at liberty. But what 
 was the consequence? The one was condemned to pay a fine of 
 eighty thousand crowns and to suffer perpetual imprisonment ; and 
 the other to pay one thousand crowns, and be confined for life in the 
 convent of the Jesuits. Thus have they, by a dishonorable defec- 
 tion, purchased a life worse than death." The following anecdote is 
 related by the same writer, and shows the base stratagems which the 
 Roman Inquisit*ion employed to get hold of its victims: "A letter 
 from Genoa to Messere Bonetti states that a rich nobleman at Mo- 
 dena, in the duchy of Ferrara, was lately informed against as a here- 
 tic to the pope, who adopted a dishonorable method to secure his 
 arrest. The nobleman had a cousin at Rome, who was sent for to 
 the castle of St. Angelo, and told, ' Either you must die, or write to 
 your cousin at Modena, desiring him to meet you in Bologna at a 
 certain hour, as if you wished to speak to him on important business.' 
 The letter was dispatched, and the nobleman, having ridden in haste 
 to Bologna, was seized as soon as he had dismounted from his horse. 
 His friend was then set at liberty. This is dragon's game." 
 
 Speaking of the rigor of the Inquisition in Italy, and the sudden- 
 ness of executions at this period, Muretus said to De Thou: "We 
 know not what becomes of people here: I am terrified every morn- 
 ing when I rise, lest I should be told that such and such a one is no 
 more; and if it should be so, we durst not say a word." But the 
 despotism of the popes was beginning to wane. While Pius V was 
 brave, he was sometimes compelled to yield. Galeas de San Seve- 
 rino, count of Caiazzo, a favorite of Charles IX of France, and an 
 officer of high rank in his army, having visited Italy on private busi- 
 ness, A. D. 1568, was thrown into the prison of the Inquisition at 
 Rome, because he was suspected of being a Huguenot. Charles 
 immediately sent the marquis de Pisano to demand the liberation of 
 the count as a French subject. The pope requested time for delib- 
 eration. After repeated delays, the marquis demanded the release 
 of the prisoner within eight days ; and, that time having elapsed, he 
 had an interview with the pope, and told him that, if the count was 
 not delivered to him next day, the embassador of France should be 
 instantly recalled, and all the ordinary intercourse with Rome as to 
 ecclesiastical benefices in the kingdom should cease. By the advice 
 
FA VENTINO FANNIO. 3.39 
 
 of the cardinals, Pius V gave him up very reluctantly, saying that 
 the king had sent him imbria cone, or drunken fool. De Thou re- 
 ceived this anecdote from the marquis himself. It was this same 
 nobleman who, when ordered by Sixtus V to quit his territories 
 within eight days, replied, '' Your territories are not so large, but 
 that I can quit them within twenty-four hours." 
 
 According to Scaliger, a man named Jacobini was the first Prot- 
 estant martyr in Italy. But the civilian Cujas, who was present at 
 his execution, denies that he was a Protestant, and affirms that he 
 only differed from the R-omish Church in some things, remarking that 
 in those days they burned men for a small matter. Others assert 
 that Faventino Fannio, or Fannio, a native of Faenza, a town in the 
 States of the Church, was the first who suffered death for the Prot- 
 estant faith in that country. But this is not an essential question. 
 Whether the first martyr or not, it is certain that Faventino Fannio, 
 who became acquainted with the truth by reading the Bible, and 
 other religious books, in his native tongue, was very active in its 
 propagation. He went from place to place, in the province of Ro- 
 magna, instructing in each a few persons in the Gospel, and enjoining 
 upon them to communicate to others the knowledge which they had 
 acquired. He was arrested by the inquisitors and thrown into prison ; 
 but through the persuasions of his friends he obtained his liberty by 
 recantation. This act greatly distressed him, and when he had re- 
 covered from his despondency, he resolved to labor more zealously 
 than before in showing his countrymen the way of salvation. Having 
 attained more knowledge of the grace of God, and greater strength 
 in the principles of the Gospel, he was successful within a short time 
 of disserninating extensively the evangelical doctrines. 
 
 While at Bagnacavallo he was arrested a second time, and con- 
 ducted in chains to Ferrara. He could not now be moved either by 
 threats or solicitations to deny his attachment to the Protestant cause. 
 Olympia Morata, Lavinia della Rovere, and other distinguished per- 
 sons visited him in prison and were greatly edified by his conversa- 
 tion and prayers. To the lamentations of his wife and sister, who 
 came to see him, he replied, *' Let it suffice you, that for your sakes 
 I have once denied my Savior. Had I then had the knowledge 
 which, by the grace of God, I have acquired since my fall, I would 
 not have yielded to your entreaties. Go home in peace." Of Fan- 
 nio's imprisonment, which lasted two years, it may be said that it 
 fell out to the furtherance of the Gospel, so that ''his bonds in Christ 
 were manifest in all the palace." When orders were issued to pre- 
 
 23 
 
340 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 vent strangers from having access to him, he employed himself in 
 teaching his fellow-prisoners, including several persons of rank, who 
 were confined for state crimes. His piety, combined with his remark- 
 able modesty and meekness, so deeply impressed them, that they 
 acknowledged, after their enlargement, that they never experienced 
 true happiness and liberty until they came within the walls of the 
 prison. Orders were then given to place him in solitary confinement, 
 where he spent his time in writing religious letters and essays, which 
 were circulated among his friends, and some of which were published 
 after his death. The priests, fearing that he might exert a pernicious 
 influence over those who approached him, frequently changed his 
 prison and his keeper. Pope Julius III disregarded every interces- 
 sion made for his life, and ordered him to be executed, A. D. 15 50. 
 He was accordingly brought out to the stake at an early hour in the 
 morning, to prevent the people from witnessing the scene, and, being 
 first strangled, was burned. 
 
 About the same time and in the same manner did Domenico della 
 Casa Bianca suffer death. He was a native of Bassano in the Vene- 
 tian territories and became acquainted with the truth in Germany 
 when a soldier in the army of Charles V. With the zeal of a young 
 convert he returned to Italy and labored to promote the Gospel 
 wherever he went. After a successful tour to Naples and other places 
 he was arrested, thrown into prison at Piacenza, and refusing to 
 recant received the crown of martyrdom in the thirtieth year of 
 his age. 
 
 Among the Italian martyrs and reformers, Mollio, the Bologna 
 professor, ranks deservedly high for his talents and holy life. For 
 several years after the flight of his brethren Ochino and Martyr, 
 A. D. 1542, he was greatly exposed to danger, and more than once 
 was seized, thrust into prison, from which he had always providen- 
 tially escaped. But soon after the accession of Pope Julius III Mollio 
 was eagerly pursued, and being arrested at Ravenna was conducted 
 under a strong guard to Rome and lodged in a strait prison. During 
 his confinement he composed a commentary on Genesis which is 
 praised by Rabus, the German martyrologist. A public assembly of 
 the Inquisition was held on the 5th of September, A. D. 1553, with 
 great ceremony, which was attended by the six cardinals and their 
 episcopal assessors. Before this dread tribunal a number of prisoners 
 were made to appear with torches in their hands, all of whom recanted 
 and performed penance, except Mollio and a native of Perugio, 
 named Tisserano. When the articles of accusation against Mollio 
 
THE ADDRESS OF MOLLIO. 341 
 
 were read he was permitted to speak. He defended with great abil- 
 ity the doctrines of justification by faith, the merit of good' works, 
 auricular confession, and also the sacraments. He pronounced the 
 power claimed by the pope and his clergy to be usurped and contrary 
 to the spirit of Christianity, and denounced in the severest terms 
 their avarice, their tyranny, and their other vices. 
 
 *'As for you, cardinals and bishops," said he **if I were satisfied 
 that you had justly obtained that power which you assume to your- 
 selves and that you had risen to your eminence by virtuous deeds 
 and not by blind ambition and the arts of profligacy, I would not 
 say a word to you. But since I know on the best grounds that you 
 have set moderation and modesty and honor and virtue at defiance, 
 I am constrained to treat you without ceremony, and to declare that 
 your power is not from God but the devil. If it were apostolical, as 
 you would make the poor world believe, then your manner of life 
 would resemble that of the apostles. 
 
 "But when I perceive," continued Mollio, "the filth and false- 
 hood and profaneness with which it is overspread, what can I think or 
 say of your Church but that it is a receptacle of thieves and a den of 
 robbers? What is your doctrine but a dream — a lie forged by hyp- 
 ocrites? Your very countenances proclaim that your belly is your 
 god. Your great object is to seize and amass wealth by every species 
 of injustice and cruelty. You thirst without ceasing for the blood of 
 the saints. Can you be the successors of the holy apostles and vicars 
 of Jesus Christ, you who despise Christ and his Word, you who act 
 as if you did not believe that there is a God in heaven, you who 
 persecute to the death his faithful ministers, make his commandments 
 of no effect and tyrannize over the consciences of his saints. Where- 
 fore I appeal from your sentence and summon you cruel tyrants and 
 murderers to answer before the judgment-seat of Christ at the last 
 day, where your pompous titles and gorgeous trappings will not 
 dazzle, nor your guards and torturing apparatus terrify, us. And, in 
 testimony of this, take back that which you have given me." 
 
 So saying he threw the flaming torch which he held in his hand 
 on the ground and extinguished it. This bold and fervid address 
 silenced the judges, and, at the same time, chained them to their 
 seats; but its withering invective, which at first appalled them, finally 
 caused the inquisitors to gnash upon Mollio with their teeth like the 
 persecutors of the first Christian martyr. The cardinals immediately 
 ordered him and his companions to be executed, and they were con- 
 veyed accordingly to the Campo del Fior, where they died with the 
 
342 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 most pious fortitude. Zanchi, in writing to Bullinger, says of this 
 Mollio : "I will relate what MoUio di Montalcino, the monk who was 
 afterwards burned at Rome for the Gospel, once said to me respect- 
 ing your book, De Origine Erroris. As I had not read or seen the 
 work at that time, he exhorted me to purchase it; 'and,' said he, *if 
 you have not money, pluck out your right eye to enable you to buy 
 it, and read it with the left.' By the favor of Providence I soon 
 after found the book, without losing my eye, for I bought it for a 
 crown, and abridged it in such a character as that not even an inquis- 
 itor could read it; and in such a form that, if he did read it, he 
 could not have discovered what my sentiments were." 
 
 Pomponio Algieri, a native of Nola, in the kingdom of Naples, 
 but, at the time of his arrest, a student at the University of Padua, 
 was one of the most interesting of all the Italian martyrs. His 
 answers when examined before the podesta, or the chief civil magis- 
 trate of Padua, were remarkable for clear views of truth, and form 
 one of the ablest refutations of the principal articles of popery that 
 can be found. As a result his fame was spread through Italy. After 
 his examination he was sent bound to Venice, and the senate, from 
 regard to his learning and youth, were anxious to liberate him; but 
 as he utterly refused to abandon his sentiments, they condemned him 
 to the galleys. Yet yielding to the importunities of the nuncio, they 
 afterwards sent him to Rome as an acceptable present to the newly 
 elected Pope Paul IV, who sentenced him to be burned alive in the 
 twenty-fourth year of his age. He endured the dreadful sufferings 
 with a magnanimity Avhich terrified the cardinals and others who 
 beheld the cruel scene. While he was in prison in Venice he wrote 
 a letter to a friend describing in remarkable language the abundant 
 consolation by which he w^as sustained and cheered. The autograph 
 of this letter, together with the facts respecting the writer, were com- 
 municated by Curio to the historian Henry Pantaleon. 
 
 Similar constancy, supported by similar internal peace and joy, 
 was displayed by Francesco Gamba, a native of Como, who, having 
 visited Geneva, became acquainted with the Protestants there, and on 
 one occasion had partaken of the Lord's-supper with them. The 
 news of this fact reached home before him, and he was seized on 
 Lake Como, thrown into prison, and condemned to be burned. The 
 imperial embassador and some of the Milanese nobility, by their 
 interposition, prevented his execution for some days, and during the 
 interval his integrity was assailed by the sophistry of the monks, the 
 entreaties of his friends, and the interest taken by many of his towns- 
 
GODFREDO VARAGLIA. 343 
 
 men of the Romish faith who desired to save him. He resisted all 
 these efforts to convert him from the Protestant religion, and when 
 the hour for his execution arrived he modestly declined the last 
 services of the friars, expressed his gratitude to those who labored to 
 deliver him, and assured the judge who lamented the necessity of 
 enforcing the law, that he forgave him and prayed God to do the 
 same. His tongue was perforated to prevent him from addressing 
 the spectators. After kneeling down and praying he arose and looked 
 upon the vast assembly, composed of several thousand persons. He 
 recognized a particular friend in the crowd, and waved his right hand 
 to him as the appointed signal that he died in confidence and peace. 
 Stretching out his neck to the executioner, who had been authorized 
 to favor him by strangHng him, he calmly met death on the 21st of 
 July, A. D. 1554, and his body was committed to the fire. 
 
 Godfredo Varaglia, a native of Piedmont, was a distinguished 
 preacher of the Order of Capuchins. Inheriting from his ancestors a 
 bitter feeling against the Waldenses, and receiving in his younger 
 years an appointment to labor as a missionary among them, he went 
 into the ''Valleys." As he was zealous and eloquent, his friends 
 had great expectations of his success ; but he soon became a convert 
 to the Waldensian doctrines, and, like another Paul, began to preach 
 the faith which he had sought to destroy. From that time he acted 
 in concert with Ochino, who belonged, as has been already stated, 
 to the same order. Not long after the flight of the latter from Italy, 
 Varaglia and twelve others were arrested and sent to Rome. The 
 suspicions against them being slight, or their friends influential, they 
 were permitted to abjure their heresy in general terms, and were also 
 required to remain in the capital on their parole for five years. At 
 the end of that period Varaglia was persuaded to lay aside the cowl 
 and enter into secular orders. A dignitary of the Church, admiring 
 his talents, became a personal friend, and for some time bestowed 
 upon him a pension. Having been appointed papal legate to the 
 king of France, A. D. 1556, he invited Varaglia to accompany him 
 to that country. But his conscience would not permit him any longer 
 to conceal his sentiments, and separating from the legate at Lyons, 
 he went to Geneva, where he accepted an appointment to preach the 
 Gospel to the Waldenses in the Valley of Angrogna. After labor- 
 ing a few months among that people he was arrested, conveyed to 
 Turin, and condemned to death, which he endured with great for- 
 titude on the 29th of March, A. D. 1558, in the fiftieth year of 
 his age. During his trial the judges asked him who his companions 
 
344 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 were, and he replied that he had recently been in company with 
 twenty-four preachers, who were mostly from Geneva. Varaglia also 
 declared that these servants of Christ had so many followers that the 
 inquisitors would not find wood enough to burn them. The papal 
 nuncio, Visconti, wrote to Cardinal Borromeo (A. D. 1563) that more 
 than the half of the Piedmontese were Huguenots. 
 
 Another illustrious martyr was Ludovico Paschali, or John Louis 
 Paschale, a native of Coni, in the plain of Piedmont. By birth he 
 was a Roman Catholic, and while young entered the army; but hav- 
 ing acquired a taste for evangelical doctrine at Nice he abandoned 
 the military profession, resolving to be no longer a * ' knight of the 
 sword," but, Hke Loyola, a "knight of the cross," yet in a truer 
 sense. He had just completed his theological studies at Lausanne 
 when the Waldenses of Calabria applied to the Itahan Church at 
 Geneva for preachers. This young minister was designated as one 
 eminently qualified for the perilous but honorable position. He was 
 betrothed to a Piedmontese lady, Camilla Guerina, who belonged to 
 a Protestant family. **Alas!" she sorrowfully exclaimed, when he 
 intimated to her his departure for Calabria, ' * so near to Rome and so 
 far from me." She consented, and they separated, never to meet 
 again on earth. Paschale, accompanied by Stefano Negrino, started 
 for Calabria, and, on their arrival, they found the country greatly agi- 
 tated. The young evangelist preached with such energy and power 
 that the zeal and courage of the Calabrian flock revived, and the light 
 formerly concealed under a bushel now appeared to all. 
 
 The marquis of Spinello had been the protector of the colonists. 
 He ceded lands on his own vast and fertile estates to induce the Wal- 
 denses to build cities and plant vineyards, and he soon discovered 
 that it was a profitable investment. Peace and prosperity reigned 
 throughout Calabria ; but the marquis was compelled by the Inquisi- 
 tion to persecute his loyal and industrious subjects. He summoned 
 Paschale and his flock before him, and, after dismissing the latter 
 with a sharp reprimand, threw the young pastor into the dungeons 
 of Foscalda. Negrino was also imprisoned and perished with hun- 
 ger in his cell. The bishop of the diocese ordered Paschale to 
 be removed to the prison of Cosenza, where he was confined eight 
 months. The pope's attention was directed to the case, and he dele- 
 gated the infamous (^ardinal Alexandrini, inquisitor-general, to extir- 
 pate heresy in the kingdom of Naples. By his order Paschale was 
 taken from the Castle of Cosenza and conveyed to Naples. **0n the 
 journey," says Dr. Wylie, *'he was subjected to terrible suflerings. 
 
CONVERSATIONS AND LETTERS OF PASCHALE. 345 
 
 Chained to a gang of prisoners — the handcuffs so tight that they 
 entered the flesh — he spent nine days on the road, sleeping at night 
 on the bare earth, which was exchanged, on his arrival at Naples, for 
 a deep, damp dungeon, the stench of which almost suffocated him." 
 On the i6th of May, A. D. 1560, he was conducted in chains to 
 Rome, and imprisoned in the Torre di Nona, where he was thrust 
 into a cell as offensive as that in Naples. 
 
 His brother Bartolomeo, who had come from Coni with letters 
 of recommendation to procure, if possible, some mitigation of his 
 fate, gives an interesting account of the first interview which, after 
 great difficulty, he obtained with him at Rome, in the presence of a 
 judge of the Inquisition. "It was quite hideous to see him," says 
 he, ' ' with his bare head and his arms and hands lacerated by the 
 small cords with which he was bound, like one about to be led to 
 the gibbet. On advancing to embrace him I sank to the ground. 
 * My brother,' said he, 'if you are a Christian, why do you distress 
 yourself thus? Do you not know that a leaf can not fall to the earth 
 without the will of God ? Comfort yourself in Christ Jesus, for the 
 present troubles are not worthy to be compared with the glory to 
 come.' 'No more of that talk,' exclaimed the inquisitor. When 
 we were about to part, my brother begged the judge to remove him 
 to a less horrid prison. ' There is no other prison for you than this, ' 
 was the answer. 'At least show me a little pity in my last days, and 
 God will show it to you.' 'There is no pity for such obstinate crim- 
 inals as you,' replied the hardened wretch. A Piedmontese doctor, 
 who was present, joined me in entreating the judge to grant this favor; 
 but he remained inflexible. ' He will do it for the love of God,' said 
 my brother, in a melting tone. 'All the other prisons are full,' re- 
 plied the judge, evasively. 'They are not so full but that a small 
 corner can be spared for me. ' ' You would infect all who were near 
 you by your smooth speeches.' 'I will speak to none who does not 
 speak to me.' 'Be content; you can not have another place.' *I 
 must then have patience,' replied my brother, meekly." 
 
 Paschale did not forget his flock in Calabria, but addressed them 
 a letter saying, ' ' My state is this : I feel my joy increase every day, 
 as I approach nearer to the hour in which I shall be offered as a 
 sweet-smelling sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ, my faithful Savior ; 
 yea, so inexpressible is my joy that I seem to myself to be free from 
 captivity, and I am prepared to die for Christ, not only once, but 
 ten thousand times, if it were possible ; nevertheless I persevere in 
 imploring the divine assistance by prayer, for I am convinced that 
 
346 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 man is a miserable creature when left to himself; and not upheld and 
 directed by God." He wrote to his affianced bride, freely expressing 
 his deep affection for her, which ''grows," said he, ''with that I feel 
 for God." A short time before his death he said to his brother: "I 
 give thanks to my God, that, in the midst of my long-continued and 
 severe affliction, I have found some kind friends ; and I thank you, 
 my dearest brother, for the tender interest you have taken in my 
 welfare. But as for me, God has bestowed on me that knowledge 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ which assures me that I am not in an error, 
 and I know that I must go by the narrow way of the cross, and seal 
 my testimony with my blood. I do not dread death, and still less 
 the loss of my earthly goods; for I am certain of eternal life and a 
 celestial inheritance, and my heart is united to my Lord and Savior." 
 When his brother offered him half his fortune if only he would recant 
 and save his life, he replied : ' ' Oh ! my brother, the danger in which 
 you are involved gives me more distress than all I suffer, or have the 
 prospect of suffering, for I perceive that your mind is so addicted to 
 earthly things as to be indifferent to heaven." 
 
 Extensive preparations had been made for the trial of Paschale, 
 and on the 8th of September, A. D. 1560, he was brought out of his 
 prison, conducted to the Convent della Minerva, and cited before the 
 papal tribunal. He confessed Christ, and listened to the sentence of 
 death pronounced upon him with a serenity of countenance that must 
 have surprised his judges. On the following day Rome presented an 
 animated appearance. The ringing of the bells and the shouts of the 
 multitude indicated some unusual event. From every street and 
 piazza eager crowds rushed forth and increased the surging stream of 
 humanity which rolled across the bridge of St. Angelo into the gates 
 of the old fortress. In the center of the court-yard stood an em- 
 blazoned chair, in which was seated Pius IV, who desired to behold 
 the martyrdom of Paschale. Behind the pontiff were his cardinals 
 and counselors, arrayed in scarlet robes, and other dignitaries in mi- 
 tres and cowls, ranged in circles according to their place in the papal 
 body. Behind the ecclesiastics sat the beauty and nobility of Rome, 
 whose waving plumes and glittering stars made the assemblage still 
 more imposing. The court of St. Angelo was densely crowded with 
 the excited populace, who impatiently awaited the beginning of the 
 tragedy. Rising above the sea of human heads appeared a scaffold, 
 an iron stake, and a bundle of fagots. At the appointed time the 
 gate opened, and the prisoner entered amid a "storm of hissing and 
 execration." Paschale moved forward on the stone floor of the court, 
 
THE MARTYRDOM, 347 
 
 and at each step the clank of irons could be heard, indicating how 
 heavily his limbs were burdened with fetters. Although pale and 
 haggard with suffering, his young face was irradiated by the ''serene 
 light of deep, untroubled peace." Lifting his eyes, he surveyed the 
 vast crowd, and, with countenance undismayed, beheld the terrible 
 apparatus of the Inquisition before him. 
 
 The Christian hero, with courage stamped on his brow, calmly 
 mounted the scaffold, and stood beside the stake. Forgetting the 
 wearer of the papal tiara, every one looked eagerly upon the humble 
 victim clad in the sanbenito. "Good people," exclaimed the martyr, 
 amid the silence which then reigned, ''I am come here to die for 
 confessing the doctrine of my divine Master and Savior, Jesus Christ." 
 Then addressing Pius IV, he arraigned him as the ** enemy of Christ, 
 the persecutor of his people, and the Antichrist of Scripture," and 
 concluded by ''summoning him and all his cardinals to answer for 
 their cruelties and murders before the throne of the Lamb." "At his 
 words," says the historian Crespin, "the people were deeply moved, 
 and the pope and the cardinals gnashed their teeth." The signal was 
 then given by the inquisitors ; the executioners seized Paschale, and, 
 having strangled him, they kindled the fagots whose blazing flames 
 soon reduced his body to ashes. " For once," says Dr. Wylie, " the 
 pope had performed his function. With his key of fire, which he 
 may truly claim to carry, he had opened the celestial doors, and had 
 sent his, poor prisoner from the dark dungeons of the Inquisition to 
 dwell in the palace of the sky." The ashes of the preacher-martyr 
 were collected and thrown into the Tiber, and by it carried to the 
 Mediterranean. Even the marble shaft will crumble under the deso- 
 lating hand of time, and the grandest monumental pile may fall 
 beneath the blows of violence or war, but the tomb of the far-sound- 
 ing sea, to which the ashes of Paschale were committed by his ene- 
 mies, is indeed a nobler mausoleum than ever Rome raised to any of 
 her pontiffs, and it will remain through all the ages until time shall 
 be no more. 
 
 Perhaps the most illustrious of all the Italian martyrs, for natural 
 talent and endowments, for noble person and manners, and for rich 
 acquirements and liberal accomplishments, was Pietro Carnesecchi, a 
 native of Florence. He is spoken of in the highest terms by both 
 Sadolet and Bembo, and was an intimate friend of the Medici. His 
 connection with this powerful family gave him great influence with 
 Pope Clement VII, whose secretary and protonotary he was for sev- 
 eral years. This pontiff also bestowed upon him two abbacies, one 
 
348 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 in Naples and the other in France, and it was commonly said "that 
 the Church was governed by Carnesecchi rather than by Clement." 
 The latter died, A. D. 1534, after a reign of eleven years, and the 
 former, having lost his patron and friend, traveled through the different 
 cities of Italy, conversing with the learned and greatly enjoying their 
 society. Besides having a thorough knowledge of Greek and Roman 
 literature, he was distinguished for his eloquence in speaking and 
 elegance in writing. At Naples he became acquainted with Valdez, 
 and from him imbibed a love for the evangelical doctrines, which 
 was daily augmented by the reading of the Scriptures, meditation, 
 and intercourse with several learned men, who held in reality some 
 of the most important of the new opinions ; such, for instance, as 
 justification by faith. During the better days of Cardinal Pole he 
 was one of the select party which met in that prelate's house in 
 Viterbo and spent the time in religious exercises. When his friend 
 Flaminio, startled at the thought of abandoning the Romish Church, 
 suddenly ceased his inquiries, Carnesecchi displayed great mental 
 courage in welcoming truth, despite strong prejudices. After the 
 flight of Ochino and Martyr, Carnesecchi was suspected of not only 
 favoring heresy and its abettors, but of holding it himself. He was 
 summoned to Rome, where Cardinal de Burgos, one of the inquis- 
 itors, was ordered to investigate the charges brought against him. 
 Paul III was, however, his warm friend, and through the favor of 
 this mild pontiff the matter was accommodated. But Carnesecchi 
 deemed it prudent to leave Italy for a season, and after spending 
 some time with Margaret, duchess of Savoy, who was not unfriendly 
 to the reformed doctrines, he went to France, where he was kindly 
 and honorably received by the new monarch, Henry II, and his 
 queen, Catharine de MedLcis. He returned to Italy, A. D. 1552, 
 strongly confirmed in his opinions by his intercourse with foreign 
 Protestants, and took up his residence mainly at Padua, within the 
 Venetian territories. On the 25th of October, A. D. 1557, or about 
 two years after Paul IV began to reign, a criminal process Avas com- 
 menced against Carnesecchi ; but, not wishing to place himself at 
 the mercy of that furious pontiff, he refused to appear within the 
 prescribed term, and was therefore excommunicated as a contuma- 
 cious heretic. Before he was actually delivered over to the secular 
 power to be punished Giovanni Angelo de Medici ascended the papal 
 throne under the name of Pius IV (A. D. 1560), and, being a mem- 
 ber of the house of Medici, and a friend to Carnesecchi, he removed 
 the sentence of excommunication, without exacting a recantation of 
 
ARREST AND EXECUTION OF CARNESECCHL 349 
 
 any of his opinions. Galluzzi, in his history of the ''Grand Duchy of 
 Tuscany," says that Cosmo, ''by means of letters of commendation, 
 prorogations, and attestations of infirmity," succeeded in averting the 
 sentence during the Hfe of that pontiff. 
 
 When Pius V commenced his cruel reign, A. D. 1566, Carnesec- 
 chi, justly fearing the vengeance of the new pope, retired to Florence 
 
 PIUS V. 
 
 to seek the protection of Cosmo, then duke of Tuscany. But he 
 was betrayed by him, and, being carried to Rome, was tried before 
 the Inquisition on thirty -four articles, which comprehended all the 
 peculiar doctrines of the Protestants in opposition to the Romish 
 Church. The articles were proved by witnesses and by the letters 
 of the prisoner, who, after defending himself for some time, admitted 
 the truth of the main charges. The papal historian, Laderchius, in 
 his "Annals," gathered from the records of the "Holy Office," 
 refers to the firmness and constancy of the accused in the avowal of 
 
350 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 his sentiments. On the i6th of August, A. D. 1567, sentence was 
 pronounced against him, and on the 21st of September it was pub- 
 licly read in the church of St. Mary, near Minerva, along with those 
 of other heretics. He was condemned as an ''incorrigible heretic, 
 deprived of all honors, dignities, and benefices, and delivered over 
 to the secular arm ; after which he was degraded, and clothed with a 
 sanbenito painted with flames and devils." The execution of the 
 sentence was delayed for ten days, either at the request of the duke, 
 or because it was hoped that the prisoner would be penitent on the 
 scaffold. Hence a Capuchin of Pistoia was incarcerated along with 
 him, with the view of inducing him to recant, but his efforts were 
 fruitless. On the 3d of October, A. D. 1567, Carnesecchi was 
 brought forth for punishment, and, being beheaded, his body was 
 consumed by fire. "His fanaticism," says Galuzzi, ''sustained him 
 to the very last moment. He went to execution as to a triumph, 
 and appeared with new linen and gloves, as his inflamed sanbenito did 
 not admit of his wearing any other piece of apparel." 
 
 One of the greatest ornaments of the Italian Reformation was 
 Aonio Paleario, or Antonio della Paglia, which was his original 
 name.. After leaving Sienna, A. D. 1543, he accepted an invitation 
 from the senate of Lucca, and remained there ten years, teaching 
 the Latin classics and acting as orator to the republic on solemn 
 occasions. From Lucca he went to Milan, at the request of the 
 authorities of that city, and spent seven years there as professor of 
 eloquence, handsomely supported and greatly honored. As he wasi 
 suspected of heresy, and therefore exposed to great peril he resolved 
 to leave Milan and go to Bologna; but he fell a prey to the violent 
 persecution which broke out at the accession of Pius V, and which 
 was fatal to so many learned and excellent men in Italy. He was 
 arrested by Frate Angelo de Cremona, the inquisitor, and sent to 
 Rome, where he was closely confined for three years in the Torre 
 Nona. The principal charges against him were four — namely: that 
 he denied purgatory ; disapproved of burying the dead in churches, 
 preferring the ancient Roman method of sepulture without the walls 
 of cities ; ridiculed the monastic life ; and ascribed justification solely 
 to confidence in the mercy of God, who will for Christ's sake forgive 
 our sins. But it is probable that his intimacy with Ochino and other 
 prominent men who believed the Protestant doctrines, his defense of 
 himself before the senate of Sienna, and, above all, his book on the 
 " Benefit of Christ's Death," had much weight against him in the 
 deliberation of his judges. At length he was condemned to be exe- 
 
THE WRITINGS OF PALEARIO, 35 1 
 
 cuted on a gibbet and his body to be burned. Before leaving his 
 cell, on the 3d of July, A. D. 1570, he was permitted by his attend- 
 ants to write two letters, one to his wife, the other to his two sons, 
 Lampridio and Fedro. They are short, but affectionate, indicating 
 that the author was sustained by pious fortitude and ready to meet 
 his fate. He died in the seventieth year of his age, strong in the 
 Protestant faith. An official document of the Dominicans, but which 
 has neither names nor signatures, affirms that Paleario recanted. The 
 following extract from the "Annals" of Laderchius is a sufficient 
 refutation of the falsehood : ' * When it appeared that this son of 
 Belial was obstinate and refractory, and could by no means be recov- 
 ered from the darkness of error to the light of truth, he was deserv- 
 edly delivered to the fire, that after suffering its momentary pains 
 here he might be bound in everlasting pains hereafter." 
 
 It appears from Paleario's published letters that he enjoyed the 
 friendship and correspondence of the most celebrated men of his 
 time, both in the Church and the ''Republic of Letters." Among 
 the former were Cardinals Sadolet, Bembo, Pole, Maffei, Filonardi, 
 Sfondrati; and among the latter Flaminio, Riccio, Alciati, Vittorio, 
 Lampridio, and Buonamici. His poem on the immortality of the 
 soul was received with great approbation by literary men. He was, 
 indeed, a profound scholar, and his orations were Ciceronian in spirit 
 and elegance of style. His ** Letter on the Council of Trent," ad- 
 dressed to the reformers, and his ''Testimony and Plea against the 
 Roman Pontiffs," are admirable works, and evince great Biblical 
 knowledge, sound faith, and fervent zeal. His treatise on the "Ben- 
 efit of Christ's Death" produced considerable excitement, and was 
 eminently useful in diffusing evangelical doctrine in Italy upon a 
 subject of vital importance. Forty. thousand copies were sold in six 
 years. It is said that Cardinal Pole had a share in writing, and that 
 Flaminio wrote in defense of it. Activity in circulating it was one 
 of the charges upon which Cardinal Morone was imprisoned and 
 Carnesecchi consigned to the flames. Paleario, before he was arrested, 
 had taken care to place his writings in the hands of friends in whom 
 he could confide. They have been often published in Protestant 
 countries, and thus have escaped the mutilations which those of so 
 many other Italian Protestants have suffered. 
 
 Several other excellent men were put to death about the same 
 time, among whom were Julio Zannetti and Bartolommeo Bartoccio. 
 The latter was a son of a wealthy citizen of Castello, a city in the 
 duchy of Spoletto. He had received some knowledge of the new 
 
352 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 opinions from Fabrizio Tommassi, of Gubbio, an educated young 
 man who was his companion at the siege of Sienna, A. D. 1555. 
 On returning home he earnestly labored to propagate the truth, and 
 several of his relatives were converted. During a dangerous sjckness 
 he refused the services of the family confessor, and resisted the argu- 
 ments of the bishop of the diocese to win him back to the Roman 
 Catholic faith. He was, therefore, summoned before the governor, 
 Paolo Vitelli; but, though physically weak, he was able to escape 
 during the night by surmounting the wall of the city. He fled first 
 to Sienna, and afterwards settled in Venice. Having no means of 
 support, and his father disowning him, he retired to Geneva, where he 
 married and became a manufacturer of silk. While visiting Genoa, 
 A. D. 1567, on business, he imprudently gave his true name to a 
 merchant, and was apprehended by the Inquisition. The govern- 
 ments of Geneva and Berne sent an envoy to the republic of Genoa 
 to demand his liberation, but he had been taken to Rome upon the 
 requisition of the pope. After an imprisonment of nearly two years 
 he was condemned to be burned alive. With a firm step and unal- 
 tered countenance he went to the place of execution, and, while the 
 flames were enveloping his body, the words '* Vittoria! vittorial — vic- 
 tory! victory!" — were distinctly heard from his dying lips. 
 
 During the remainder of the sixteenth century the prisons of the 
 Inquisition in Italy, and particularly at Rome, were filled with vic- 
 tims, including persons of noble birth, male and female, men of let- 
 ters, and mechanics. Some recanted and did penance, others were 
 condemned to long imprisonment, and some to worse sufferings. 
 Several foreigners, who visited Italy on business or for pleasure, were 
 arrested and cruelly treated. Among these were some Englishmen, 
 one of whom was Dr. Thomas Wilson, afterwards secretary of Queen 
 EUzabeth. He was accused of heresy and thrown into prison at Rome, 
 on account of some things which were contained in his books on 
 logic and rhetoric. He made his escape in consequence of his prison 
 doors being broken open during the tumult which occurred at the 
 death of Paul IV. Another prisoner, who fled at the same time, was 
 John Craig, a Scotchman, who became one of the most active of the 
 fellow-laborers of John Knox, and lived to draw up the "National 
 Covenant," in which Scotland solemnly abjured the Roman Catholic 
 faith. Dr. Thomas Reynolds was less fortunate. He resided for 
 some time at Naples, and being accused of heresy was sent by the 
 bishop to Rome, along with three Neapolitan gentlemen, who were 
 also suspected. Refusing to depose against his fellow-prisoners, he 
 
BEATRICE CENCL 353 
 
 was subjected to the torture called by the Italians la tratta di corda, 
 and by the Spaniards, V astrapado ; and, in consequence of this and 
 similar treatment, he died in prison in November, A. D. 1566. Two 
 persons were burned alive at Rome, A. D. 1595, one a native of 
 Silesia, and the other an Englishman, who indiscreetly snatched the 
 host from the hand of the priest who was carrying it in procession. 
 Before he was committed to the flames the offending hand was cut 
 off, and the sacrilegious act thereby condernned. 
 
 Clement VIII, who ascended the papal throne, A. D. 1572, pos- 
 sessed the same persecuting spirit which characterized his immediate 
 predecessors. When heretics could not be found and sacrificed for 
 the glory of the '* Mother Church," this pontiff was diligently em- 
 ployed in filling up her coffers. Among the large estates which he 
 resolved to seize were those of the Cenci. Count Francesco Cenci 
 was the head of the family (A. D. 1585), and a prominent citizen 
 of Rome, but a man of ungovernable passions. He was truly a 
 second edition of Caesar Borgia, and would commit any crime to 
 accomplish his purpose. He poisoned his first wife, the Princess 
 Santa Croce, in order to marry the beautiful Lucrezia. There were 
 four sons and two daughters, the youngest of whom was Beatrice, 
 the most beautiful girl in Rome at the time. The father was so cruel 
 to the children that they and the step-mother petitioned the pope to 
 shield them ; but he refused, and commanded them to obey the head 
 of the family. The other daughter, Marguerite, was given by the 
 pope in marriage to Signor Gabreilli ; and it is believed that Christo- 
 foro and Racco, two of his sons, were assassinated at the instigation 
 of the father. 
 
 Lucrezia, finding that her husband was the basest of men, was 
 unwilling to trust the beautiful Beatrice in his hands, and therefore 
 petitioned the pope to give her in marriage to Guerra, a young noble- 
 man who was deeply attached to her. The count intercepted the 
 petition and moved his entire family to a castle-fortress in the soli- 
 tudes of the Apennines. His cruel treatment was resumed, and Bea- 
 trice was immured and tortured in a dungeon, where her shrieks of 
 terror were heard by the family and servants, who could afford no 
 relief. The step-mother and eldest son now resolved to remove the 
 tyrant, and easily secured the services of Olympio, an assassin, and 
 Marzio, a soldier, to carry out their plan. The latter desired to 
 avenge the murder of his betrothed, whom the count had endeavored 
 to ruin before he put her to death. While sleeping one night in his 
 chamber he was slain by these hired men. The family were arrested 
 
354 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 as accomplices, and tortured by repeated applications of the wheel, 
 the pulley, and the rack of the Inquisition. Giacomo, Bernardo, and 
 Lucrezia, unable to endure the suffering, confessed, but Beatrice 
 refused because, while aware of the plot, she had not consented to it. 
 Clement gave her into the hands of the cruel Luciani, who appHed a 
 variety of tortures. The beautiful sufferer swooned after making 
 the dungeon resound with her shrieks; then she was revived with 
 cordials and the cruel process repeated. The tortitra capilloimm, or 
 the twisting of the hair into a rope, and the suspension of the whole 
 body from the ceiling by it, the taxilla, or the placing of heated 
 blocks of wood on the bare feet, and other fiendish tortures were 
 resorted to. The promise was made that if she confessed her life 
 would be spared, and the entire family released. The latter begged 
 her to yield for their sake; and finally she exclaimed: ''Be it as you 
 wish; I am content to die if it will save you." 
 
 The pope was informed that Beatrice had confessed, and as this 
 was what he wanted in order to possess their estates, he violated his 
 promise, and ordered the whole family to be executed. The bodies, 
 after being beheaded, were placed on biers near the statue of St. 
 Paul, upon which four torches shed their light, and thousands came 
 to strew flowers and drop tears of sympathy while beholding the 
 lovely face and form of the martyr-maiden. In the Barberini palace 
 at Rome is the world-renowned portrait of this young victim, which 
 is said to have been painted by Guido Reni, while she was in prison. 
 There is a peculiarity about the head-dress which is rather trying to 
 an artist's power of color; consisting of heavy folds of white cloth 
 wound around the head, from which a few locks of yellowish brown 
 hair escape. The eyes are large, soft, and lustrous, and have a deep 
 expression of pensive sorrow, looking as if they had wept away all 
 their power of tears. The lips are delicate, full of sensibility, but 
 rigid from intense suffering. The outline of the face is fine, and the 
 features regular. Hillard compares her to a lily in the garden 
 crushed by the fall of an aerolite ; and he might have added, that 
 Clement, like another Ahab, took possession of the garden or the 
 estates of the Cenci, leaving the palace, which yet stands, to the 
 descendants. 
 
 While the Inquisition was engaged in destroying heretics, it also 
 adopted rigorous measures to suppress and annihilate all books which 
 savored of heresy. Paul IV framed a catalogue, A. D. 1559, and 
 made its observance universal. This Index was arranged in three 
 divisions. The first contained the names of the authors whose 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OF PROTESTANT BOOKS. 355 
 
 whole works were interdicted. The second embraced the names 
 of those authors, some of whose whole works only were specified and 
 forbidden. The third pointed out certain anonymous publications 
 which were unlawful to be read. To the whole was added a list 
 of more than sixty printers whose pubhcations were all condemned, 
 no matter in what language they were printed, or what subjects 
 they treated. This was the origin and foundation of the famous 
 Index Expiirgatorius, by which Rome has striven to reduce the 
 world to the darkness of the Middle Ages. The heretical books 
 were doomed to the flames, and severe penalties were decreed 
 against those who should neglect to give them up. The pro- 
 mulgation of this barbarous decree awakened a feeling of conster- 
 nation throughout Italy, especially in Tuscany, whose dukes of the 
 celebrated family of the Medici had been proud of the patronage 
 which they had afforded to literature and literary men. Cosmo, who 
 then occupied the ducal throne, pleaded for some restrictions upon 
 the operation of the decree, in order to prevent the devastation 
 which it threatened. Venice temporized, and Milan and Naples 
 referred the matter to their lord, Philip II, who was then in Flanders. 
 The work of destruction proceeded until all libraries, public and pri- 
 vate, felt the expurgating process. An immense number of books 
 were consumed, and the trade of the printers and booksellers was 
 ruined. The disastrous effects were experienced not only at Venice, 
 but also in the prominent cities of surrounding countries. Prohib- 
 ited books were buried under ground or walled up in houses, and in 
 tearing down old houses in Italy valuable books, condemned by the 
 Index, have been discovered. 
 
 Chapter XXL 
 
 ITALIAN RULERS AND POETS. 
 
 WHEN we study the history of the suppression and ultimate 
 destruction of the Italian Reformation in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury we shall discover that the effective cause was the establishment, 
 or, to speak more correctly, the reorganization, of the Inquisition in 
 that country. It appeared at the opportune moment for the papacy. 
 The dawn of the Protestant day shone upon the very throne of the 
 Roman pontiff. From the city of Ferrara in the north where Renee 
 
 24 
 
356 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 sheltered in her palace the disciples of the Gospel to the ancient Par- 
 thenope, which looks down from its fig and aloe covered heights upon 
 the calm waters of the bay of Naples, the light was dispelling the 
 darkness of centuries. Italy had become celebrated as the land of 
 the Renaissance, and it now seemed that greater distinction would 
 crown it as the land of Protestantism. In Florence, Padua, Bologna, 
 Lucca, Modena, Rome, and other cities of classic fame, some of the 
 most prominent families had embraced the Gospel. Men of rank in 
 the state and of eminence in the Church, noted individuals in the 
 republic of letters, orators, poets, and some noble ladies as distin- 
 guished for their talents as for their birth, were not ashamed to be 
 enrolled among the disciples of that faith which the Lutheran princes 
 had confessed at Augsburg. 
 
 An effort had been made at the Ratisbon Conference in January, 
 A. D. 1 541, to find a basis of conciliation between the Protestant and 
 Roman Catholic Churches. The papal authorities at Rome had pre- 
 pared the way for the attempted reconcilement of the two creeds by 
 infusing new blood into the College of Cardinals. Caspar Contarini, 
 a senator of Venice, and a behever in some of the Protestant doc- 
 trines, was made a cardinal. The chair of the doge almost within 
 his reach, he was persuaded to come to Rome and consecrate his great 
 talents and influence to the doubtful experiment of reforming the 
 papacy. By his advice several ecclesiastics, whose sentiments were 
 similar to his own were added to the Sacred College, among others 
 Sadolet, Gioberto Caraffa, and Reginald Pole. The deputies to the 
 Ratisbon Conference having returned to Rome, and reported the fail- 
 ure of all the efforts to frame a basis of agreement between the two 
 faiths, the pope, alarmed at the spread of Protestantism in Italy and 
 elsewhere, exclaimed, ''What, then, is to be done?" Cardinal 
 Caraffa and John Alvarez de Toledo, bishop of Burgos, to whom 
 the question was addressed, immediately answered, ''Re-establish the 
 Inquisition." The preceding chapters describe the terrible results of 
 that tribunal in the peninsula ; but, while the Italian Reformation had 
 been suppressed, it had many secret friends even as late as the close 
 of the sixteenth century. 
 
 The prominent events in the civil and literary history of Italy 
 during the sixteenth century deserve special consideration. When 
 Lorenzo de Medici died, A. D. 1492, his son, Pietro, succeeded him 
 in the government of Florence. In the following year (A. D. 1493), 
 the death of Pope Innocent VIII occurred, and Roderigo Borgia, who 
 bought his election of the Sacred College, became the pontiff inider 
 
FRENCH CONQ UES T OF ITAL Y. 357 
 
 the name of Alexander VI. He Avas a man of great ability, but 
 notoriously corrupt, constantly seeking to advance the ambitious 
 schemes of his children, of whom C^sar and Lucrezia Borgia are the 
 most celebrated. Pietro de Medici formed a close alliance with Fer- 
 dinand of Naples, and labored to defeat the plans of Ludovico Sforza, 
 duke of Milan, and the pope. Ludovico, whose nephew was the 
 son-in-law of Ferdinand, feared that the Neapolitan king would seek 
 to restore the dispossessed duke to the throne of Milan, and he made 
 an offensive and defensive alliance with the pope and the Venetians. 
 Distrusting both his allies, he invited Charles VIII, of France, to 
 enter Italy and take possession of the kingdom of Naples. The 
 French monarch, who had a pretended claim to the crown of Naples, 
 which he had inherited from the house of Anjou, accepted the offer 
 and invaded Italy with a powerful army in August, A. D. 1494. At 
 Pavia he visited the dispossessed duke of Milan, who, with his wife, 
 was kept by Ludovico in a castle. Soon afterward the duke died, poi- 
 soned, as it is generally believed, by his uncle, Ludovico, who, under 
 the protection of the French, assumed the title of Duke of Milan. 
 
 Charles secured the friendship of the Florentines, but they were 
 indignant because Pietro de Medici made an unfortunate treaty with 
 him, and they expelled their ruler from the city, to which he never 
 returned. The French monarch marched to Rome, dictated terms 
 to the people, received the homage of the pope, and then proceeded 
 to Naples, where he was cordially welcomed, the young king, Alfonso, 
 having fled to Sicily. But Charles afterwards met with reverses, his 
 allies abandoned him, and he retreated from Italy. Louis XII 
 mounted the French throne, A. D. 1499, and in August of that year 
 entered Italy, captured Milan, and drove Ludovico from the city. 
 He also became master of Genoa ; but the people, disliking his arbi- 
 trary rule, attempted to revolt, A. D. 1507, but were compelled to 
 submit. The Genoese republic, like the Venetian, avoided entan- 
 gling alliances with Italian politics. From its earliest history the 
 government was conducted entirely by the nobles in their own inter- 
 est; but a check was placed upon their power, A. D. 1039, ^y the 
 choice of a doge. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 
 Genoa and Venice were engaged in hostilities. The war which was 
 closed by the treaty of Turin, A. D. 1381, was disastrous to both; 
 but Venice recovered and became as powerful as ever, yet Genoa 
 never rallied. The republic was so weakened by internal dissensions 
 that, in order to save themselves from being absorbed by Milan, the 
 Genoese conferred the Signora on Charles VI, of France, A. D. 1396. 
 
3 5 8 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 After a series of battles extending through a period of fourteen 
 years, Louis XII gladly consented to terms of peace, A. D. 15 13. 
 He was removed by death two years afterwards, and Francis I became 
 his successor. The latter revived the French claim to the duchy of 
 Milan and prepared to maintain it. Venice and Genoa embraced the 
 French cause, but the pope, the Spanish viceroy, the Florentines, 
 and the Swiss were opposed to the 'French rule in Italy. Ferdinand, 
 of Spain, died A. D. 15 16, and was succeeded by his grandson, 
 Charles, Archduke of Austria. In Italy he was the rival of the king 
 of France, and the natural ally of the pope, and consequently a 
 treaty was negotiated between them, A. D. 1521, for the expulsion 
 of the French. The latter were soon driven out of^ the duchy of 
 Milan, and it is said that Leo X was so overcome with joy at the 
 news that he died. Venice now abandoned the French alliance and 
 joined the party of Charles ; and Genoa was captured from the French 
 b}^ the imperial army, A. D. 1522. Thus the power of Spain was 
 supreme throughout Italy. 
 
 On the 6th of May, A. D. 1527, the army of Charles, passing by 
 Florence, came to Rome, carried it by storm, and compelled Clem- 
 ent VII to take refuge in the Castle of St. Angelo. The Florentines, 
 taking advantage of the absence of the imperial arm^, drove out the 
 Medici, and, placing themselves under the protection of France, 
 restored their republican form of government. Genoa also threw off 
 the Spanish yoke, and, under the lead of Andrea Doria, declared for 
 the French. The Genoese fleet assisted that of France in blockading^ 
 Naples, and the city must have fallen had not Francis I seriously 
 offended the Dorias by his unjust treatment. Andrea Doria withdrew 
 his fleet, and Genoa abandoned the French alliance and went over to 
 Charles, whose power was now riveted upon Italy more firmly than 
 ever. He was crowned king of Italy and emperor by Pope Clement, 
 A. D. 1530. The double coronation occurred at Bologna, Instead of 
 at Milan and Rome. He was absolute in Italy, and in the truest 
 ^ sense king of that country; but becoming weary In the discharge of 
 official duties he abdicated the throne A. D. 1555, and was succeeded 
 in the empire by his brother, Ferdinand. 
 
 Thus, during the sixteenth century, Italy was the battle-field of 
 France and Spain, and her republics favored the one or the other of 
 these powerful rivals as their respective interests suggested. The 
 Roman hierarchy also displayed its usual sagacity In managing Its 
 affairs, the reigning pontiffs consulting the welfare of their relatives 
 and special friends in every act of diplomacy. All these contend- 
 
LUDOVICO ARIOSTO. 359 
 
 ing parties, however, were unanimous in their opposition to the 
 Italian Reformation, and succeeded in extinguishing for a time that 
 Hght which relieved while it shone the surrounding papal darkness. 
 But now Italy was tranquil ; all her states either belonged to or were 
 in amity and alliance with Spain. She had no disturbances to dread ; 
 her ancient spirit declined, and she sank into luxury, occupied in the 
 enjoyment of her arts and natural advantages. The name of Andrea 
 Doria is a bright star in her national sky. He sought neither power 
 nor reward for himself, and was never elected doge of Genoa, though 
 he was its defender. This noble patriot died, honored and lamented, 
 A. D. 1560, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. 
 
 The history of Italian art and literature in the sixteenth century 
 rivals the ages of Pericles and Augustus in the number of distin- 
 guished names, each of which might form an epoch. Leo X was the 
 most illustrious of a series of papal patrons, bestowing liberal rewards 
 not only on authors, but also on the celebrated artists, Raphael and 
 Michael Angelo. Cosmo de Medici commanded Varchi, a historian 
 of Florence, to write a faithful narrative of that republic, so that the 
 crimes, by which his own family attained the sovereignty, might not 
 be concealed. From the beginning of his reign, A. D. 1537, until 
 its close — a period of thirty-eight years — he encouraged the study 
 and practice of all the fine arts; and under his son, Francesco, the 
 learned institutions already in existence were advanced, and the 
 academy, Delia Qn^sca^ was founded. The court of the Estes in 
 F'errara entertained Ariosto and Tasso, and many of the other courts, 
 great and small, as those of the Gonzagas in Mantua, of the dukes 
 of Urbino, and of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, were hospitable 
 to scholars and poets, and numerous literary academies were 
 instituted. 
 
 Pre-eminent among the poets of this century was Ludovico Ariosto, 
 who was born on the 8th of September, A. D. 1474, at Reggio, of 
 which place his father was the governor. He was a man of the world 
 and of society, possessed wit and good sense, and during his busy 
 hfe manifested no poetic melancholy. His great poem, "Orlando 
 Furioso," occupied him eleven years. It consists of forty-six cantos 
 and contains more than thirty-eight thousand lines. Ariosto sang 
 the adventures and misfortunes of those paladins of Charlemagne, 
 who fought in the pass of Roncesvalles, and defended Europe against 
 the Moors. Orlando, the hero, becomes mad through love for An- 
 gelica, and hence the title of the poem. The loves and exploits of 
 Bradamante and Ruggiero, imaginary ancestors of the house of Este, 
 
36o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 form the basis of this romantic epic, and hence the author was called 
 the Ferrarese Homer. The courtesies and heroisms of knights, the 
 loves of ladies, and the madness of Orlando, give occasion for most 
 various and always natural pictures, all the passions being delineated 
 in appropriate colors, so that Tasso affirmed the excellence of Ariosto 
 not only in versatility of invention, but in propriety of treatment. 
 This great poem abounds in striking adventures, and shows that its 
 composer had been a diligent student of the fabliaux of trouveres, and 
 the lyrics of the Provencal poets. Ariosto, however, is allowed to 
 have possessed a fertility of fancy almost unequaled, and a rare orig- 
 inality. Many of his similes are unsurpassed in simplicity and grace. 
 Besides his masterpiece he wrote satires on the poUtics and the rulers 
 of his time, and his Negromante and Zanotti almost entitle him to be 
 called the father of Italian comedy. He died A. D. 1533. 
 
 Bernardo Tasso was the author of the Amadigi and other esteemed 
 poems; but when Torquato, his renowned son, began to write, the 
 father recognized in him a superior. The latter was born at Sorrento, 
 in the kingdom of Naples, A. D. 1544, and derives his celebrity 
 from his ** Jerusalem Delivered" {Geritsalemme Liberata), an epic poem 
 of great merit. In its form he strictly followed Virgil and Homer, 
 and, Hke the works of these illustrious authors, his production has 
 gained the palm of immortality. It imparts to the classical mythol- 
 ogy the marvels of enchantment and magic, and reflects the romantic 
 spirit of the times. Its superiority has caused the ''Rinaldo" and the 
 pastoral drama of *'Aminta" to fall into undeserved neglect. Some 
 of Tasso's sonnets also, and other minor pieces, possess a rare beauty; 
 and his prose letters and moral dialogues are remarkable for their 
 eloquence and philosophical tone. He was the most unhappy of 
 authors, and spent a life of great and varied suffering. His mind 
 was always seriously impaired, and he injured his health, which was 
 naturally delicate, by an incessant use of medicine. Among other 
 calamities, he was confined by the duke of Ferrara, who had been 
 his patron until he committed the imprudent act of embracing, in 
 the midst of a crowded assembly, the Princess Eleonora, the duke's 
 sister, with whom he had unfortunately fallen in love. For this 
 offense he was consigned to a hospital for a long time under the pre- 
 tense that he was insane. After mourning his disappointment in a 
 tedious solitude, rendered more afflictive by a lingering disease and 
 occasional lunacy, he was at last released. His merits as a poet now 
 attracted the attention of the nation, and just as he was on the point 
 of receiving the laurel crown from Pope Clement VIII, he suddenly 
 
NICCOLA MA CCHIA VELLL 36 1 
 
 expired, A. D. 1595, and that which was to have been, on the next 
 day, his coronation, proved to be the melancholy procession of his 
 funeral. 
 
 Among the Italian poets of less distinction were Rucellai, Valva- 
 gone, Trissino, Speroni, Anguillara, Martelli, Aretino, Molza, Casa, 
 Bentivogllo, Nelli, Filicaia, Andreini, Guarini, and Alamanni. Guarini 
 was the author of a pastoral poem which was considered almost equal 
 in merit to the "Aminta" of Tasso, and Alamanni excelled in satire. 
 The most eminent poetess of the century was Vittoria Colonna, 
 highly applauded by Ariosto. Berni was the head of a school of 
 burlesque poetry, called from him the Bernesca rhyme. The best of 
 his pieces, the ''Orlando Innamorato, " possesses grace, elegance, and 
 originality. At this period the Italians developed the dramatic art 
 by the union of music with poetry. The new and brilliant invention 
 of the opera belongs to the Florentines, the first having been the 
 ''Daphne," the words of which were by Rinuccini, and the music 
 by Peri, and which was represented, A. D. 1597. According to 
 Muratori, the modern opera began with the melodramas which Ora- 
 zlo Veccho, of Modena, produced ; and this new style became so 
 popular in Italy, that authors and musicians Immediately devoted 
 themselves to it, and it was soon Introduced into Germany and 
 France. Pietro Bembo, who died A. D. 1547, restored elegance and 
 correctness to the native language, and thus revived its popularity 
 among the learned. Annibale Caro, who was born A. D. 1507, and 
 died A. D. 1566, translated many of the classics into Italian, and 
 some critics regard his compositions superior In style even to those 
 of Petrarch. His versions are characterized by great originality, and 
 it has been said that Virgil himself would hesitate whether to give 
 the palm to his own work or to that of his translator. The original 
 writings of this author also received the highest commendation for 
 elegance. 
 
 An important place in Italian hterature Is held by political writ- 
 ers, foremost among whom was Niccola Macchlavelli, who was born, 
 A. D. 1469, at Florence. His father, Bernardo, was a lawyer, Avho 
 traced his ancestry to Hugo, marquis of Tuscany. Niccola received 
 instruction from the celebrated scholar, Marcello VIrgilio, and en- 
 gaged in public affairs at an early age. From a subordinate post In 
 the office of the chancellor of Florence, which he held at the critical 
 period of the republic, which succeeded the expulsion of the Medici, 
 A. D. 1493, he was promoted, A. D. 1498, to the place of secretary 
 'of the 'Ten,' which, in the Florentine constitution of that day, may 
 
362 ITAL V STI^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 be regarded as the ministry of foreign affairs. His duties were almost 
 entirely diplomatic : he was employed in a great variety of missions, 
 the instructions and correspondence connected with which may almost 
 be said to contain the secret political history of Italy during his time. 
 The culminating point of his reputation as a diplomatist was his 
 mission to the great master of treachery and dissimulation, Caesar 
 Borgia, duke of Valentino, A. D. 1502, of which an account is pre- 
 served in fifty-two letters, written during the course of the negotia- 
 tion, not surpassed in dramatic interest by any series of state papers 
 which ever appeared in the history of any nation. 
 
 In the complicated external relations which Italy had now assumed 
 MacchiaveUi is found in communication with all the great foreign 
 powers, as he had hitherto been with the Italian principalities. He 
 was sent, A. D. 1507, to the Emperor Maximilian, and undertook a 
 mission to France, A. D. 15 10. This was his third visit to that coun- 
 try in a diplomatic capacity, and its important bearing on the relation 
 of France with Italy may be seen by comparing the League of Cam- 
 bray with the subsequent alliance for the expulsion of the French 
 out of Italy. On the restoration of the Medici, A. D. 15 12, he was 
 involved in the downfall of his patron, the Gonfaloniere Soderini, and 
 was arrested on a charge of conspiracy, A. D. 15 13. When put to 
 the torture he disclaimed all knowledge of the alleged conspiracy; 
 and, though pardoned in virtue of the amnesty ordered by Leo X, 
 he was compelled for several years to withdraw from public life, dur- 
 ing which period he devoted himself to literature. It was not until 
 the death of Lorenzo de Medici, A. D. 15 19, that he began to recover 
 favor. He was commissioned in that year, by Leo X, to draAV up his 
 report on a reform of the state of Florence, and he resumed his old 
 official occupation A. D. 1521, being employed in various diplomatic 
 service to several of the states of Italy. On his return to Florence, 
 in May, A. D. 1527, he was taken ill, and having trusted to his own 
 treatment of himself, the malady assumed a very formidable charac- 
 ter, and in the end proved fatal, on the 22d of June, A. D. 1527, 
 just as he had "completed his fifty-eighth year. Some difference of 
 opinion has existed as to his religious belief, and as to his sentiments 
 during his last hours ; but it seems certain that he died trusting in 
 the promises of the Gospel, and consoled with the ordinary ministra- 
 tions of his Church. He was buried in the family vault in the church 
 of Santa Croce, at Florence; but not until A. D. 1787, and then 
 through the munificence of a foreigner, the Earl Cowper, was a 
 monument raised to his memory. 
 
MA CCHIA VELLI 'S LITERAR V WORKS. 363 
 
 The literary works of Macchiavelli are numerous, consisting of 
 ten volumes, issued at Florence, A. D. 1783. Besides his letters and 
 state papers of the highest interest, he was the author of comedies, 
 of an essay on the Italian language, and of several minor composi- 
 tions. His historical writings comprise a discourse on Livy, histories 
 of Florence, extending from A. D. 12 15 to A. D. 1492, with a frag- 
 mentary continuation to A. D. 1499; a history of the affairs of Lucca, 
 and a biography of Castruccio Castracani, which was not completed. 
 He also wrote several books on the art of war, which have been much 
 admired by the learned in military science. But the great source of 
 his reputation for good, or for evil, is the celebrated book, De Princi- 
 patibus, or, as it has since been called, Del Principe, written, A. D. 
 15 14, and pubHshed, A. D. 1532. The main question discussed in 
 this famous book is, ''How can principalities be governed and main- 
 tained?" In resolving this question, various cases are supposed, for 
 each of which appropriate rules, principles, and suggestions are laid 
 down, and all are illustrated both by contemporary examples and 
 by a wealth of historical learning which it is difficult to overestimate. 
 The seventh chapter, in which he details, with evident admiration, the 
 system of Caesar Borgia, and the eighteenth, in which he discusses 
 the duty of princes as to the obligation of keeping faith, are those 
 which, no doubt, have contributed to make the name of the author 
 the symbol of every thing that is odious. 
 
 Conflicting opinions, however, are entertained concerning the 
 design of the Florentine statesman and diplomatist in writing "The 
 Prince." Some maintain the position that the researches of modern 
 Italian scholars, and a better consideration of the political state of 
 Italy in the days of Macchiavelli, have at length vindicated in some 
 measure his name, and placed him in a different light. The advo- 
 cates of this theory assert that the work is a calm and forcible exposi- 
 tion of the means by which tyranny may be established and sustained ; 
 and if it be a guide to princes desiring to become despotic, it also 
 weakens despotism by exposing its most subtle secrets. .These de- 
 fenders of Macchiavelli refer, to the fact that he was an ardent friend 
 of liberty, and that, consequently, // Principe was intended to be a 
 satire upon absolutism, thereby promoting the cause of freedom. 
 This theory, that the design of the work was to make arbitrary power 
 odious and contemptible, is rejected by the old school of critics, who 
 declare that the broad scheme, revealed ini every chapter, though 
 more distinct in the seventh and eighteenth, is that, for the establish- 
 ment and maintenance of authority, all means may be resorted to, 
 
364 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and that the worst and most treacherous acts of the ruler, however 
 unlawful in themselves, are justified by the wickedness and treachery 
 of the governed. Not only the general tone of the book is referred 
 to as a proof of its aim, but also a letter written A. D. 15 13, and only 
 discovered in 1 810, by Macchiavelli to his friend Vettori, from which 
 it appears that the author wrote "The Prince" to gratify the Medici, 
 for whose private perusal it was designed, and not for publication. 
 Whichever theory is accepted, it can not be denied that this profound 
 and philosophical statesman desired the liberation of Italy from foreign 
 rule, and believing that strong native governments, even though 
 absolute, must be endured, he favored that of the Medici for Flor- 
 ence, not hesitating to advocate the use of all means for its security 
 and consolidation. *'The Prince" called forth many criticisms and 
 rejoinders, the most remarkable being from the pen of Frederick the 
 Great, A. D. 1740. This manual of government was constantly in 
 the hands of such sovereigns as Charles V and Sixtus V, and the 
 author was recognized as a master in the art of diplomacy. During 
 his life he was employed in twenty-three foreign embassies. He was 
 also a dramatist, and excelled as a writer, his style being marked 
 by simplicity, strength, thought, and a rare but felicitous use of 
 ornament. 
 
 Among other political writers were Botero and Giannotti ; but 
 nearer to Macchiavelli in merit was Paruta, who was born A. D. 
 1540, and died A. D. 1598. Paolo Giovio wrote in Latin a partisan 
 history of his own time, and general histories were written by Giam- 
 bullari and Adriani. The historians of Venice were Bembo, Paruta, 
 and Contarini ; of Genoa Giustiniani, Bonfadio, and Foglietta ; of Fer- 
 rara, Ciuzio, and Falletti ; of Florence, Nardi, Varchi, Nerli, Segni, 
 Capponi, and Scipione Ammirato; and of Naples, Costanzo, Porzio, 
 and Summonte. Vasari was the most prominent of the historians 
 of art, and recorded the lives of the most excellent painters, 
 sculptors, and architects of Italy. 
 
DECLINE OF THE VAUDOIS CHURCH. 365 
 
 Chapter XXIL 
 
 SYNOD IN THE WALDENSIAN VALLEYS. 
 
 THE promise made to the Waldenses by the duke of Savoy, 
 A. D. 1489, that they should not again be persecuted, was, no 
 doubt, sincere, but he could not altogether protect them from the 
 secret plottings of the priesthood, though he had the power to pre- 
 vent the invasion of their ** Valleys" by such armies as that which 
 Cataneo commanded. While unmolested by organized bands of cru- 
 saders, they were assailed by the papal missionary and inquisitor, 
 who proselyted some and kidnaped others. Many outwardly con- 
 formed to the Romish Church rather than be annoyed by their 
 enemies. Monastier says, '^In order to be shielded from all inter- 
 ruption in their journeys on business, they obtained from the priests, 
 who were settled in the valleys, certificates or testimonials of their 
 being papists." Before obtaining this credential the applicant was 
 required to show that he had attended the Romish chapel, practiced 
 confession, received the mass, and had his children baptized by the 
 priest. It is said that to atone for this wicked dissimulation they 
 muttered to themselves, when entering the Romish temples, ''Cave 
 of robbers, may God confound thee !" While professing to be Ro- 
 manists they continued to attend the Waldensian services, and to 
 submit to the censures of the^ Vaudois pastors. It was evident that 
 both the members who practiced such deception and the Church 
 that permitted it had greatly declined in piety. The old vine, 
 planted in apostolic days, and so long covered with the shadow of 
 the mountains, appeared to be dying. 
 
 But He who had planted it "looked down from heaven and 
 visited it." The Reformation now dawned upon Europe. The river 
 of the "Water of Life," which for twelve centuries seemed to flow 
 only through the Alpine valleys, began to spread through Christen- 
 dom, and the old and now declining Vaudois Church drank anew of 
 the celestial stream that imparted new life and covered the branches 
 of this ancient vine with blossoms and fruit. The Reformation had 
 already moved most of the countries of Europe to their depths before 
 the inhabitants of these secluded mountains had heard of the won- 
 derful event. When the intelligence reached them, they "were as men 
 
366 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 who dreamed," and became anxious to have a confirmation of the 
 glorious news. In order to ascertain to what extent the nations of 
 Europe had cast off the yoke of Rome the Waldenses selected pastor 
 Martin, of the valley of Lucerna, to go forth on an investigating 
 tour. In A. D. 1526 he returned with the astonishing information 
 that the light of apostolic Christianity was shining on Germany, 
 Switzerland, and France, and that multitudes were every day openly 
 professing the same doctrines that the Waldenses had preached from 
 the earliest centuries of the Christian era. In attestation of his state- 
 ment he showed books that he had brought from Germany, contain- 
 ing the views of the reformers. 
 
 The remnant of the Vaudois on the north of the Alps were also 
 surprised and gladdened by this great spiritual revolution, and sent 
 forth men to collect all the facts concerning it. In A. D. 1530, 
 George Morel, of Merindol, and Pierre Masson, of Burgundy, were 
 commissioned by the Churches of Provence and Dauphine to visit 
 the reformers of Switzerland and Germany, and learn what they could 
 respecting their doctrine and manner of life. These deputies assem- 
 bled in conference with the members of the Protestant Churches of 
 Berne, Morat, and Neuchatel, and also held interviews with Berthold 
 Haller and William Farel. They went on to Basle, and presented to 
 CEcolampadius, in October, A. D. 1530, a document in Latin, which 
 contained a full account of their ecclesiastical discipline, doctrine, 
 worship, and manners. CEcolampadius was urged to express his 
 opinion, favorable or otherwise, relative to the doctrine and order 
 of the Vaudois Church, and to suggest any modifications he deemed 
 necessary. This submission of the elder Church to the younger was 
 a beautiful illustration of the humility that characterized the Vaudois. 
 
 The reformer of Basle experienced unspeakable joy from the visit 
 of these two pastors of this primitive Church. Their testimony was 
 to him the voice of the ancient and apostolic Church addressing the 
 Christians of the sixteenth century, and extending to them a cordial 
 welcome within the gates of the City of God. To him it was a 
 miracle that this 'Mittle flock had been for ages in the fires, but was 
 not consumed." This was encouraging to those who were about to 
 suffer persecutions not less terrific. **We render thanks," said 
 CEcolampadius, in his letter of the 13th of October, A. D. 1530, to 
 the Churches of Provence, ''to our most gracious Father, that he 
 has called you into such marvelous light during the ages in which 
 such thick darkness has covered almost the whole world under the 
 empire of Antichrist. We love you as brethren." But his affection 
 
A MEMORABLE INTERVIEW. 367 
 
 for them did not blind him to their spiritual declension, nor deter 
 him from giving such admonitions as he regarded necessary. ' * As 
 we approve of many things among you," he wrote, "so there are 
 several which we wish to see amended. We are informed that the 
 fear of persecution has caused you to dissemble and to conceal your 
 faith. . . . There is no concord between Christ and Belial. You 
 commune with unbelievers ; you take part in their abominable masses, 
 in which the death and passion of Christ are blasphemed. 
 I know your weakness ; but it becomes those who have been re- 
 deemed by the blood of Christ to be more courageous. It is better 
 for us to die than to be overcome by temptation." Thus CEcolam- 
 padius, speaking in the name of the Church of the Reformation, 
 repaid the Church of the Alps for the services she had rendered to 
 the world in former ages. By this sharp but brotherly rebuke he 
 endeavored to restore to her the purity and glory which she had lost. 
 
 The deputies, after their interview with CEcolampadius, went to 
 Strasburg, and made a similar statement of their faith to Bucer, 
 Capito, and other reformers of that city, eliciting similar congratula- 
 tions and counsels. The Church of the Reformation, in the clear 
 light of her morning, beheld many things which had become dim in 
 the evening of the Vaudois Church, and the former gladly imparted 
 to her elder sister the knowledge obtained from wider observation. 
 If the Protestants of the sixteenth century recognized the voice of 
 apostolic Christianity speaking in the Waldenses, the latter heard the 
 voice of the Bible — or, rather, of God himself — speaking in the re- 
 formers, and therefore modestly received their reproofs. This was, 
 indeed, an illustration of the Savior's words, **The last shall be 
 first." 
 
 The meeting of the representatives of these two Churches was 
 truly a memorable occasion. Each was a miracle to the other. The 
 Church of the sixteenth century beheld with wonder the preservation 
 of the Vaudois Church for ages amid the fires of persecution ; and 
 the resurrection of the former was a yet greater mystery to the 
 Church of the first century. By comparing their respective creeds 
 they were astonished to find them one. When blended, the tones 
 of both instruments made perfect harmony, and sent forth the same 
 Gospel music. In tracing the streams of evidence, to ascertain the 
 sources of their knowledge, they discovered that both issued from 
 the same fountain — the Word of God. They were not two Churches, 
 but one, the elder and younger members of the same glorious fam- 
 ily, the children of the same Father. As Dr. Wylie eloquently 
 
368 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 remarks, ''What a magnificent monument of the true antiquity and 
 genuine cathohcity of Protestantism!" 
 
 Of the two Provence deputies who visited the reformers of Switz- 
 land, only one returned. While proceeding homeward they came to 
 Dijon, and there, from some cause or other, Pierre Masson Avas sus- 
 pected, thrown into prison, condemned, and finally burned. His 
 fellow-deputy, George Morel, was not disturbed, but, conveying the 
 answers of the reformers, especially the letters of QEcolampadius, 
 continued on his journey, and arrived in safety in Provence. The 
 documents he brought were fully discussed, their contents causing 
 these two ancient Churches mingled joy and sorrow — the former, 
 however, being in the ascendancy. The confessors of the Alps con- 
 sidered themselves alone in the world ; every successive century be- 
 held a diminution of their numbers, and they were becoming less 
 determined ; their ancient enemy, on the other hand, gradually 
 extended her dominion and strengthened her power. Indeed, the 
 Waldenses imagined that soon the public profession of the Gospel 
 Avould cease. They were, therefore, astonished to hear that in many 
 lands there Avas a numerous body of Christians, distinguished for 
 their knowledge, faith, and courage. The news that at that moment 
 a new army of Christian soldiers were in the field to maintain the 
 old battle literally astounded them ; but the intelligence solved a 
 problem belonging to the past. Their fathers had shed their blood, 
 and not until now were its fruits visible. While they had fought 
 the battles of truth, the honor of the victory was reserved for those 
 combatants who more recently appeared upon the scene of action. 
 The Waldenses painfully realized that by their departure from the 
 "old paths" they had forfeited this reward; hence the regret that 
 mingled with their joy. 
 
 The communications which their deputies brought back from the 
 Swiss and German Reformers were carefully considered, and especially 
 the reforms which were urged upon them. The great majority of the 
 Vaudois barbes favored the adoption of the measures proposed by the 
 Churches of the Protestant faith, but a small minority opposed it be- 
 cause they, as old disciples, would not permit dictation from the 
 new, or because they themselves were secretly inclined to the Romish 
 superstitions. They again sought advice from the Reformers, and 
 after repeated interviews and expressions of opinions, it was finally 
 decided to convene a synod in the * 'Valleys," at which all the ques- 
 tions between the two churches might be debated, and the future 
 relations of each determined. It would be necessary for the Church 
 
CHAMFORANS. 369 
 
 of the Alps to show that great and radical differences in doctrine ex- 
 isted between herself and the newly organized Church before she could 
 justify herself in remaining independent of it, as she was previous to 
 the Reformation. If no such differences existed, she dared not con- 
 tinue apart but must unite with the others. 
 
 It was resolved that the approaching synod should possess a truly 
 oecumenical character — a general assembly of all the children of the 
 Protestant faith. A cordial invitation was extended, and was gen- 
 erally responded to. There were in the synod representatives of all 
 the Waldensian Churches in the bosom of the Alps. The Alblgen- 
 sian communities on the north of the chain and the Vaudois Churches 
 in Calabria sent deputies to it. The Churches of French Switzerland 
 appointed William Farel and Anthony Saunier to attend it. Dele- 
 gates from more distant lands, such as Bohemia, came to deliberate 
 and vote in this famous convention. It assembled on the 12th of 
 October, A. D. 1552, two years after the adoption of the Augsburg 
 Confession, which marked the culmination of the German Reforma- 
 tion, and one year after the death of Zwingle on the field of Cappel. 
 In France the Reformation was illustrating the power of its faith by 
 the heroic deaths of its children. Calvin had already enlisted under 
 the Protestant banner ; and the princes of the Schmalkald league were 
 standing at bay in the presence of Charles V. This assembly con- 
 vened at a critical yet glorious era in the history of Protestantism. It 
 met at the town of Chamforans, in the heart of the Valley of An- 
 grogna, which occupied a strong and beautiful position. The sum- 
 mits of Roccomaneot and La Serre stood as sentinels before it, and 
 the approach to it was flanked by defiles, which alternately widen and 
 contract, but are every-where overhung by great rocks and mighty 
 chestnut trees, behind and above which rise the taller peaks, some 
 of them snow-clad. The plateau on which the town stood is located 
 a short distance beyond La Serre and overlooks the grassy bottom 
 of the valley, which is watered by a crystal torrent, and dotted with 
 numerous chalets. This extends about two miles beyond, and is 
 then shut in by the steep, naked precipices of the Barricade, which, 
 stretching from side to side of Angrogna, leaves only the long dark 
 chasm we have already described as the pathway to the Pra del Tor, 
 whose majestic mountains here burst upon the vision of the traveler, 
 suggesting the idea that he is approaching some city of celestial mag- 
 nificence. The town of Chamforans has long since passed away, its 
 only representative at this day being a solitary farm-house. 
 
 The synod was in session six consecutive days. The assembled 
 
370 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 barhes and elders freely discussed the various points raised in the 
 documents which were sent to them by the Protestant Churches, and 
 the result of their deliberations was embodied in a "Short Confession 
 of Faith," which Monastier says "may be considered as a supple- 
 ment to the ancient Confession of Faith of the year 1120, which it 
 does not contradict in any point." It is entitled, says Leger, "A 
 Brief Confession of Faith made by the Pastors and Heads of Fami- 
 lies of the Valleys of Piedmont;" and "is preserved," he adds, 
 "with other documents in the hbrary of the University of Cam- 
 bridge." It consists of seventeen articles, the chief of which are the 
 moral inability of man ; election to eternal life ; the will of God, as 
 made known in the Bible, the only rule of duty ; and the doctrine of 
 two sacraments only, baptism and the Lord's-supper. 
 
 After the adjournment of the synod, the primitive spirit of the 
 Waldenses revived. The fear of persecution, which had caused them 
 to deny their faith, was now removed, and they began to confess Christ 
 publicly instead of practicing cowardly concealments. Henceforward 
 they were never seen at mass or in the popish churches, refusing to 
 recognize the priests of Rome as ministers of Christ, and under no 
 circumstances would they receive any spiritual benefit or service at 
 their hands. Indeed, the lamp of truth, which had almost expired, 
 commenced to burn with its former brightness, and the radiance 
 infused a new life into the Vaudois, who, without delay, entered upon 
 the work of rebuilding their churches. For fifty years previous there 
 was really no public worship in their "Valleys." The inquisitor had 
 razed their churches, and they feared to rebuild them, lest another 
 storm of violence and blood should sweep them away. Often they 
 gathered in a cave, and in more peaceful times converted the house 
 of their barbe or of some of their chief men into a place of meeting. 
 Then, again, when the weather was pleasant, they would assemble on 
 the mountain-side, under the great boughs of their ancestral trees. 
 But they dared not rebuild their old sanctuaries. In the language of 
 of the ancient Jews they could exclaim, "The holy and beautiful 
 house in which our fathers praised thee is burned with fire, and all 
 our pleasant things are laid waste." The counsels and fellowship of 
 their Protestant brethren encouraged them to erect churches and 
 restore the worship of God. At Lorenzo, close to the place where 
 the synod met, the first of these post-Reformation edifices was built; 
 others speedily followed in other valleys; pastors were multiplied; 
 crowds flocked to their preaching, and many came from the plains of 
 Piedmont, and from remote parts of their valleys. 
 
VISITORS FR OM S WITZERLAND. 3 7 1 
 
 Another indication that a vigorous hfe was animating the old 
 Church was its translation of the Bible into the French language. 
 The synod adopted a resolution to translate and print both the Old 
 and New Testaments, and, as the work was entirely performed by the 
 Vaudois, it was properly regarded as their gift to the Churches of 
 the Reformation. It was truly a most appropriate and noble gift. 
 They had placed in the hands of the reformers that Book which their 
 fathers had received from the early Church, and preserved with their 
 blood, and which their bai%es had industriously transcribed and circu- 
 lated. They, by this generous act, honored the Protestants of Ger- 
 many and France in constituting them, along with themselves, the 
 custodians of this, the ark of the world's hopes. Robert Olivetan, a 
 near relative of Calvin, was requested to undertake the translation; and 
 he executed it, receiving assistance, as many believe, from his great 
 kinsman. It was printed in folio, in black letter, at Neuchatel, 
 A. D. 1535, by Pierre de Wingle, commonly called Picard. The 
 Waldenses defrayed the entire expense, and collected for this 
 object fifteen hundred crowns of gold, a large sum for that poor 
 people. Thus at the beginning of this new era in her history, 
 the Vaudois Church proclaimed that the Word of God was her only 
 foundation. 
 
 As vv^e have previously stated, the Churches of French Switzer- 
 land sent Farel and Saunier as a commission to the synod. Their 
 zeal and courage were exhibited in making such a pilgrimage of toil 
 and peril. It is difficult for one who crosses the Alps so easily at 
 the present time to conceive the great labor and danger that attended 
 the journey then. Fearing pursuit, the deputies could not travel the 
 ordinary paths across the mountains, but were compelled to follow 
 those but little known, which often led by the edge of precipices and 
 abysses, up steep and dangerous ascents, and across fields of frozeni 
 snow. They were exposed to death from the blinding drifts and tem- 
 pests of the mountains, enemies more to be dreaded than Romish pur- 
 suers. In the providence of God they were preserved and reached 
 the ** Valleys" in safety, contributing by their presence and advice to- 
 the dignity and influence of this, the first great ecclesiastical assembly 
 of modern times. Three years thereafter a Vaudois, Jean Peyrel, of 
 Angrogna, being cast into prison, deposed on his trial that he had 
 *'kept guard for the ministers who taught the good law, who were 
 assembled in the town of Chamforans, in the center of Angrogna ;. 
 and that, amongst others present, there was one called Farel, who- 
 
 had a red beard and a beautiful white horse; and two others accom-" 
 
 25 
 
372 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 panied him, one of whom had a horse almost black, and the other 
 was very tall and rather lame." 
 
 For twenty-eight years the Church of the Alps had peace and 
 great spiritual prosperity. In all her "Valleys" sanctuaries arose; 
 and, not having a sufficient number of pastors and teachers, she 
 enlisted in her service men of learning and zeal, some of whom were 
 from foreign lands. Her faith was embraced by individuals and fam- 
 ilies in the cities on the plain of Piedmont; and her worship was 
 attended by constantly increasing crowds. In fact, this venerable 
 Church had a second youth. George Morel states in his Memoirs, 
 that, at this time, there were more than eight hundred thousand per- 
 sons of the religion of the Vaudois. He includes, of course, in this 
 estimate the Vaudois in the '* Valleys," on the plain of Piedmont, 
 in Naples and Calabria, in the south of France, and in the countries 
 of Germany. This ancient body of believers retrimmed its lamp, 
 and it burned with a brightness that justified its time-honored motto: 
 **A light shining in darkness." The darkness was not then so dense 
 as it had been, because the hours of morning were approaching. The 
 Vaudois were not the only source of light to Christendom at that 
 period. Their Church was one of a constellation of lights which 
 already irradiated the skies of Europe with an effulgence which no 
 former age had known. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 THE WALDENSIAN REMONSTRANCES. 
 
 THE king of France made a demand upon the duke of Savoy, 
 Charles III, that he would permit him to march an army 
 through his territories. He refused to comply; but Francis I deter- 
 mined to have a road into Italy. Accordingly he took possession of 
 Piedmont by force, and it, together with the Waldensian Valleys, for 
 twenty-three years, was held by him. The Waldenses found the 
 sway of Francis I more tolerant than that of their own princes, for, 
 though he hated heretics, the necessities of his policy often compelled 
 him to court them, and, therefore, while he was burning Lutherans 
 in Paris, he spared them in the ''Valleys." But the general peace 
 of Chateau Cambresis, April 3, A. D. 1559, restored Piedmont, with 
 the exception of Turin, to its former rulers of the House of Savoy. 
 
PERSECUTION A T CARIGNANO. 373 
 
 Charles III had been succeeded, A. D. 1553, by Emmanuel Philibert. 
 The latter was a prince of superior talents and humane disposition, 
 and the Vaudois cherished the hope that he would permit them to 
 live in peace, and to worship as their fathers had done. Their expec- 
 tations were greatly strengthened by the fact that Philibert had mar- 
 ried a sister of the king of France, Henry II, who had been carefully 
 instructed in the Protestant faith by her illustrious relations, Margaret, 
 Queen of Navarre, and Renee, of France, daughter of Louis XII. 
 But unfortunately the treaty, which restored Emmanuel Philibert to 
 the throne of his ancestors, contained a clause binding the contract- 
 ing parties to extinguish heresy. 
 
 The king, moved by the counsels of his Protestant queen, had 
 resolved to treat his subjects, the Vaudois, humanely; but he allowed 
 himself to be ruled by men of stronger wills and more determined 
 purposes. He was reminded of the terms of the agreement in the 
 treaty of peace by the inquisitors of his kingdom, the nuncio of the 
 pope, and the embassadors of Spain and France, who united in 
 urging upon him the purgation of his dominions. The unhappy 
 monarch, unable to resist these powerful appeals, issued an edict on 
 the 15th of February, A. D. 1560, forbidding his subjects hearing 
 the Protestant preachers in the valley of Lucerna or anywhere else, 
 under a penalty of a fine of one hundred dollars of gold for the first 
 offense, and of the galleys for life for the second. This proclamation 
 had reference principally to the Protestants on the plain of Piedmont, 
 who in crowds visited the ** Valleys" to attend Protestant services. 
 In a short time, however, a severer edict followed, commanding 
 attendance at mass under penalty of death. To enforce this cruel 
 decree a commission was given to a prince of the blood, Philip of 
 Savoy, count de Raconis, and with him were associated George Costa, 
 count de la Trinita, and Thomas Jacomel, the inquisitor-general, 
 who was both cruel in disposition and licentious in manners. Coun- 
 cilor Corbis was added to the commission, but, after beholding a 
 few initial scenes of barbarity and horror, he concluded that he was 
 not qualified for such bloody work and accordingly resigned. 
 
 The tempest of persecution first discharged its fury upon the town 
 called Carignano, which sweetly reposes on one of the spurs of the 
 Apennines, about twenty miles to the west of Turin. It contained 
 many Protestants, some of whom occupied high social positions. 
 The wealthiest were selected and dragged to the burning pile in order 
 to terrify the rest. The result was satisfactory to the Inquisition. 
 The professors of the Protestant faith in Carignano were scattered; 
 
374 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 some fled to Turin, then under the domination of France, some to 
 other places, and some, alas! frightened by the tempest in front, 
 turned back and sought refuge in the darkness behind them. While 
 they desired "the better country," yet they could not enter in at the 
 cost of exile and death. After desolating Carignano, the storm of 
 human passion advanced across the plain of Piedmont towards those 
 great mountains, which were the ancient fortress of the truth, leaving 
 in its track through the villages and country communes, terror, pil- 
 lage, and blood. It moved on like one of those thunder-clouds 
 which the traveler on the Alps may often behold beneath him, trav- 
 ersing the same plain, and shooting its lightnings earthwards as it 
 advances. This cloud of wrath descended upon every Vaudois con- 
 gregation until, at last, it reached the foot of the Waldensian Alps, 
 at the entrance of the "Valleys," within whose mighty natural bul- 
 warks crowds of fugitives from the towns and villages on the plains 
 have already found an asylum. Before the appearance of the crusaders 
 at the entrance of the "Valleys," rumors of the arrests, confiscations, 
 cruel tortures, and horrible deaths which had befallen the Churches 
 at the foot of the mountains came to the Vaudois in the Alps. As 
 a calamity was impending over them, the pastors and prominent lay- 
 men assembled to deliberate on the steps to be taken. After fasting 
 and humbling themselves before God they sought, by earnest prayer, 
 the direction of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 These noble people in the bosom of the Alps resolved to approach 
 the throne of their prince, and by humble petition and remonstrance 
 present the justice of their cause. Their first claim was to be heard 
 before being condemned — a right always granted to the accused, 
 however criminal. They next solemnly denied the principal charge 
 made against them, that of renouncing the true faith and of adopting 
 doctrines contrary to the Bible and the early ages of the Church. 
 They declared that their faith was that Avhich Christ himself had 
 taught; which the apostles, following their Great Master, had 
 preached ; which the Fathers had vindicated with their pens and the 
 martyrs with their blood, and which the first four councils had rat- 
 ified and proclaimed to be the faith of the Christian world. They 
 appealed to the Bible and all antiquity as witnesses to the fact that 
 they had not abandoned the "old paths," but, from father to son, 
 had continued for fifteen centuries to walk therein. They affirmed 
 that no religious novelties lurked in their mountains; that they had 
 not bowed the knee to strange gods ; and that, if they were heretics, 
 so, too, were the first four councils, and so, too, the apostles them- 
 
STATEMENT OF THE VAUDOIS FAITH. 375 
 
 selves. If they had erred, they beHeved that they were in the com- 
 pany of the confessors and martyrs of the early ages. They also 
 expressed a willingness to appeal their cause at any moment to a 
 general council, provided it would decide the question by the Bible, 
 which was the only infallible standard. If on this evidence they 
 should be convicted of even one heresy, they declared their readiness 
 to surrender it. As this was the main point of their indictment, they 
 asked what more they could promise. Show us, they said, what the 
 errors are which you demand us to renounce under the penalty of 
 death, and we will comply without any delay. The following elo- 
 quent statement of their orthodoxy appears in Leger's account of 
 the Vaudois Church at that time: ''First, we do protest before the 
 Almighty and all-just God, before whose tribunal we must all one 
 day appear, that we intend to live and die in the holy faith, piety, 
 and religion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we do abhor all 
 heresies that have been and are condemned by the Word of God. 
 We do embrace the most holy doctrine of the prophets and apostles, 
 as likewise of the Nicene and Athanasian creeds ; we do subscribe to 
 the four councils, and to all the ancient Fathers, in all such things 
 as are not repugnant to the analogy of faith." 
 
 The Vaudois in their remonstrance also assured the prince that 
 their duty to God did not weaken their allegiance to him. Combin- 
 ing loyalty and piety, they stood before his throne among the most 
 faithful and devoted of his subjects. They asked him when they 
 had ever plotted treason or opposed lawful authority? They informed 
 him that the more they feared God the more they honored him, 
 their earthly king, to whom belonged their services, their substance, 
 and, in a certain sense, their life. While they were ready to employ 
 all these in defending the prerogative of their sovereign, yet one 
 thing they could not surrender — their conscience. Concerning their 
 Roman Catholic fellow-subjects of Piedmont, they appealed to the 
 prince whether they had not lived peaceably with them. They de- 
 sired to know whom they had ever injured, robbed^ or defrauded, 
 and whether they had not been kind, courteous, and honest. If their 
 hills had been as fertile as the naturally richer plains at their feet, 
 and, if their mountain-homes had been filled with an abundance of 
 corn, oil, and wine, not always found in Piedmontese dwellings, they 
 suggested that this, owing to their superior industry, frugality, and 
 skill should not expose them to persecution. After directing the 
 attention of the prince to the fact that no marauding expedition had 
 ever descended from their hills to take the goods of their neighbors. 
 
376 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 or to inflict retaliation for the many murders and robberies which 
 they had not power to prevent, they asked why efforts were made 
 to exterminate them, as if they were a horde of evil-doers and the 
 terror of the community in which they lived. In conclusion, they 
 desired to know why their sovereign should unsheathe the sword 
 against those who had never disturbed his kingdom, nor plotted 
 against his government, but who, on the contrary, had ever striven 
 to maintain the authority of his law and the honor of his throne. ' ' It 
 is certain, most serene prince," said they, ''that the Word of God 
 will not perish, but will abide forever. If, then, our rehgion is the 
 pure Word of God, as we are persuaded it is, and not a human 
 invention, no human power will be able to abolish it." 
 
 There never was a more solemn, just, and respectful remonstrance 
 presented to any throne. They were about to suffer a great wrong, 
 yet the Vaudois did not utter an angry word or a single accusation 
 against their enemies. But this solemn protest and triumphant vin- 
 dication accomplished nothing except to make more manifest the 
 gross injustice and flagrant wrong of the house of Savoy. The more 
 completely and conclusively the Vaudois vindicated their true posi- 
 tion the more the Romish Church appeared condemned ; but never- 
 theless it determined the more resolutely to destroy the former. The 
 remonstrance, which was addressed to *' The Serene and most Mighty 
 Prince, Philibert Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, our 
 most Gracious Lord," was accompanied by two others, one to the 
 queen, and one to the council. The one to the queen was differently 
 conceived from that to the prince. They offered no apology for their 
 faith, because the queen herself accepted it. In a few touching 
 terms they alluded to the sufferings which they had already expe- 
 rienced, and to the yet greater that were impending. This was suffi- 
 cient, they knew, to awaken all her sympathies, and secure her as 
 their advocate with the king, after the example of Esther, and other 
 noble women of former times, who did not use their lofty station to 
 promote their own happiness and honor, but to protect the persecuted 
 followers of the truth. In their address to the queen, the Vaudois 
 call it ''The petition of her poor and humble subjects, the inhabitants 
 of the valleys of Lucerna and Angrogna and Perosa and San Mar- 
 tino, and all those of the plain who call purely upon the name of the 
 Lord Jesus." 
 
 The remonstrance presented to the council was written in terms 
 more plain and direct, yet still respectful. The counselors of the king 
 were warned against extreme measures, and notified that they would 
 
THE VAUDO IS MESSENGER. 377 
 
 have to answer for every drop of innocent blood they should spill, be- 
 ing reminded of the fact that the blood of Abel, though only that of 
 one man, cried with a voice so loud that God heard it in heaven, and 
 came down to reckon with the murderer. If this be true, declared 
 the petitions, how much mightier would be the cry that would arise 
 from the blood of a whole nation, and how much more terrible the 
 vengeance with which it would be visited ! In a word, they stated 
 to the council, that what they asked was not an unknown privilege 
 in Piedmont, nor would they be the first or the only persons who 
 had enjoyed that indulgence, if it should be extended to them. The 
 Jew and the Saracen lived unmolested in their cities, the former 
 building his synagogue, and the latter reading his Koran without 
 annoyance or restraint. They appealed to the council to say whether 
 the faith of the Bible should be placed on the same level in this 
 respect with that of the Crescent, and whether the descendants of 
 the men who for generations had been the subjects of the house 
 of Savoy, and who had enriched the kingdom with their virtues and 
 defended it with their blood, should be treated with the same hu- 
 manity that was shown to the alien and the unbeliever. 
 
 nr 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 THE PAPAL CRUSADE IN THE VALLEYS. 
 
 'HE confessors of the Alps resolved to send these petitions with- 
 X out delay to the proper quarter, and to wait for an answer with 
 eyes lifted up to heaven ! If it should be one of peace, they would 
 hail it with gratitude to God and to their prince. If the answer 
 should be otherwise, they were prepared to accept that alternative, 
 too, and yield themselves as a sacrifice for the truth. But who among 
 them would undertake this dangerous service of taking the remon- 
 strance to the duke ? M. Gilles, pastor of Bricherasio, a devoted and 
 courageous man, volunteered to perform the duty. Another person 
 accompanied him; but, unwilling to endure the insults he met with, 
 he abandoned the mission, and Gilles pursued his journey alone. At 
 that time the duke resided at Nice, for Turin, his capital, was still in 
 the hands of the French, and the distance between the localities was 
 great enough to expose the Vaudois messenger to many perils. He 
 reached Nice in safety, however, and, after many difficulties and 
 
378 ITAL V STJ^ [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 delays, had an interview with Queen Margaret, who consented to 
 place the document, of which he was the bearer, in the hands of her 
 husband, the duke. The deputy held a conversation also with Philip 
 of Savoy, the duke's brother, and one of the commissioners under 
 the" "Act for the Purgation of the 'Valleys.' " He received the VVal- 
 densian pastor cordially, and no doubt sympathized with his mission. 
 In a short time he became disgusted with the bloody work of the 
 Inquisition, and left the whole enterprise to be prosecuted by the 
 cruel and bigoted Count La Trinita, his fellow-commissioner, with 
 whom he had been unequally yoked. The heart of the queen was in 
 the "Valleys," and she did not hesitate to advocate the cause of the 
 poor Vaudois. But she stood alone as their intercessor with the duke, 
 and might have prevailed, had not the prelates, the king of Spain^ 
 and the pope drowned her voice by their solicitations and threats. 
 
 The men of the "Valleys" impatiently waited for a decision from 
 the court at Nice, and their enemies, athirst for plunder and blood, 
 were equally anxious ; but for three months neither letter nor edict 
 came. The agents of the Inquisition, unable to restrain their passions, 
 commenced the work of persecution on their own account. They en- 
 tertained no doubt concerning their sovereign's purposes, and accord- 
 ingly anticipated them by inaugurating a reign of terror. The tocsin 
 of war was rung out from the monastery of Pinerolo, which was situa- 
 ted on the frontier of the "Valleys. " The monks of this establishment 
 closely watched the heretics of the mountains, as vultures fix their 
 eyes upon their prey, ever ready to sweep down upon hamlet or val- 
 ley when they found it unguarded. They hired a troop of maraud- 
 ers, whom they sent forth to pillage, and this band returned driving 
 before them a wretched company of captives, whom they had dragged 
 from their homes and vineyards in the mountains. They imprisoned 
 the rich until they paid their ransom ; but the poor were either burned 
 alive or sent to the galleys. Certain popish landlords in the valley 
 of San Martino followed the example of the monks. The villagers of 
 Rioclareto were attacked on the 2d of April, A. D. 1560, before day- 
 break by an armed band under the direction of the two seigneurs of 
 Perrier. Some were slaughtered, and the rest were driven out with- 
 out clothes or food, to perish on the snow-clad hills. After expelling 
 them, the ruffians took possession of their dwellings, declaring that 
 not one should enter them, unless he consented to attend mass ; but 
 in three days they were compelled to retire, for four hundred Prot- 
 estants of the valley of Clusone, hearing of the outrage, crossed the 
 mountains, drove out the invaders, and reinstated their brethren. 
 
A MONK'S SERMON. 379 
 
 Soon after, Philip of Savoy, count de Raconis, and chief com- 
 missioner, appeared in the ''Valleys." He was an earnest Roman 
 Catholic, but a humane and upright man. One day he visited the 
 Protestant church of Angrogna, and the sermon produced such a 
 favorable impression upon his mind, that he obtained from the pastor 
 an outline of the Vaudois faith, which he sent to Rome, hoping that 
 the pope would cease to persecute a creed containing so little heresy. 
 But the reigning pontiff, Pius IV, thought differently, and beheld 
 mountains of error, where the honest count de Raconis saw only 
 mole-hills. The latter proposed that a discussion with the Walden- 
 sian pastors should be held, but the former would not permit it. He 
 condescended, however, to absolve "from their past crimes" all who 
 were willing to enter the Church of Rome. This action of the pope, 
 no doubt, discouraged Philip of Savoy ; but he did not abandon his 
 idea of conciliation. In June, A. D. 1560, he visited the valley of 
 Lucerna a second time, accompanied by his colleague. La Trinita, 
 and, assembling the pastors and heads of families, he informed them 
 that the persecution would cease immediately, provided they would 
 consent to hear the preachers he had brought with him — "The Broth- 
 ers of the Christian Doctrine." He also proposed that the Walden- 
 sian ministers should be silenced while his were discoursing. The 
 Vaudois consented, with this provision, that the Romish teachers 
 should preach the pure Gospel ; but, in case they taught human 
 traditions, the agreement should be considered withdrawn. In a few 
 days after, the trial of the new expositors occurred. The ablest 
 among them was selected and sent into the pulpit to address the Vau- 
 dois congregation. He secured their attention in a very effectual 
 manner, which is described by Muston in his "Israel of the Alps: " 
 "I will demonstrate to you," said he, "that the mass is found in the 
 Scripture. The word massah signifies 'sent,' does it not?" "Not 
 precisely," replied his hearers, who understood Hebrew better than 
 the preacher. "The primitive expression," continued he, ''Ite missa 
 est was employed to dismiss the auditory, was it not?" "That is 
 quite true," replied his hearers, without discerning very clearly the 
 relation of the statement to the argument. "Well, then you see, 
 gentlemen, that the mass is found in the Holy Scripture." The con- 
 gregation could not determine whether he was conducting a discus- 
 sion with them, or simply laughing at them. 
 
 The duke of Savoy, enraged at the obduracy of the Waldenses, 
 declared war against them in October, A. D. 1560. Early in that 
 month the dreadful rumor reached the "Valleys" that he was pre- 
 
38o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 paring to exterminate them. The report was, indeed, too true. In 
 levying an army, the duke offered a free pardon to all ' ' outlaws, 
 convicts, and vagabonds " who would enroll as volunteers to fight 
 against the Vaudois. Soon the forces^ formidable in numbers, and 
 truly terrible in character, were assembled, and the total destruction 
 of the men of the ''Valleys" seemed inevitable. The pastors and 
 prominent laymen came together to deliberate on the measures to be 
 adopted at this fearful crisis. Trusting in God alone as their refuge, 
 they resolved to take no means for deliverance which might be 
 offensive to him or dishonorable to themselves. The pastors were 
 requested to exhort every one to call upon God with true faith, sin- 
 cere repentance, and ardent prayer. No defensive measures were 
 recommended ; but each family was urged to collect their provisions, 
 clothes, utensils, and herds, and be ready at a moment's notice to 
 convey them, together with all infirm persons, to their strongholds 
 in the mountains. Meanwhile the duke's army — if such a horde of 
 Piedmontese ruffians could be so called — came nearer every day. 
 On the 31st of October a proclamation was posted throughout the 
 valley of Angrogna, calling on the inhabitants to return to the bosom 
 of the '* Mother Church," under penalty of extermination by fire and 
 sword. On the day following, the ist of November, the papal army 
 appeared at Bubiana, on the right bank of the PeUice, at the entrance 
 to the Waldensian valleys. Scipio LentuUus, pastor of San Giovanni, 
 states in a letter published by Leger that the host numbered four 
 thousand infantry and two hundred horse, comprising, besides the 
 desperadoes that formed its main body, a few veterans, who had seen 
 hard service in the wars with France. 
 
 When the enemy appeared in sight the Vaudois humbled them- 
 selves before God in a public fast, and then celebrated together the 
 sacrament of the Lord's-supper. These religious services imparted 
 strength to their souls, and prepared them to execute the measures 
 previously resolved on. The old men and the women proceeded to 
 climb the mountains, and awakened the echoes with the psalms which 
 they sung on their way to the Pra del Tor, within whose natural 
 ramparts of rock and snow-crowned peaks they sought asylum. The 
 Vaudois population of the ''Valleys" at that time was not more than 
 eighteen thousand, and their armed men did not exceed twelve hun- 
 dred, but they were distributed at various passes and barricades to 
 oppose the enemy, who was now near. 
 
 The Piedmontese army commenced to move on the 2d of Novem- 
 ber, crossed the PelHce, and proceeded along the narrow defile that 
 
PANIC IN LA TRINITA'S CAMP. 38 1 
 
 leads up to the "Valleys," the heights of Bricherasio on the right 
 and the spurs of Monte Friolante on the left standing as sentinels, 
 while the lofty masses of the Vandalin and Castaluzzo towered in 
 front. The Piedmontese encamped in the meadows of San Giovanni, 
 near the point where the Val di Lucerna and the Val di Angrogna 
 divide, the former expanding into a noble breadth of meadow and 
 vineyard, running on between magnificent mountains, with their rich 
 clothing of pastures, chestnut groves, and chalets, until it ends in 
 the savage pass of Mirabouc; and the latter, to wind and climb in a 
 grand succession of precipice and gorge and grassy dell, until it 
 issues in the funnel-shaped valley, around which the ice -crowned 
 mountains stand in solemn grandeur. La Trinita first entered the 
 Val di Angrogna, taking with him twelve hundred men, the wings 
 of his army deploying over its neighboring heights of La Cotiere. 
 His soldiers were opposed by only a small body of Vaudois, some 
 of whom were armed solely with the sling and the cross-bow. The 
 Vaudois skirmished with the foe, at the same time retiring to the 
 higher grounds. When the day closed neither side could claim a 
 decided advantage. Both armies, wearied with skirmishing, en- 
 camped for the night — the Vaudois on the heights of Roccomaneot, 
 and the Piedmontese, with their camp-fires lighted, on the lower hills 
 of La Cotiere. The silence of the evening was suddenly startled by 
 a derisive shout from the Piedmontese host. 
 
 Beholding on the heights above them the bending forms of the 
 Waldensian warriors, who on their knees w^ere supplicating the God 
 of battles, their adversaries saluted them with exclamations of con- 
 tempt. Scarcely had these insulting sounds died away, when the 
 sound of a drum was heard in a side valley. A child had found the 
 instrument, and was amusing itself with it. The soldiers of La 
 Trinita saw, in imagination, a fresh body of Waldensians advancing 
 from the defiles to rush upon them. In the greatest disorder they 
 seized their arms, and the Vaudois, beholding the movement of the 
 enemy, seized theirs also, and hastily descended the hill to anticipate 
 the attack. The Piedmontese were panic-stricken, and, throwing 
 away their arms, fled in confusion, pursued by the Waldenses, thus 
 losing in half an hour the ground it had cost them a day's fighting 
 to gain. The Vaudois were in need of weapons, and gladly availed 
 themselves of those which the fugitives abandoned. As the result 
 of the day's combat La Trinita lost sixty-seven men, and the Vaudois 
 only three. On the left of La Trinita was the entrance to the valley 
 of Lucerna, covered with corn-fields and vineyards, and, with its 
 
382 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 towns, La Torre, Villaro, Bobbio, and others, forming the noblest 
 of the Waldensian valleys. La Trinita, with his soldiers, occupied 
 this, an achievement comparatively easy, as nearly all the inhabitants 
 had fled to the Pra del Tor. Those who remained were mostly Ro- 
 manists that were then mixed with the Waldensian population, and 
 even they had sent their wives and daughters to the Pra del Tor, in 
 company with their Vaudois neighbors, to protect them from the 
 brutal outrages of the papal army. On the following days La Trinita 
 had some small engagements with the Vaudois, in all of which he 
 was repulsed with considerable slaughter. 
 
 The papal leader now began to appreciate the arduous nature of 
 the work he had in hand. He discovered that the mountaineers 
 were courageous, and determined to die rather than submit their 
 conscience to the pope and their families to the passions of his sol- 
 diers. He saw, moreover, that they w^ere a simple and confiding 
 people, entirely ignorant of the ways of deception and intrigue. La 
 Trinita was delighted to find these qualities in them, because he be- 
 lieved that they might be used to accomplish his purposes. He 
 employed men as cunning and degraded as himself — Jacomel, the 
 inquisitor, and Gastaud, his secretary, who pretended to be a Prot- 
 estant. After they had arranged the programme, La Trinita assem- 
 bled the prominent men of the Waldenses, and repeated to them 
 some flattering words which he had heard, or professed to have 
 heard, the duke and duchess make use of towards them. He then 
 assured them that he was engaged in a distasteful enterprise, which 
 he would gladly abandon, and that peace could be easily secured if 
 they, as reasonable men, would only make a few small concessions. 
 This suggestion was followed by a proposition that they should 
 deposit their arms in the house of one of their syndics, and permit 
 him, for form's sake, to go with a small train and celebrate mass in 
 the church of St. Laurenzo in Angrogna, and afterwards visit the 
 Pra del Tor. The Waldenses devoted the whole night to the consid- 
 eration of the count's proposal, and accepted it, contrary to the 
 opinion of their pastors and some of their laymen. La Trinita had 
 formed a correct estimate of the confiding nature of the Vaudois. 
 Having performed mass in the Protestant church, he traversed the 
 gloomy defiles that lead up to the famous Pra, whose green slopes, 
 with their snowy battlements, he was so anxious to behold, though it 
 is said that he manifested some fear when he passed the dark pool of 
 Tompie, with its memories of retribution. After safely accomplishing 
 these feats he returned to complete his programme of deception. 
 
AFFECTING INCIDENTS. 383 
 
 The papal general, therefore, resumed the efforts which he had 
 previously made to establish peace. The duke had now approached 
 nearer, and was residing at Vercelli, on the plain of Piedmont. 
 La Trinita advised the Vaudois to send deputies thither, and also 
 raise a sum of twenty thousand crowns, which would strengthen 
 their supphcation, if not insure its success. He proposed, on the 
 payment of the money, to withdraw his forces and leave them to 
 practice their religion in peace. The Waldenses, not expecting such 
 a betrayal of confidence as subsequently characterized the papal gen- 
 eral, made concession after concession. Having previously laid down 
 their arms, then sent deputies to the duke, and next bought off his 
 soldiers by taxing themselves, they, last and worst of all, at the 
 demand of La Trinita, had dismissed their pastors. At that season 
 of the year a journey across the Col Julien was a perilous undertak- 
 ing, but this sorrowful band of God's faithful servants were compelled 
 to perform it. Climbing the snowy summits, where the Winter drifts 
 were continually obliterating the track and piling up fresh wreaths, 
 and pursuing their way across the valleys of Prali and San Martino 
 and over the ice-clad mountains beyond, they sought refuge among 
 the Protestants in the French valley of Pragelas. The more direct 
 road through the valley of Perosa was closed by the marauders and 
 assassins that infested it, and especially by those Avho were hired by 
 the monks of Pinerolo, and consequently the banished pastors were 
 forced to take a more dangerous and difficult route. The heartless 
 count, believing that he now had the poor people entirely in his 
 power, sent his soldiers to pillage the houses abandoned by the 
 Vaudois. 
 
 The few inhabitants remaining, as well as those who returned, 
 supposing hostihties would be suspended during the negotiations for 
 peace, endeavored to escape a second time, and to seek concealment 
 in the woods and caves of the higher reaches of the ''Valleys." It 
 is impossible correctly to describe the outrages committed by the 
 ruffians who had possession of the valley of Lucerna. A touching 
 incident has been recorded by the historian Gilles. A helpless man, 
 one hundred and three years of age, was placed in a cave, and his 
 granddaughter, a girl of seventeen, was left to take care of him. 
 The papal soldiers discovered his hiding-place, cruelly murdered the 
 old man and offered outrage to his granddaughter. She fled from the 
 brutal pursuit of the soldiers, leaped over a precipice, and perished. 
 In another instance, one of La Trinita's soldiers chased an old man 
 to the brink of a precipice, and the latter being compelled to choose 
 
384 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 death either by his own act or by the sword of his pursuer, soon 
 made a decision. He halted, turned his face, and fell upon his knees 
 as if to supplicate for his life. The soldier was raising his sword 
 to strike him dead, when the Vaudois, clasping him tightly round the 
 legs, / and swaying himself backwards with all his might, rolled over 
 the precipice, dragging the soldier with him into the abyss. 
 
 Part of the money promised to La Trinita by the Waldenses had 
 been paid to him, but the poor people were under the necessity of 
 selling their herds in order to meet their obligation. The count now 
 withdrew his army into Winter-quarters at Cavour, a point so near 
 the ''Valleys" that he could re-enter them at any moment by a few 
 hours' march. He destroyed the corn, oil, and wine which he could 
 not carry away, and even demolished the mills. His plan was to 
 compel the Vaudois to either submit or die of hunger on their mount- 
 ains. To afflict them yet more grievously he placed garrisons at 
 different points in the "Valleys," and, in the most tyrannical manner, 
 required those who themselves were without bread to provide food 
 for his soldiers. These rufflans were continually prowling about in 
 search of victims on whom to gratify their cruelty and their lust. 
 Whoever was dragged into their den experienced unspeakable suffer- 
 ings — if men, excruciating torture; if women, revolting outrage. 
 
 The Waldenses patiently endured these terrible inflictions in 
 the hope that the deputies, whom they had sent to the duke, 
 would return with an honorable peace. At last, after an ab- 
 sence of six weeks, the commissioners reappeared in the ''Val- 
 leys;" but their sad countenances, even before they had spoken a 
 word, indicated that their mission had been a failure. They had 
 been sent back with an order demanding of the Vaudois uncondi- 
 tional submission to the Roman Catholic authority on pain of exter- 
 mination. At that moment a more powerful army was being raised 
 to enforce, to the fullest extent, that order. The alternative now 
 presented to them was the acceptance of the mass or universal 
 slaughter. This crisis aroused the people. Rather than thus dis- 
 grace their ancestors, imperil their own souls, and entail a heritage 
 of slavery on their children they would, if necessary, die a thousand 
 times. Their despondency was gone ; they were as men who had 
 awakened from heavy sleep ; their martial spirit revived, and they 
 found their arms. Their first step was to recall their pastors, the 
 next to rebuild their fallen churches, and their third to resume pub- 
 lic services in. them. Daily their courage increased, and once more 
 joy illuminated their faces. They were also encouraged by letters 
 
THE VAUDOIS COVENANT. 385 
 
 of sympathy, and promises of assistance from their fellow-Protestants 
 of Geneva, Dauphine, and France. Persecution at that hour impended 
 over the two latter countries, but their own danger made them all 
 the more ready to help their brethren of the "Valleys." "There- 
 upon," says Muston, the historian, "took place one of those grand 
 and solemn scenes, which, at once heroic and religious, seem rather 
 adapted for an epic poem than for grave history." 
 
 The Waldenses of Lucerne sent deputies across the mountains, then 
 covered to a great depth with snow, to propose an alliance with the 
 Protestants of the valley of Pragelas, who were at that time threatened 
 by their sovereign, Francis I. The poor persecuted inhabitants gladly 
 accepted the proposition. The deputies assembled on a plateau of 
 snow, facing the mountains of Sestri^res and the chain of the Guine- 
 vert, and swore to stand by each other in the coming struggle. It was 
 also agreed that this oath of alhance should be sworn with a like solem- 
 nity in the Waldensian valleys. The deputies from Pragelas crossed 
 the Mount JuHen and arrived at Bobbio on the 21st of January, 
 A. D. 1 561. They came at a singularly opportune moment. On the 
 evening before a ducal proclamation had been published in the "Val- 
 leys,"- commanding the Vaudois, within twenty-four hours to attend 
 mass, or suffer the consequences — "fire, sword, the cord; the three 
 arguments of Romanism," says Muston. This fact was announced 
 to the Pragelese deputies immediately on their arrival ; but, instead 
 of being discouraged, they proceeded with all the more enthusiasm 
 to renew their oath. Ascending a low hill behind Bobbio, the depu- 
 ties from Pragelas, and those from Lucerne, standing erect in the 
 midst of the assembled heads of families, who kneeled around, pro- 
 nounced these words : 
 
 "In the name of the Vaudois Churches of the Alps, of Dau- 
 phine, and of Piedmont, which have ever been united, and of which 
 we are the representatives, we here promise, our hands on our Bible, 
 and in the presence of God, that all our valleys shall courageously 
 sustain each other in matters of religion, without prejudice to the 
 obedience due to their legitimate superiors. We promise to main- 
 tain the Bible, whole and without admixture, according to the usage 
 of the true apostolic Church, persevering in this holy religion, 
 though it be at the peril of our life, in order that we may transmit 
 it to our children intact and pure as we received it from our fathers. 
 We promise aid and succor to our persecuted brothers, not regarding 
 our individual interests, but the common cause ; and not relying upon 
 man, but upon God." 
 
386 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 This event, so full of moral sublimity, occurred in a locality of 
 physical grandeur. The green bosom of the valley was calmly spread 
 out immediately beneath, with here and there the silvery waters 
 
 of the Pellice gleaming out amid vineyards and acacia groves. An 
 array of majestic mountains, white with the snows of Winter, filled 
 the horizon on all sides except one, the grand peaks of the Col de 
 
THE SIGNIFICANT DECISION 387 
 
 Malure and the Col de la Croix being conspicuous among them. 
 They seemed to be silent witnesses of the oath taken by a heroic 
 people, pledging themselves to die rather than permit their hearths 
 to be defiled and their altars to be profaned by idolatrous, tyran- 
 nical hordes. Thus grandly did the Waldensians open one of the 
 most brilliant campaigns in their history. On the following morning, 
 according to the duke's order, they would be compelled to decide 
 whether to attend mass or accept the consequences of refusal. The 
 Romish authorities had prepared a neighboring church, one of those 
 which had been taken from the Vaudois, and it was now ready with 
 altar decked and tapers lighted, for the Protestants to hear their first 
 mass. Scarcely had the day dawned, when the expected penitents 
 were at the church door. Entering the building, they resolved to 
 show the duke how they intended to read recantation. For a moment 
 they stood and surveyed the scene, and, beholding the strange trans- 
 formation their church had undergone, they began to extinguish the 
 tapers, demolish the images, and cast out into the street the rosary, 
 crucifix, and all the other paraphernalia of popish worship. Only a 
 few minutes were required to perform this work of renovation. The 
 minister, Humbert Artus, then ascended the pulpit, and reading out 
 as his text, Isaiah xlv, 20 — ''Assemble yourselves and come; draw 
 near together ye that are escaped of the nations ; they have no 
 knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray 
 unto a God that can not save " — preached a sermon which struck the 
 key-note of the campaign then opening. 
 
 Rushing down like their own Winter torrents into Lucerne, the 
 inhabitants of the hamlets and chalets in the mountains re-enforced the 
 army of the Vaudois, which advanced toward Villaro to purge the 
 temple there. While on their march, they encountered the Piedmon- 
 tese garrison, which they attacked and drove back, the monks, seign- 
 eurs, and magistrates, who had come to receive the abjuration of the 
 heretics, accompanying the troops in their ignominious flight. The 
 whole band of fugitives — soldiers, priests, and judges — shut themselves 
 up in the town of Villaro, which was now besieged by the Vaudois. 
 The garrison from La Torre made three efforts to raise the siege, but 
 were repulsed. At last, on the tenth day, the garrison surrendered, 
 and their lives were spared, two Waldensian pastors accompanying 
 them to La Torre, as the soldiers expressed greater confidence in 
 them than any other escort. When La Trinita ascertained that his 
 garrison had been driven out, he moved his army from Cavour into 
 
 the "Valleys," and endeavored again to sow dissensions among the 
 
 26 
 
388 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Vaudois, by entangling them in negotiations for peace ; but they had 
 now learned the value of his promises, and, disregarding them, im- 
 proved every hour in preparing for defense. They labored with the 
 zeal of men who believed that their cause was a great and righteous one, 
 for which they were willing to sacrifice every thing. They erected 
 barricades, planted ambushes, and appointed signals to telegraph 
 the movements of the enemy from post to post. ''Every house," 
 says Muston, "became a manufactory of pikes, bullets, and other 
 weapons." They selected the best marksmen that could be found in 
 their ''Valleys," and organized them into the "Flying Company," 
 whose duty it was to hasten to the most dangerous point. Two 
 pastors were assigned to each body of fighting men to maintain the 
 mo7'ale of their army, and conducted public worship morning and 
 evening, praying with the soldiers before going into battle ; and at 
 its close, when the Vaudois were chasing the enemy down their great 
 mountains and through their dark gorges, endeavoring to prevent any 
 unnecessary effusion of blood. 
 
 La Trinita was convinced that the subjugation of the "Valleys," 
 and the successful termination of the campaign, depended upon the 
 capture of the Pra del Tor, into which vast natural citadel the main 
 body of the Waldensian people was now gathered. Thither they 
 'had transported the remnant of their provisions and herds ; there 
 they had constructed mills and baking-ovens; there, too, their coun- 
 cil sat, and directed the whole operations of the defense. If a blow 
 could be struck there, the Vaudois's heart would be crushed, and 
 that which the Waldenses regarded as their impregnable castle would 
 be converted into their tbmb. The papal general, meanwhile, re- 
 solved to defer the chastisement of the other valleys, and to direct 
 all his efforts against Angrogna. On the 4th of February, A. D. 
 1561, he made the first attempt to enter it Avith his army; but, after 
 fighting an entire day, he was repulsed. Three days subsequently 
 he made another effort and advanced a considerable distance into 
 Angrogna, burning and ravaging; but this partial triumph was a 
 costly one, and the ground already won had ultimately to be aban- 
 doned. The severest struggle occurred on the 14th of February. 
 La Trinita employed all his strategy to capture the much coveted 
 Pra del Tor, and all in it, and, dividing his army into three corps, he 
 advanced against it from three points. One body of troops marched 
 along the gorges of the Angrogna, traversed the narrow chasm that 
 leads up to the Pra, and attacked it on the south. Another body 
 ascended the heights from Pramol, crossed the snowy flanks of La 
 
THE INVADERS DISCOMFITED. 389 
 
 Vechera, and endeavored to force an entrance on the east; while a 
 third, starting- from San Martino, climbed the lofty summits that sur- 
 round the Pra on the north, and descended upon it from that quarter. 
 The papal leader confidently expected that if his soldiers failed to 
 force an entrance at one point, they would surely succeed at another. 
 
 As no scout had warned them of approaching danger, the Wal- 
 denses were performing their morning devotions in the grand sanc- 
 tuary of their valley, with ice-crowned peaks for its towers. Sud- 
 denly they heard the cries of fugitives, and the shouts of assailants, 
 proceeding from the narrow chasm on the south, and also beheld 
 the smoke of burning hamlets. Of the three points of attack, this 
 was the easiest to be defended, and six brave Waldensian youths has- 
 tened down the valley to oppose La Trinita's soldiers. What could 
 six do against an army? The answer may be found in Deut. xxxii, 
 30: ''How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand 
 to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut 
 them up ?" The soldiers were approaching by a long, gloomy road, 
 overhung with large rocks, and so narrow that only two men can 
 march abreast. The mountain rises abruptly on one side, and far 
 down on the other thunders the foaming torrent, and a ledge in the 
 steep face of the cliff running here in the darkness, there in the sun- 
 shine, serves as a pathway, which leads to what is called the gate of 
 the Pra. That opening is formed by an angle of the mountain, which 
 obtrudes upon the narrow ledge on the one side, while an immense 
 rock rises on the other, rendering the point of ingress into the Pra still 
 smaller. Having placed a mountain on the right and a yawning gulf 
 on the left. Nature erected the only gateway through which either 
 friend or foe can be admitted to the Pra del Tor on the south. It 
 was here that the six Waldensian warriors took their stand, immova- 
 ble as their own Alps. According to the historian Monastier, they 
 not only checked the advance of the enemy, but drove them back 
 in a panic-stricken mass, which made the precipices of the defile 
 doubly fatal. They would have received aid, had not danger sud- 
 denly appeared in another direction. Looking to the heights of La 
 Vechera, they beheld an armed host crossing the snow and entering 
 the valley on the east. Before they could descend they were met by 
 the Waldenses, who dispersed and put them to flight. Thus two of 
 La Trinita's attacking parties were defeated. 
 
 While the Waldenses were pursuing the discomfited enemy on La 
 Vechera, they saw yet another armed troop, which had climbed the 
 mountains that separate the Val San Martino from the Pra del Tor 
 
390 ITA'LY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 on the north, and were descending upon them. The alarm was im- 
 mediately raised, but only a feAV men could be spared to resist the 
 invaders. These Waldensian warriors lay in ambush at the mouth of 
 a defile, through which the enemy were marching down into the 
 Pra. The latter, emerging from the narrow pass, and beholding the 
 lovely valley beneath them, exclaimed, ''Haste, haste! Angrogna is 
 ours." The Vaudois rushed upon them, sword in hand, crying out, 
 "It is you that are ours." The Piedmontese soldiers, trusting to 
 their superior numbers, fought desperately ; but the Waldenses, in a 
 few minutes, hastened from other points, where victory had crowned 
 their arms, and rendered timely aid to their brethren. The invaders, 
 attacked on all sides, turned and fled up the slopes they had just 
 descended. Many were slain and not a man of them would have 
 recrossed the mountains had not the pastor of the "Flying Com- 
 pany " elevated his voice to the highest pitch, and entreated the pur- 
 suers to spare the lives of those who could no longer resist. 
 
 Among the slain was Charles Truchet, Avho so cruelly ravaged 
 the commune of Rioclaret a few months before. He was prostrated 
 on the ground by a stone from a sling, and his head Avas cut off 
 with his own sword. Another celebrated persecutor of the Vaudois, 
 named Louis de Monteuil, perished in the same conflict. These 
 repulses so enraged Count La Trinita that he attacked the almost 
 defenseless valley of Rora, burning its little town and driving away 
 its population of eighty families, who escaped over the snows of the 
 mountains to Villaro, in the valley of Lucerne. He next invaded that 
 valley with his soldiers, and though, at the time, it was almost de- 
 populated, the remaining peasants again and again defeated the papal 
 general, compelled him to retreat to his old quarters at Cavour, and 
 thus afforded him the opportunity to meditate upon his misfortunes, 
 and devise new stratagems, which he ardently hoped would retrieve 
 his disgraces. 
 
 La Trinita spent a month in re-enforcing his army, now greatl)^ 
 reduced and weakened by the losses it had sustained. The king of 
 France sent him ten companies of foot, and some other choice sol- 
 diers, while Spain contributed a regiment, and Piedmont numerous 
 volunteers, comprising many of the nobility. The papal army had 
 now increased from four thousand — its original number — to seven 
 thousand, and its commander felt confident that, with such a force, 
 he was able to begin a third campaign, which would result in wiping 
 out the disgrace of the others, and in eradicating from the earth, at 
 once and forever, the great scandal of the Waldenses. Regarding 
 
EXTINCTION OF LA TRINITA'S HOST. 39 1 
 
 Angrogna as the heart and bulwark of the Valleys, he again directed 
 all his efforts against it. It was Sunday, the 17th of March, A. D. 
 1 561. The Vaudois had assembled in the Pra del Tor on the morn- 
 ing of that day, soon after dawn, to unite in their customary public 
 devotions. The first rays of the rising sun were beginning to brighten 
 the snowy crown of the mountains around them, and the last caden- 
 ces of their morning psalm were dying away on the grassy slopes of 
 the Pra, when the sudden announcement was made that the enemy 
 was approaching by three routes. One body of armed men appeared 
 on the ridges of the eastern summits ; another was marching up the 
 chasm, and, in a few minutes, would pour itself through the gateway, 
 already described, into the Pra, while a third was forcing itself over 
 the rocks by a path intermediate between the two. Instantly the 
 enemy was confronted at every point of approach. The line of 
 glittering cuirassed men, who were defiling through the narrow gorge, 
 was repulsed by a handful of Waldensians. 
 
 At the other two points, where bastions of rock and earth had 
 been erected, severe fighting occurred, and the dead lay thick upon 
 the ground. The invaders were defeated on every side, and some of 
 their ablest captains were among the slain. It is said that so great 
 was the number of soldiers killed that, when Count La Trinita beheld 
 the heaps of the dead, he sat down and wept. The Waldenses 
 might Ir^ve pursued those who escaped, and, being so much better 
 acquainted with the mountain-paths, could have exterminated them, 
 leaving not one of all that host to convey the tidings of its discom- 
 fiture to the inhabitants of Piedmont. The Waldensian pastors had 
 resolved at the commencement of the campaign that they would use 
 with moderation and clemency whatever victories the "God of 
 battles" might be pleased to give them, and that they would shed 
 no blood unless Avhen absolutely necessary to prevent their ow^n being 
 shed. Hence they restrained their victorious warriors and were satis- 
 fied with the triumph already won.' As in former contests, the 
 Piedmontese lost many more men than the Vaudois, so much so that 
 it was currently said, in the cities of Piedmont, that the ' * God Avas 
 fighting for the barbets." 
 
 The papal commander, more deeply humiliated and disgraced 
 than ever, returned to his old quarters with the remnant of his army. 
 He no doubt regretted that he had ever invaded the Waldensian 
 territory, because, in addition to his own ignominious failure, he had 
 sacrificed many of the nobles of Piedmont, whose bones w^ere now 
 bleaching on the mountains of the Vaudois. But he was slow in 
 
392 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 learning- the proper lesson from these calamitous events, and actually- 
 entertained the design of returning to attack that fatal valley where 
 he had lost so many laurels and buried so many soldiers. Conceal- 
 ing his purpose, he waited for a favorable opportunity. The men of 
 the ** Valleys" and the duke of Savoy had opened negotiations which 
 were proceeding satisfactorily. La Trinita, taking advantage of this 
 circumstance, hastily assembled his troops, and, on the night of the 
 1 6th of April, he marched them against the Pra del Tor, hoping to 
 enter it unopposed and give the Vaudois "as sheep to the slaugh- 
 ter." The light of the morning was beginning to shine upon the 
 snowy ranges around the Pra when the people, who had just con- 
 cluded their united worship, were startled by unusual sounds issuing 
 from the gorge that led into the valley. Six brave mountaineers 
 immediately rushed to the gateway that opens from the gorge. They 
 made their arrangements and calmly waited for the appearance of 
 the enemy. The first two Vaudois, holding loaded muskets, knelt 
 down. The second tw^o stood erect, ready to fire over the heads of 
 the first tw^o. The third two undertook the loading of the weapons 
 as they were discharged. 
 
 The long file of La Trinita's advanced two abreast, their helmets 
 and cuirasses glittering in the light. As the first two of the enemy 
 turned the rock they were shot down by the two foremost Vaudois. 
 The next two of the attacking force fell in like manner by the shot 
 of the Vaudois in the rear. The third rank of the enemy met the 
 same fate and was laid by the side of their comrades. The pass was 
 filled up in a i^\N minutes with a small heap of dead bodies, which 
 prevented the advance of the accumulating mass of Piedmontese sol- 
 diers in the chasm. Li the meanwhile other Vaudois, climbing the 
 mountain that overhangs the gorge in which the invading host was 
 imprisoned, and tearing up the great stones with which the hill-side 
 was strewn, rolled them down upon the soldiers, who, checked by 
 the wall of dead in front, and prevented from retreating by the ever- 
 accumulating file behind, were crushed in dozens by the falling rocks. 
 A panic, dreadful in such a position, ensued. Leger describes the 
 scene, which no doubt was terrible. Wedged together on the narrow 
 ledge, with a murderous rain of stones descending upon them, they 
 struggled to escape. Jostling one another, and treading each other 
 under foot, many perished, while vast numbers fell over the precipice 
 and were dashed on the rocks or drowned in the torrent. There 
 were some at the entrance of the valley who watched the result of 
 the contest, and when they beheld the crystal waters of the Angrogna 
 
''ARTICLES OF CAPITULATIONr 393 
 
 begin about noon to change into blood, they exclaimed: *'Ah! the 
 Pra del Tor has been taken ; La Trinita h^s triumphed ; there flows 
 the blood of the Vaudois." Indeed, it is said that the papal general, 
 in commencing his march that morning, boasted that, by the middle 
 of the day, the torrent of the Angrogna would change its color; and 
 this it truly did. The stream, naturally pellucid, glides along at the 
 mouth of the valley, over its white gravelly bed; but now it appears 
 different — deeply dyed from recent slaughter. When the few who 
 succeeded in escaping the catastrophe returned to relate the result 
 of that day's conflict, it was then ascertained that it was not the 
 blood of the Vaudois, but that of their ruthless enemies, which dyed 
 the waters of the Angrogna. La Trinita withdrew on the same night 
 with his army to return no more to the "Valleys." 
 
 The duke of Savoy resolved to resume negotiations again with 
 the Waldenses, not this time through the Count La Trinita, but 
 through Philip of Savoy, count of Raconis. Finding that he could 
 not conquer the men of the ** Valleys," the duke of Savoy did not 
 win meritorious distinction in making peace with them. The matter 
 was speedily brought to a satisfactory issue, and the capitulation was 
 signed on the 5th of June, A. D. 1561. Its first clause granted an 
 indemnity for all offenses which had been suffered — not committed. 
 Leger gives the ''Articles of Capitulation" in full, and we learn from 
 them that the Vaudois were permitted to erect churches in their 
 ''Valleys," with the exception of two or three of their towns, to 
 conduct public worship, and, in short, to celebrate all the offices of 
 their religion. All the "ancient franchises, immunities, and priv- 
 ileges, whether conceded by his highness or by his highness's pre- 
 decessors," were renewed, provided they were vouched by public 
 documents. Thus closed this cruel war of fifteen months, and the 
 Vaudois attributed the favorable terms of its settlement to the influ- 
 ence of the good Duchess Margaret. The pope, however, called it 
 a "pernicious example," which he feared might be imitated in those 
 days when the love of many to the Roman See was "waxing cold." 
 It was highly offensive to the monks and prelates of Piedmont, to 
 whom the heretics had been a free booty. Nevertheless, Duke Em- 
 manuel Philibert faithfully maintained its stipulations, the duchess 
 being by his side to counteract any pressure in the opposite direction. 
 The prevalence of peace and the dawn of Summer slowly effaced the 
 deep scars which persecution had left on the "Valleys." This brave 
 and afflicted people were greatly consoled and strengthened by the 
 sympathy and aid extended to them by Protestants abroad, particu- 
 
394 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 larly by Calvin and the Elector Palatine, the latter addressing a 
 spirited letter to the duke on behalf of his persecuted subjects. 
 
 All through these terrible conflicts the Vaudois exhibited a noble 
 spirit of devotion, indicating their unshaken confidence in God. 
 While their '^Valleys" resounded with the din of arms they were 
 also vocal with prayer and praise. The papal soldiers came from 
 carousing, from blaspheming, from murdering, to engage in battle ; 
 the Waldenses rose from their knees to unsheathe the sword and 
 wield it in a cause which they firmly believed to be that of Him to 
 whom they had bent in supplication. When their little army went 
 to the field to meet the enemy their barbes always accompanied it, to 
 inspire the warriors by proper exhortations before they rushed into 
 battle, and to moderate their vengeance, which in the hour of tri- 
 umph might become so fierce that it would diminish the glory of 
 their victory. When their soldiers hastened to the defile or to the 
 bastion the pastors assembled on the mountain's slope or on its 
 summit, and there, with uplifted hands, supplicated help from the 
 "Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." After the 
 conflict had ceased, and the enemy were in flight, and the victors 
 had returned from chasing them from the ''Valleys," the gray-haired 
 pastors, the lion-hearted men of battle, the matrons, the maidens, 
 the striplings, and the little children would assemble in the Pra del 
 Tor, and ''while the setting sun," as Dr. WyHe eloquently remarks, 
 ' ' was kindling into glory the mountain-tops of their once more ran- 
 somed land, they would raise their voices together, and sing the old 
 war-song of Judah in strains so heroic that the great rocks around 
 them would send back the thunder of their praise in louder echoes 
 than those of the battle whose triumphant issue they were celebrating." 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 DISTINGUISHED PONTIFFS— PROMINENT SCHOLARS. 
 
 THE pontificate of Clement VHI extended into the seventeenth 
 century, and closed A. D. 1605. If he had been less selfish 
 during his reign he might have made the beautiful domain which he 
 ruled one of the most desirable regions in the world. The "States 
 of the Church" were rich and prosperous when they came into the 
 possession of the pontiff; but this absolute master gradually deprived 
 
PAUL V AND VENICE. 395 
 
 the people of every liberty or right they had ever possessed. Taxes 
 were levied on every thing from which a revenue could be derived, 
 including alum, salt, flour, and meat. The poor were crushed be- 
 neath the heavy burdens laid upon them, enterprise was destroyed, 
 and industry discouraged. In this part of Italy personal and political 
 liberty were unknown, and the power of the papal government ex- 
 tended to every department of life, severe punishment being inflicted 
 upon any who deviated from the exact line of conduct or of thought 
 prescribed by the court of Rome. The popes, using their temporal 
 power for purposes of gain, oppressed the inhabitants and robbed 
 them of their earnings. They did nothing to promote education ; 
 and idleness, poverty, and vice increased with fearful rapidity. 
 
 Indeed, Clement VIII had now become a leading Italian prince, 
 and concerned himself more about his temporal than his spiritual 
 possessions. He endeavored to extend his authority over the Vene- 
 tians, but the latter defeated him in his efforts to subjugate them. 
 They were Roman Catholics, and their chief ecclesiastical dignitary, 
 or patriarch, was inferior in rank to the pope alone. The Venetians 
 maintained him in great splendor, but resolutely refused to allow him 
 to interfere with their political affairs, requiring him to reside first at 
 Aquileia, and subsequently at Grado. After the Jesuits became a 
 a power in the Church a systematic warfare was inaugurated against 
 education and freedom of thought. Venice regarded this crusade 
 against knowledge as a direct blow at one of her most important 
 industries, which was not only an object of pride to her, but also a 
 source of great profit. Since the early part of the sixteenth century 
 Venice had been noted for her printing-presses. Aldo Manuzio 
 issued many volumes that commanded the admiration of the world, 
 and are still dear to the antiquary. The court of Rome, by restrict- 
 ing the publication of books, inflicted a serious loss upon the Venetian 
 printers, who were finally compelled to leave that city and the terri- 
 tory of the republic altogether. 
 
 Leo XI, a Medici, followed Clement VIII, but only lived twenty- 
 six days after his election. He was succeeded, on the i6th of May, 
 A. D. 1605, by Cardinal Borghese, who assumed the title of Paul V. 
 Arrogance and ill- temper were his distinguishing characteristics : and 
 he seemed born either to restore the lost authority of Rome or to 
 annihilate the power which it still retained in the different countries 
 of Europe. The imprudence of this pontiff nearly alienated the 
 republic of Venice from the Romish communion. The dispute 
 originated in two decrees, which the senate of Venice had recently 
 
396 ITAL V STI^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 enacted for preventing the unnecessary erection of religious houses, 
 and for prohibiting the subjects of the repubHc from appropriating 
 their property to rehgious fraternities without the sanction of the sen- 
 ate. The latter also imprisoned two ecclesiastics, who were accused of 
 enormous crimes, while it was an established maxim at Rome that 
 ecclesiastical persons were only amenable to the tribunal of the 
 Church. Paul V, by his nuncio at Venice, vehemently protested 
 against the edicts prohibiting the endowments of religious houses ; 
 and at the same time he demanded that the prisoners should be de- 
 livered into his hands, to be tried for their crimes by ecclesiastical 
 judges. The senate having refused to comply with these demands, 
 the pope laid the dominions of the republic under an interdict. The 
 Jesuits, and the other dignitaries who presumed to publish the bull 
 of excommunication against the republic, Avere expelled from Venice. 
 The senate ordered that any priest who was disloyal to the state 
 should be hanged. The Jesuits offered to celebrate the ordinary 
 services, but would not celebrate the mass. This compromise was 
 not acceptable to either side, and both prepared for war. Though 
 the republic had at one time sustained the cause of Henry IV of 
 France, that sovereign would not assist it in its hour of need, nor 
 did it receive any aid from James I of England, who had expressed 
 sympathy. Henry IV, however, acted as mediator, and the difficulty 
 was adjusted. The pope relinquished much of his pretensions, the 
 prisoners were delivered up to the French embassador, and all the 
 exiled ecclesiastics were permitted to return to Venice, except the 
 Jesuits, against whom the senate enacted a severe decree. 
 
 Paul V was succeeded by Gregory XV, a man of milder disposi- 
 tion ; and he was followed by Urban VIII, of the Barberini family, 
 A. D. 1623. The latter was a ripe scholar and a promoter of litera- 
 ture, having a great reputation as a judicious orator and an elegant 
 poet. At the same time he possessed a stern, unrelenting disposi- 
 tion, and was an inflexible enemy to civil and religious liberty. He 
 became jealous of the emperor's encroachments on Italy, and, by 
 arraying the French and the Protestants against him and by uniting 
 with the league which commenced the Thirty Years' War in Europe, 
 he contributed to the more complete establishment of Protestantism 
 on the Continent. It was under Urban that the Church attacked the 
 doctrines of Galileo, and the astronomer was condemned to the 
 Inquisition by this infallible pontiff Innocent X, the successor of 
 Urban, adopted the policy of his predecessor. He was both ignorant 
 and Hcentious, and during his reign accomplished nothing worthy 
 
INNOCENT XII AND ALEXANDER VI IL 397 
 
 of record. The next occupant of the papal throne was Cardinal 
 Chigi, who assumed the title of Alexander VII. He was a man of 
 morality and integrity ; but his pontificate was not distinguished by 
 any events of special importance. His Corsican guards insulted the 
 French embassador and his lady, and attacked his house. Louis XIV 
 of France demanded an apology, and Alexander was compelled to 
 send his nephew to Paris in the character of a suppliant. A pillar 
 was erected in Rome in memory of the monarch's triumph over the 
 head of the Church. To him succeeded, A. D. 1668, Cardinal Ros- 
 pigliosi, as Clement IX, who, though he shut out his relatives from 
 office, enriched them with the wealth of the Church. The Rospig- 
 liosi palace stands as a monument of the greatness of the family. 
 At this time the wealthy houses established in Rome by successive 
 pontiffs became the ruling aristocracy of the papal states. From 
 henceforth the popes, cardinals, and government of the papacy came 
 through them chiefly, and they became the outlet of the riches of the 
 Church. After the death of Clement IX the pontifical chair was 
 occupied by Clement X, A. D. 1669, who lived only a few months. 
 
 Benedetto Odescalchi entered Rome as a warrior, sword and pistol 
 in hand, but was persuaded by one of the cardinals to devote him- 
 self to the Church. Accepting the advice, he was soon promoted 
 from priest to cardinal, and on the death of Clement X was elected 
 pope, as Innocent XI. He was a man of uncommon abilities, and 
 of excellent moral character. With zeal he entered on his duties, 
 endeavoring to reform the abuses of the Church. It is said that he 
 secretly aided William of Orange in his invasion of England on 
 account of his animosity to Louis XIV of France, whose vice and 
 pride were obnoxious to him. He was in many respects one of the 
 most popular popes that ever ascended the throne. The minister of 
 Innocent became his successor, under the title of Alexander VIII, 
 and was affable, easy, and kind. He was above eighty when elected, 
 and lived but a short time. His successor. Innocent XII, imitating 
 the example of Innocent XI and Alexander VIII, opposed the posi- 
 tion of Louis XIV of France, who claimed the revenues of a vacant 
 French see until the appointment of a new bishop. Soon after his 
 election, A. D. 1691, Innocent XII, like his predecessors of the same 
 name, strenuously endeavored to reform the abuses of the papacy in 
 Rome. The pope whose reign concluded this century was Clem- 
 ent XI, whose learning and liberality rendered him useful to the 
 Church. 
 
 During the seventeenth century literature and the natural sciences 
 
GALILEO— PALLA VICINI—SARPL 399 
 
 flourished in Italy. Scientific academies were founded in Rome, 
 Florence, Bologna, and Naples. The Florentine Accademia del 
 Cimento embraced the most illustrious savants of that age, and pub- 
 lished important accounts of its researches. Pre-eminent among 
 philosophers was Galileo, who was born A. D. 1564. He invented 
 the telescope, A. D. 1609, and, in the following year, discovered the 
 moons of Jupiter, the belts of Saturn, and the two motions of the 
 earth, confirming, and even going beyond, many of the discoveries 
 of Copernicus. He was brought before the Inquisition, where he was 
 forced to recant or die. For sixteen years he remained silent, when 
 he published, A. D. 1632, his ''System of the World," to vindicate 
 the Copernican theory. He was again summoned before the Inqui- 
 sition, and again recanted, but was imprisoned for ten years. His 
 two daughters, who were nuns, attended him, and, during his confine- 
 ment, he received a visit from Milton. He died, A. D. 1642, and 
 was denied burial in consecrated ground; but the Inquisition could 
 not overthrow the truth expressed in that familiar utterance of the 
 philosopher, '' E pur si vmove." The world indeed moves in a 
 higher sense, and science can not be interdicted by the papal hier- 
 archy. The trial and imprisonment of Galileo form the final scene 
 in the death of the Italian intellect. The most noted pupils of the 
 great astronomer were Viviani, Torricelli, and Castelli, and among the 
 contemporary physicists, Borelli, Malpighi, Bellini, and Redi were the 
 most prominent. The most distinguished historians were Sarpi, Da- 
 vila, Bentivoglio, and Pallavicini. Fra Paolo Sarpi was an eminent 
 lawyer and theologian of Venice, and defended that republic against 
 the encroachments of the papacy. 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 THE FAMINE— THE PLAGUE— THE MASSACRE. 
 
 THE inglorious defeat of La Trinita by the Waldenses, and the 
 treaty of peace signed at Cavour on the 5th of June, A. D. 
 1 561, were described in a previous chapter. The cloud of war had 
 indeed disappeared, but numerous and affecting memorials of the 
 desolations it had inflicted remained in the ''Valleys." The inhab- 
 itants, descending from the mountains, exchanged the weapons of 
 war for the pruning-knife and the spade. With slow and feeble 
 
400 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 steps the aged and infirm were led down into the vales, and sat 
 once more at noon or at eve beneath the shadow of their vines 
 and ancestral chestnut-trees. But, as they beheld those scenes lately 
 so fair and smiling, now scathed and ruined, tears of sorrow moist- 
 ened their eyes, and a heavy burden of despondency rested upon 
 their hearts. The rage of the invading enemy was indicated in the 
 destruction of fruit-bearing trees, the desolation of vineyards and 
 corn-fields, and the burning of hamlets and villages. The beauty of 
 their ''Valleys" would not be restored until the hand of time should 
 efface the deep scars of war. Their cup of grief was the more bitter 
 when they remembered that many who had lived under the same 
 roof-tree with them, and united morning and night in the same 
 psalm, would, alas, return no more. Their distress was rendered still 
 greater by the threatened appearance of famine in their "Valleys." 
 Having been engaged seven months in incessant fighting, they could 
 not cultivate their fields, and, as they had exhausted their stock of 
 last year's provisions, starvation began to stare them in the face. The 
 season of sowing had already passed when the treaty of peace was 
 signed, and therefore scarcely any thing could be found to reap in the 
 Autumn. About this time a large number of fugitives from Calabria 
 arrived in the "Valleys," and their presence was a further aggrava- 
 tion of the prevailing destitution. Naked and hungry, they came to 
 their brethren for relief, having escaped with nothing but their lives ; 
 and they were received with open arms by the Vaudois, who, though 
 bordering on famine, shared with them the little they had. 
 
 The story of the suffering Waldenses reached other countries, and 
 aroused the sympathy of their Protestant brethren. With charac- 
 teristic promptness and zeal Calvin led in the movement to secure 
 aid for them. He advised them to send deputies to present their 
 case to the Protestant Churches abroad, and, as the result of this 
 plan, collections were made for them in Geneva, France, Switzerland, 
 and Germany. The first subscriber on the list was the Elector Pala- 
 tine; then followed the names of the duke of Wiirtemberg, the can- 
 ton of Bern, the Church at Strasburg, and others. The Waldenses, 
 however, were not long dependent upon the charity of their breth- 
 ren. Seed-time and harvest were again restored to their "Valleys." 
 On the sides of their mountains, and by the banks of their streams, 
 smiling chalets began to rise, and the evil effects of La Trinita's 
 campaign were being forgotten, when they were annoyed by the ap- 
 pointment of Castocaro, a native of Tuscany, to be deputy-governor 
 of their "Valleys." He had served against the Vaudois as a colonel 
 
THE TREACHEROUS CASTOCARO. 4OI 
 
 of militia under La Trinita, was taken prisoner, and, after honorable 
 treatment, was at length generously released. Resolving to return 
 evil for good, he sought to be appointed ruler of the Waldenses, 
 and, being acquainted with the Duchess Margaret, their protectress, 
 he ingratiated himself into her favor by professing a warm affection 
 for the men of the *' Valleys, " and secured the friendship of the arch- 
 bishop of Turin by pledging himself to make strenuous efforts to con- 
 vert his prospective subjects to Romanism. 
 
 After his inauguration as governor of the Waldensian territory, 
 he forgot his professions to the duchess, to whom he mainly owed 
 his appointment, and commenced faithfully to fulfill the promises he 
 had made to the archbishop. He began by restricting the liberties 
 guaranteed to their Churches in the treaty of peace ; he then ordered 
 the dismissal of certain of their pastors, and, when their congrega- 
 tions refused to comply, he fined and imprisoned the rebellious. He 
 sent false reports to the court of the duke, and marched a body of 
 soldiers Into the country, on the pretext that the Waldenses Avere 
 preparing to resist the government. He built the fortress of Mira- 
 bouc, at the foot of the Col de la Croix, in the narrow gorge that 
 leads from Bobbio to France, to close this gate of e:jclt from their ter- 
 ritory, and overawe the valley of Lucerna. Finally, he threatened 
 to renew the war, unless the Waldenses should comply Avith his de- 
 mands. What could they do In this emergency but present their 
 complaints and remonstrances to the duke and duchess at Turin? 
 But, alas, Castrocaro had by his craft and malice poisoned their 
 minds against the Vaudois, and the latter would soon again be con- 
 fronted with the old alternative — the mass or death. 
 
 In their extremity they appealed for help to the Protestant princes 
 of Germany, and this cry from the Alps found a responsive echo 
 from the German plains. The sympathies of the great Protestant 
 chiefs of the Father-land, especially of Frederic, elector palatine, 
 were aroused ; and, recognizing these humble vine-dressers and poor, 
 oppressed herdsmen as his brethren, Frederic espoused their cause 
 with ardor and warmth. He addressed a letter to the duke, which 
 contains a noble defense of the rights of conscience and an eloquent 
 plea in behalf of toleration. Leger published the letter in full, but 
 an extract Is sufficient to show the elevation of its sentiments, and 
 the catholicity of Its views: "Let your highness know that there Is 
 a God in heaven, who not only contemplates the actions, but also 
 tries the hearts and reins of men, and from whom nothing is hid. 
 Let your highness take care not voluntarily to make war upon God, 
 
402 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and not to persecute Christ in his members. . . . Persecution, 
 moreover, will never advance the cause it pretends to defend. The 
 ashes of the martyrs are the seed of the Christian Church. For the 
 Church resembles the palm-tree, whose stem only shoots up the 
 taller, the greater the weights that are hung upon it. Let your high- 
 ness consider that the Christian religion was established by persuasion 
 and not by violence ; and, as it is certain that religion is nothing else 
 than a firm and enlightened persuasion of God and of his will, as 
 revealed in his Word, and engraven in the hearts of believers by his 
 Holy Spirit, it can not, when once rooted, be torn away by tortures." 
 
 Thus the Elector Palatine warned the duke in words certainly 
 remarkable, when we remember that they were written in the middle 
 of the sixteenth century. We doubt whether a better expression on 
 the subject of the rights of conscience, the spirituality of religion, and 
 the impolicy as well as the criminality of persecution, could be obtained 
 in our own liberal age. We often apologize for the cruel and bloody 
 deeds of Spain and France, on the ground that intolerance and igno- 
 rance then prevailed in those lands. But six years before the St. 
 Bartholomew massacre was enacted this great voice had been raised 
 in Christendom for toleration. It is not definitely known what effect 
 this letter produced upon the mind of the duke, but afterwards Cas- 
 trocaro restrained his violence, though he still continued at intervals 
 to terrify the poor people by making the most atrocious threats against 
 them. On the death of Emmanuel Philibert, A. D. 1580, the villainy 
 of the governor was more fully revealed. The young duke, Charles 
 Emmanuel, ordered his arrest; but its execution was a difficult mat- 
 ter, as Castrocaro had entrenched himself in the castle of La Torre, 
 and surrounded himself with a band of desperadoes, to which he had 
 added, for his yet greater defense, a pack of furious blood-hounds of 
 unusual size and strength. He was betrayed by a captain of his 
 guard, and, as he had maintained himself by treachery, it is signifi- 
 cant that by treachery he was at length taken. Monastier informs 
 us that he was carried to Turin, where he perished in prison. 
 
 The patient Vaudois had been afflicted with famine, persecution, 
 war, all three sometimes in succession, and sometimes together; but 
 now they were visited from the hand of God. While Europe had 
 been in combustion, they, shut up within their mountains, enjoyed, 
 for some years, an unusual peace. In France, Spain, and many 
 parts of Italy their brethren of the Reformed Church were falling on 
 the field, perishing by massacre or dying at the stake, while they 
 had been remarkably preserved from harm. But now a new calam- 
 
THE PLAGUE. 403 
 
 ity carried gloom and mourning into their ''Valleys." On the morn- 
 ing of the 23d of August, A. D. 1629, a cloud of unusual blackness 
 gathered on the summit of the Col Julien, and suddenly burst in a 
 water-spout or deluge. The torrents rolled down the mountains on 
 both sides and overflowed the villages of Bobbio and Prali, situated 
 the one in the southern and the other in the northern valley. Many 
 of the houses were swept away and the inhabitants had barely time 
 to save their lives by flight. An icy wind, accompanied by a dry 
 cloud, scathed their "Valleys" in September of the same year, and 
 destroyed the crop of the chestnut tree. Then followed a second 
 deluge of rain, which completely ruined the vintage. As these calam- 
 ities succeeded a year of partial famine, the affliction was the more 
 grievous. The Vaudois pastors assembled in solemn synod to hum- 
 ble themselves and to lift up their voices in prayer to God. "Little 
 did they imagine," as Dr. Wyhe remarks, "that at that moment a 
 still heavier calamity hung over them, and that this was the last time 
 they were ever to meet one another on earth." 
 
 In the French army, which, under Marshal Schomberg, suddenly 
 occupied the "Valleys," A. D. 1630, were many volunteers who had 
 made their escape from a virulent, contagious disease, then raging In 
 France. The plague manifested itself in the first week of May, In 
 the Valley of Perosa; it next appeared in the more northern Valley 
 of Martino; and then soon spread throughout all the "Valleys." 
 Beneath the shadow of this mysterious and terrible scourge the pas- 
 tors met together to supplicate the Almighty, and adopt practical 
 measures for checking the ravages of the fearful visitant. They also 
 engaged in the benevolent work of purchasing medicine, collecting 
 provisions for the poor, visiting the sick, consoling the dying, and 
 preaching in the open air to crowds, solemn and eager to Hsten. The 
 weather was hot, and the seeds of the pestilence, which the army 
 had brought with it, rapidly developed themselves, and in July and 
 August, when the heat was excessive, the malady raged yet more 
 furiously. Four of the pastors died in the month of July, seven in 
 August, and In September another, the twelfth was mortally stricken 
 by the plague. Only three pastors now remained, and it was 
 remarked as a singular circumstance that they belonged to three 
 several valleys — Lucerna, Martino, and Perosa. These three surviv- 
 ors assembled on the heights of Angrogna to consult with the dep- 
 uties of the various parishes concerning the means for providing 
 pastors. As the result of the conference, they wrote to Geneva and 
 Dauphine, requesting that religious teachers might be sent to celebrate 
 
 27 
 
404 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 worship, so that the venerable ''Church of the Valleys," which had 
 survived so many calamities, might not become extinct. The histo- 
 rian, Muston, states that Antonio Leger was recalled from Constan- 
 tinople, where he had been tutor for many years in the family of the 
 embassador of Holland. 
 
 During the Winter the pestilence subsided, but in the Spring, 
 A. D. 163 1, it revived again in renewed force. Of the three surviv- 
 ing pastors one other died, leaving thus only two — Pierre Gilles, of 
 Lucerna, and Valerius Gross, of Martino. With the heats of Summer 
 the plague increased in strength. Armies coming and going in the 
 "Valleys" were attacked by this silent yet invincible enemy and 
 suffered equally with the inhabitants. Horsemen were seized with 
 sudden illness, and could be seen falling from the saddle on the high- 
 way. Soldiers and sutlers were stricken down in by-paths, where 
 their corpses lay infecting the air. In La Torre alone fifty families 
 became extinct. The most moderate estimate of the number cut off 
 by the pestilence is ten thousand, or from a half to two-thirds of the 
 entire population of the ''Valleys." The grapes rotted on the bough, 
 the corn in many places remained uncut, and the fruit dropped from 
 the tree. Silence reigned in towns and villages where the sound of 
 industry had recently been heard. Strangers, Avho had come to find 
 health in the pure mountain air, obtained from the soil nothing but 
 a grave. Parents were without children, and children were without 
 parents. Patriarchs, who had been accustomed to gather with pride 
 and joy their numerous grandchildren round them, had seen them 
 sicken and die and were now sad and lonely. 
 
 The venerable pastor Gilles lost his four elder sons, but in the 
 providence of God he was preserved, though continually exposed to 
 the malady in the homes of the stricken and at the bedsides of the 
 dying. He was no doubt spared to compile the monuments of his 
 ancient Church, and record among other woes that which had just 
 desolated his native land, and "part of which he had been." Only 
 two of the Vaudois pastors now remained, and, fearing that the "old 
 lamp" might go out, ministers from Geneva and other places hastened 
 to the "Valleys." Hitherto the services of the Waldensian Church 
 had been conducted in the Italian language, but the new pastors 
 could speak only French, and hence the latter tongue was used in 
 performing rehgious devotions. The Vaudois soon obtained a knowl- 
 edge of it, their own ancient language being a dialect between the 
 French and Italian. They introduced another change at this time by 
 assimilating their ritual to that of Geneva; and made a further inno- 
 
THE DUCHESS CHRISTINA. 405 
 
 vatlon by dropping the primitive and affectionate name of Barba and 
 substituting the modern title, Monsieur le Ministre. 
 
 After the departure of the plague the Waldenses began to reorgan- 
 ize their community. Death had entered every house, rent asunder 
 every tie, and destroyed nearly every family. What few scattered 
 inhabitants remained now came together to unite heart and hand in 
 restoring the ruined churches, raising up the fallen habitations, and 
 creating anew family and home. Other events of an encouraging 
 character occurred at this time which revived the spirits of the Vau- 
 dols, and inspired in them a ray of hope which made the scene of 
 the recent terrible catastrophe appear brighter. A treaty of peace 
 between the French monarch and the duke was signed, the army 
 then withdrew, and the dominion of the House of Savoy was once 
 more extended over the * 'Valleys." Comparative tranquillity pre- 
 vailed for a decade and a half, during which the population estab- 
 lished itself anew, and the soil was brought again under tillage. But 
 what were fifteen years of peace and prosperity amid storms so awful? 
 This delightful period came to a close A. D. 1650, when the Vaudois 
 entered within the shadow of their greatest calamity. Charles Em- 
 manuel II, a youth of fifteen, and a prince of mild and humane 
 disposition, then occupied the throne of Savoy. His mother, the 
 Duchess Christina, who sprung from a race always celebrated for 
 their dissimulation, their cruelty, and their bigoted devotion to 
 Rome, was appointed regent of the kingdom during her son's minor- 
 ity. She was the daughter of Henry IV and Mary de Medici, and 
 granddaughter of that Catherine de Medici whose name stands so 
 prominently connected with a tragedy which has received, as It de- 
 served, the execration of mankind — the St. Bartholomew Massacre. 
 The granddaughter inherited the gloomy disposition and ferocious 
 temper of the grandmother. The young prince, Charles, was coun- 
 seled and ruled by her, and in no reign did the tears and blood of the 
 Waldenses flow so profusely. It was not the facile spirit of the House 
 of Savoy that enacted those scenes of carnage which make humanity 
 shudder, but they were the result of a policy adopted in the Vatican 
 and executed by the cruel, crafty, blood-thirsty agent of the House 
 of Medici and regent of the kingdom. 
 
 The premeditated blow did not descend all at once, but a series 
 of lesser strokes — chicaneries, machinations, and legal robberies — pre- 
 pared the way for the great attack, which was expected to terminate 
 In the complete and final extermination of the Waldenses. First of 
 all appeared the monks. The plague had visited the ''Valleys," and 
 
406 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 now came a swarm of Capuchins, who were regarded by the Vaudois 
 as a second pestilence. They had been sent to convert the heretics, 
 and, confident of victory, they began their mission by challenging 
 the pastors to a controversy. After a few trials, however, they ascer- 
 tained the fact that the heretics were not easily conquered in debate. 
 Indeed, these shrewd monks endeavored to cover their weakness by 
 complaining that the Vaudois made *a pope of their Bible/ and, as 
 this Avas a book which the Fathers had not studied, they, their suc- 
 cessors, did not know where to find the passages that they felt sure 
 would confute the advocates of error. Finding that discussion was 
 an ineffectual method of silencing heretics, the Capuchins banished 
 them, the accomplished Antonine Leger, uncle of the historian, being 
 among the exiles. Thus were the people deprived of their spiritual 
 leaders, and some of their churches were closed. They were prohib- 
 ited, on pain of confiscation and death, from purchasing, or even cul- 
 tivating lands outside their own narrow territories, which to them 
 were practically a prison, since an order had been issued forbidding 
 them to cross the frontier, even for a few hours, unless on fair-days. 
 
 The communes of Bobbio, Villaro, Angrogna, and Rora, which 
 were wholly Protestant, were commanded to sustain each a mission, 
 and foreign Protestants were interdicted from settling in the "Val- 
 leys, under pain of death, and a fine of one thousand gold crowns 
 upon the communes that should receive them. This law was de- 
 signed to drive out the pastors, who, since the pestilence, were mostly 
 French or Swiss, and the papal authorities confidently hoped that, 
 in a few years, the Vaudois would be without ministers. The billet- 
 ing of soldiers, poor harvests, and confiscations had reduced the peo- 
 ple to extreme poverty, and, taking advan-tage of their condition, 
 their Romish rulers established Monts de PiM to induce them to 
 pawn their goods, and, when they had pledged all, they were offered 
 restitution in full, on condition of renouncing their faith. Young 
 maidens were promised dowries on the same terms. These various 
 arts did not succeed, only some dozen Waldenses being added to the 
 Roman Catholic Church. The agents of the latter, surprised and 
 disappointed at the slow progress of the good work of proselytizing, 
 resolved to adopt more efficient measures. 
 
 The ** Society for the Propagation of the Faith," established by 
 Pope Gregory XV, A. D. 1622, had already spread over Italy and 
 France. Its object was originally declared in words simple and inno- 
 cent: ''De P7Vpaganda Fide " (for the Propagation of the Faith). Since 
 the first institution of the society, however, its title, if not its object, 
 
MARCHIONESS DI PIANEZA. 407 
 
 had undergone enlargement. To its first modest designation were 
 added the significant and emphatic words: ^'et Extirpandis Hcereticis'' 
 (and the Extirpation of Heretics). The membership of the society 
 rapidly increased, including both laymen and priests. All ranks, 
 from the noble and the prelate to the peasant and the pauper, has- 
 tened to unite with it, the inducement being a plenary indulgence to 
 all who should engage in the noble enterprise, so unmistakably indi- 
 cated in the one short and pithy clause, '^et Extirpandis Hcei^eticis.'' 
 The societies in the smaller towns reported to the metropolitan cities, 
 and they to the capital, and the capitals to Rome, where, in the 
 words of Leger, "sat the great spider that held the threads of this 
 mighty web." The '* Council for the Propagation of the Faith" 
 was established at Turin, A. D. 1650. The chief councillors of state, 
 the great lords of the country, and the dignitaries of the Church 
 enrolled themselves as a presiding board. 
 
 Societies of women were organized, at the head of which was the 
 Marchioness di Pianeza. She was the first lady at court, and, not 
 having worn ''the white rose of a blameless life," she was all the 
 more zealous in this cause, in the hope of making expiation for the er- 
 rors of the past. She labored earnestly to promote the object of the 
 society, and infused her resolute spirit into all under her. ' * The lady 
 propagandists," says Leger, 'distributed the towns into districts, and 
 each visited the district assigned to her twice a week, suborning sim- 
 ple girls, servant maids, and young children, by their flattering allure- 
 ments and fair promises, and doing evil turns to such as would not 
 listen to them. They had their spies every-where, who, among other 
 information, ascertained in what Protestant families disagreements 
 existed, and hither Avould the propagandists repair, stirring up dissen- 
 sions, in order to separate the husband from the wife, the wife from 
 the husband, the children from the parents; promising them, and, 
 indeed, giving them, great advantages if they would consent to at- 
 tend mass. Did they hear of a tradesman whose business was falling 
 off, or of a gentleman who, from gambling or otherwise, was in want 
 of money, these ladies were at hand with their Dabo tibi ( I will give 
 thee), on condition of apostasy; and the prisoner was in like manner 
 relieved from his dungeon, who would give himself up to them. To 
 meet the very heavy expenses of this proselytizing, to keep the ma- 
 chinery at work, to purchase the souls that sold themselves for bread, 
 regular collections were made in the chapels, and in private families, 
 in the shops, in the inns, in the gambling houses, in the streets, every- 
 where, was alms-begging in operation. The marchioness of Pianeza 
 
408 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 herself, great lady as she was, used every second or third day to 
 make a circuit in search of subscriptions, even going into the tav- 
 erns for that purpose. ... If any person of condition, who 
 Vv^as believed able to contribute a coin, chanced to arrive at any 
 hotel in town, these ladies did not fail to wait upon him, purse in 
 hand, and solicit a donation. When persons of substance known 
 to belong to the religion [ Reformed ] arrived in Turin, they did not 
 scruple to ask money of them for the propagation of the faith, and 
 the influence of the marchioness, or fear of losing their errand and 
 ruining their affairs, would often induce such to comply." 
 
 While busy in the prosecution of these schemes, the marchioness 
 di Pianeza was prostrated by disease. As death Approached, she 
 experienced great remorse, and, desiring to make some atonement, 
 she summoned her lord ( from whom she had been parted for many 
 years), to her bedside, and charged him, as he valued the repose of 
 her soul, and the safety of his own, to continue the good work on 
 which her heart had been so much set, of converting the Vaudois. 
 For the purpose of stimulating his zeal, she bequeathed him a sum 
 of money, which, however, he could not touch until he had fulfilled 
 the condition on which it was granted. The marquis accepted the 
 task with the utmost good will. As a bigot and soldier he could 
 think of only one way of converting the Vaudois. 
 
 The storm of persecution now burst upon them. Gastaldo issued 
 his famous order on the 25th of January, A. D. 1655, commanding 
 all the Vaudois families residing in the commons of Lucerna, Fenile, 
 Bubiana, Bricherasio, San Giovanni, and La Torre — in short, the 
 whole of that rich district that separates their capital from the plain 
 of Piedmont — to abandon their dwellings within three days, and retire 
 into the valleys of Bobbio, Angrogna, and Rora. The penalty, in 
 case of refusal, was death. Another requirement was, that they 
 should sell their lands to Romanists within twenty days. Those, 
 however, who abjured the Protestant faith were exempted from the 
 decree. It was the depth of Winter, and that season in the Alps 
 has terrors unknown to the Winters of even more northern regions. 
 How inhuman and barbarous, therefore, this edict, which compelled 
 young children and old men, the sick and the bed-ridden, the blind 
 and the lame, to undertake a journey across swollen rivers, through 
 valleys buried in snow, and over mountains covered with ice! The 
 Romish Propaganda at Turin appointed the time of departure, know- 
 ing that the Vaudois must inevitably perish with cold and hunger. 
 When Christ was speaking to his disciples about the Roman armies 
 
THE SUFFERING FUGITIVES. 409 
 
 gathering around Jerusalem, he said, "Pray ye that your flight be 
 not in Winter." But how much more terrible was the experience of 
 these modern disciples. Cold were the icy peaks that looked down 
 on them as they were now fording the torrents, and now struggling 
 up the mountain tracks, but the heart of the persecutor was colder 
 still. They were offered the alternative of attending mass ; but Leger, 
 the historian, says that he was pastor of a congregation of nearly two 
 thousand persons, and that not one of them accepted the alternative. 
 "I can well bear them this testimony," he observes, "seeing I was 
 their pastor for eleven years, and I knew every one of them by 
 name ; judge, reader, whether I had not cause to weep for joy as well 
 as for sorrow, when I saw that all the fury of these wolves was not 
 able to influence one of these lambs, and that no earthly advantage 
 could shake their constancy. And when I marked the traces of the 
 blood on the snow and ice, over which they had dragged their lac- 
 erated limbs, had I not cause to bless God that I had seen accom- 
 plished in their poor bodies what remained of the measure of the 
 suflerings of Christ, and especially, when I beheld this heavy cross 
 borne by them with a fortitude so noble?" 
 
 These poor exiles were welcomed by the Vaudois of the other 
 valleys, who gladly shared with them their own humble and scanty 
 fare, consisting of polenta and roasted chestnuts, with the milk 
 and butter of their mountains. Thus laden, their table was joyfully 
 spread for all the refugees. The enemies of this persecuted people 
 were filled with amazement when they beheld the whole community 
 rise up as one man, and depart. But greater woes rapidly followed 
 this initial calamity. The deliberate purpose of the "Propaganda" 
 was the extirpation of the entire body of the Vaudois, though only 
 a part of of it had suffered from the cruel decree of Gastaldo. The 
 Waldensians, who had retired to the upper valleys, sent respectful 
 representations to the court of Turin, describing their piteous con- 
 dition in such pathetic terms that it seems strange how even that 
 tribunal could refuse their supplications. These petitioners besought 
 the fulfillment of treaties in which the honor and truth of the house 
 of Savoy were pledged, but their temperate and just request was not 
 granted. The ear of their prince had been poisoned by falsehood. 
 They were denied access to him, and their remonstrances, though 
 accompanied with tears and groans, were wholly unheeded by the 
 "Propaganda." The Vaudois were put off with equivocal answers 
 and delusive promises until the fatal 17th of April had arrived, when 
 it was no longer necessary to dissemble and equivocate. 
 
4 1 ITAL V ST7^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The marquis di Pianeza, on the 17th of April, A. D. 1655, de- 
 parted secretly at midnight from Turin, and appeared before the 
 ''Valleys" at the head of an army of fifteen thousand men. While 
 he was on the road to La Torre the Waldensian deputies were, by 
 appointment, knocking at his door in Turin. Leaving the main body 
 of his army encamped on the plain, the marquis, attended by about 
 three hundred men, appeared under the walls of La Torre, at eight 
 o'clock on Saturday, the same 17th of April. That army, secretly 
 prepared, was composed of Piedmontese, comprehending a large 
 number of banditti, who were promised pardon and plunder should 
 they behave themselves well. Monastier states that there were some 
 companies of Bavarians, six~ regiments of French, whose thirst for 
 blood the Huguenot wars had not been ^ble to slake, and several 
 companies of Irish Romanists, who, banished by Cromwell, arrived 
 in Piedmont dripping from the massacre of their Protestant fellow- 
 subjects in their native land. 
 
 The Waldensians had hastily constructed a barricade at the en- 
 trance of La Torre. The marquis ordered his soldiers to storm it ; 
 but the besieged made such a strong resistance that, after three 
 hours' fighting, the enemy discovered that he had made no advance. 
 At one o'clock on Sunday morning Count Ama(ieus of Lucerna, 
 who was well acquainted with the locality, made a flank movement 
 along the banks of the Pellice, stole silently through the meadows 
 and orchards, and, advancing from the opposite quarter, attacked the 
 Vaudois in the rear. Suddenly turning, and facing the enemy, they 
 pierced the ranks of their assailants and retreated to the hills. The 
 Vaudois had lost only three men in all that conflict. It was now 
 between two and three o'clock on Sunday morning, and, though the 
 hour was early, the Romanists repaired in a body to the church in 
 La Torre and chanted a Te Deum. It was Palm Sunday, and thus 
 did the Romish Church, by her soldiers celebrate in the Waldensian 
 valleys that great festival of good-will and love. 
 
 Having previously transported their families to the mountains, 
 the Vaudois, from their natural fastnesses, fearlessly beheld the 
 movements of the enemy. Their sentinels kept watch night and day 
 along the frontier heights, closely observing Pianeza's army on the 
 plains beneath. They saw their orchards falling by the axes, and their 
 dwellings being consumed by the torches of the soldiers. Along 
 the line of their mountain passes and forts a series of skirmishes 
 occurred on Monday, the 19th, and Tuesday, the 20th. The Vaudois 
 were poorly armed and vastly outnumbered, but they were victorious 
 
PIANEZA'S TREACHERY. 411 
 
 at every point. The popish soldiers retreated in great disorder, re- 
 porting wondrous tales of Vaudois valor and heroism to their com- 
 rades on the plain, and infusing incipient panic into the camp. 
 
 Pianeza, remembering that mighty armies had previously per- 
 ished on these mountains, became disquieted, and was haunted 
 with misgivings regarding the result. As cowardice and guilt are 
 generally associated, he naturally employed a weapon which the 
 Waldenses have never been able to use as effectively as #ie sword. 
 Before daybreak on Wednesday, the 21st, Pianeza announced, by 
 sound of trumpet at the various Vaudois intrenchments, that he was 
 willing to receive their deputies and treat for peace. Accordingly, 
 delegates were sent to his camp, and were welcomed at headquarters 
 with the utmost urbanity, and sumptuously entertained. The papal 
 commander expressed his deep regret that his soldiers had committed 
 such excesses, contrary to his orders. He declared that he had 
 come into their valleys only in pursuit of a few fugitives, who had 
 disobeyed Gastaldo's order ; that the higher communes had nothing 
 to fear; and that, if they would admit a single regiment, each for a 
 few days, in token of their loyalty, all would be amicably settled. 
 The crafty leader conquered the deputies, and despite the warnings 
 of the more sagacious, especially the pastor Leger, the Waldenses 
 opened the passes of their valleys and the doors of their dweUings 
 to the soldiers of Pianeza. 
 
 The Waldenses, alas! had received under their roofs the murder- 
 ers of themselves and their families. The first two days, the 22d 
 and 23d of April, were passed in comparative peace, the soldiers 
 eating at the same table, sleeping under the same roof, and convers- 
 ing freely with their destined victims. During this interval the 
 necessary preparations were made for the tragedy that was to follow. 
 The towns, the villages, the cottages, and the roads throughout the 
 "Valleys" were now occupied by the enemy, who likewise hung 
 upon the heights. The two great passes which led into France — the 
 one over the snows of the lofty Col Juhen, and the other by the 
 valley of Queyras into Dauphine — were held by Pianeza's forces, and 
 escape was therefore impossible by either outlet. No one could 
 traverse the Col Julien at this season and live, and the fortress of 
 Mirabouc, that guarded the narrow gorge which led into the valley 
 of Queyras, the enemy had been careful to secure. The Vaudois 
 were inclosed as in a net — shut in as in a prison. 
 
 At length the terrible blow fell with the sudden crash of the 
 thunder-bolt. According to Leger, who was an eye-witness of these 
 
412 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 horrors, the signal was given from the castle-hill of La Torre, at four 
 o'clock on the morning of Satm-day, the 24th of April, A. D. 1655. 
 But who can rehearse the fearful tragedy that followed? **It is Cain 
 a second time," says Monastier, ''shedding the blood of his brother 
 Abel." Almost instantly a thousand assassins commenced the work 
 of death, and the valleys of Angrogna and Lucerna beheld a scene 
 of dismay, agony, and woe. If the fiends of pandemonium, had 
 come forth to riot in crime and revel in blood, they could not have 
 excelled the cruel soldiers of the Romish ''Propaganda." The vic- 
 tims hastily climbed the hills, pursued by the murderers ; and the 
 torrents rolUng down the mountain -side soon became tinged with 
 blood, indicating that the butchery was progressing on the heights. 
 Clouds of dark smoke, relieved by gleams of lurid light, ascended 
 from the vales ; for a priest and monk accompanied each party of 
 soldiers, and set fire to the houses as soon as the inmates had been 
 murdered. The most heart-rending cries and groans echoed and re- 
 echoed from the rocks around, and it seemed as if the mountains 
 had taken up a lamentation for the slaughter of their children. 
 "Our valley of Lucerna," exclaims Leger, "which was like a 
 Goshen, was now converted into a Mount Etna, darting forth cinders 
 and fire and flames. The earth resembled a furnace, and the air was 
 filled with a darkness like that of Egy'pt, which might be felt, from 
 the smoke of towns, villages, temples, mansions, granges, and build- 
 ings, all burning in the flames of the Vatican." 
 
 The soldiers, not satisfied with the sudden infliction of death by 
 the sword, invented new modes of torture and death; and we dare 
 not portray in plain words all the disgusting and horrible deeds of 
 these men, whose wickedness can never be known, because it never 
 can be all told. The selection of a few instances from the awful 
 account given by Leger will be sufficient to show how human beings 
 may be transformed into fiends. Little children were torn from the 
 arms of their mothers, clasped by their tiny feet, and their heads 
 dashed against the rocks; or were held between two soldiers, and 
 their quivering limbs torn up by main force. Their mangled bodies 
 were then thrown on the highways or fields, to be devoured by 
 beasts. The sick and the aged were burned alive in their dwellings. 
 The hands, arms, and legs of some were cut off, and fire applied to 
 the severed parts to staunch the bleeding and prolong their suffering. 
 Some of them were flayed alive ; some were roasted alive ; some dis- 
 emboweled, or tied to trees in their own orchards, and their hearts 
 cut out. Others were horribly mutilated; and of many the brains 
 
FIENDISH TORTURERS. 413 
 
 were boiled and eaten by these cannibals. Some were fastened down 
 into the furrows of their own fields, and plowed into the soil. Some 
 were even buried alive. Fathers were marched to death with the 
 heads of their sons suspended round their necks. Parents were com- 
 pelled to look on while their children were first outraged, then mas- 
 sacred, before being themselves permitted to die. But we can not 
 proceed farther in Leger's shocking narration. The abominable, 
 monstrous, and vile deeds of Pianeza's soldiers are so utterly disgust- 
 ing and fiendish that they can not be transcribed. The heart sickens 
 and the brain begins to swim. **My hand trembles," says Leger, 
 **so that I can scarce hold my pen, and my tears mingle in torrents 
 with my ink, while I write the deeds of these children of darkness- 
 blacker even than the Prince of Darkness himself" 
 
 A general description, however appalling, can not convey so cor- 
 rect an idea of the terrible character of this persecution as would the 
 history of individual cases ; but circumstances will not permit this. 
 Could we describe these martyrs one by one — could we portray the trag- 
 ical fate of Peter Simeon, of Angrogna; the barbarous death of Magda- 
 lene, wife of Peter Pilon, of Villaro ; the sad story of Anne, daughter 
 of John Charbonier, of La Torre, whose sufferings can not be ex- 
 pressed by words ; the cruel martyrdom of Paul Garnier, of Rora, 
 whose eyes were first plucked out, who next of all endured other hor- 
 rible indignities, and, last of all, was flayed alive and his skin divided 
 into four parts, extended on the window-gratings of the four principal 
 houses in Lucerna — could all these cases, with hundreds of others 
 equally atrocious, be narrated in detail, the recital would be too har- 
 rowing, and the reader of the bloody story would turn away from it. 
 The Waldenses literally suffered all the things of which the apostle 
 speaks, as endured by the martyrs of old, with other torments not 
 then invented, or which the rage of even a Nero shrank from inflict- 
 ing: "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, 
 were slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep-skins and 
 goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world 
 was not worthy), they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in 
 dens and caves of the earth." 
 
 These cruelties are unparalleled and unique in the history of at 
 least civilized countries. There has been more blood shed and more 
 life sacrificed in other tragedies, but in none were the actors so com- 
 pletely dehumanized and the forms of suffering so fearfully disgusting 
 and so unutterably revolting. The ** Piedmontese massacres," in this 
 respect, stand alone. They are more fiendish than all the atrocities and 
 
414 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. ' 
 
 murders before or since, and Leger may still advance his challenge to 
 "all travellers and all who have studied the history of ancient and mod- 
 ern pagans, whether among the Chinese, Tartars, and Turks, they ever 
 witnessed or heard tell of such execrable perfidies and barbarities." 
 The authors of these deeds believed that they would be considered 
 incredible by the world on account of their monstrous cruelty, and 
 they boldly denied them even before the blood of the martyrs was well 
 dry in the ''Valleys." But pastor Leger immediately adopted effect- 
 ual n;ieans to demonstrate the falsehood of that denial, and to secure 
 that clear and convincing proof which would satisfy that and succeed- 
 ing generations. Soon after the massacre he traveled from" com- 
 mune to commune, attended by notaries, who took down the depo- 
 sitions and attestations of the survivors and eye-witnesses of these 
 deeds, in presence of the council and consistory of the place. From 
 the evidence of these witnesses he compiled and published a book, 
 which Dr. Gilly, of England, truly characterized as one of the most 
 "dreadful" in existence. Leger gave the originals of these deposi- 
 tions to Sir Samuel Morland, who placed them, together with other 
 valuable documents pertaining to the Waldenses, in the library of the 
 University of Cambridge. 
 
 When the survivors of this awful massacre beheld their brethren 
 slain, their country devastated, and their Church overthrown, their 
 hearts were filled with inexpressible grief. " Qh that my head were 
 waters," exclaims Leger, "and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
 might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people ! 
 Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." "It 
 was then," he adds, "that the fugitives who had been snatched as 
 brands from the burning, could address God in the words of the sev- 
 enty-ninth Psalm, which literally as emphatically describes their 
 condition : 
 
 "O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. 
 Thy holy temple have they defiled ; 
 They have laid Jerusalem on heaps, 
 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given 
 To be meat unto the fowls of heaven, 
 The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth." 
 
 When the work of desolation and death had ceased, Leger assem- 
 bled the scattered survivors to consult with them relative to the 
 course to be pursued. It is not strange that some advocated a 
 speedy retirement from the "Valleys;" but Leger strongly dissuaded 
 them against the thought of forsaking their ancient inheritance. He 
 
INTERPOSITION OF CROMWELL. 415 
 
 urged them to rebuild their Zion in the faith that the God of their 
 fathers would not permit the '* Church ^of the Valleys" to be finally 
 overthrown. To encourage them in this undertaking he presented a 
 statement of their sufferings and demoralized condition to their breth- 
 ren of other countries, who, he was sure, would hasten to their help at 
 this great crisis. These counsels prevailed. **Our tears are no longer 
 of water," so wrote the remant of the slaughtered Vaudois to the Prot- 
 estants of Europe, ** they are of blood ; they do not merely obscure our 
 sight, they choke our very hearts. Our hands tremble, and our heads 
 ache by the many blows we have received. We can not frame an 
 epistle answerable to the intent of our minds and the strangeness of 
 our desolations. We pray you to excuse us, and to collect amid our 
 groans the meaning of what we fain would utter." This touching 
 introduction was followed by a representation of their state, express- 
 ing themselves in terms, the moderation of which contrasts strongly 
 with the extent of their wrongs. When the news of the massacre 
 reached Protestant Europe a thrill of horror was felt by all classes. 
 
 In no country did the tidings awaken a deeper sympathy or kindle 
 a stronger indignation than in England. Cromwell, who was then at 
 the head of the state, proclaimed a fast, ordered a collection for the 
 sufferers, and wrote to all the Protestant princes and to the king of 
 France, to enlist their sympathy and aid in behalf of the Vaudois. 
 Dr. Wylie states that the sum contributed in England was about thirty- 
 eight thousand pounds sterling, and that sixteen thousand pounds of 
 this was invested, on the security of the state, to pension pastors, 
 school-masters, and students in the "Valleys." This latter sum was 
 appropriated by Charles II, on the pretext that he was not bound to 
 implement the engagements of a usurper. At this time Milton was 
 the protector's Latin secretary, and the writing of these letters was one 
 of the noblest as well as the most sacred of the tasks ever performed 
 by the great poet. Indeed, his pen was not more gloriously em- 
 ployed in writing "Paradise Lost." Cromwell was so deeply inter- 
 ested in the welfare of these venerable sufferers for conscience' sake, 
 that he sent Sir Samuel Morland with a letter to the duke of Savoy, 
 in which he expressed the astonishment and sorrow he felt at the 
 barbarities which had been committed. Cromwell's embassador vis- 
 ted the "Valleys" on his way to Turin, and beheld with his own 
 eyes the terrible spectacle which the region still presented. "If," 
 said he, addressing the duke of Savoy, "the tyrants of all times and 
 ages were alive again they would doubtless be ashamed to find that 
 nothing barbarous nor inhuman, in comparison of these deeds, had 
 
4l6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ever been invented by them. In the mean time, the angels are 
 stricken with horror; men are dizzy with amazement: heaven itself 
 appears astonished with the cries of the dying, and the very earth to 
 blush with the gore of so many innocent persons." The scene of the 
 slaughter gave force to his eloquence and kindled his republican 
 plainness into Puritan fervor, moving him to exclaim, ''Avenge not 
 thyself, O God, for this mighty wickedness, this parricidal slaughter. 
 Let thy blood, O Christ, wash out this blood !" 
 
 We have often mentioned the Castelluzzo in our history of the 
 Waldenses, and their numerous martyrdoms. It is intimately con- 
 nected with the "massacre of 1655," and inspired the muse of Mil- 
 ton. It stands at the entrance of the "Valleys," with feathery 
 woods covering its feet, and around its middle Hke a girdle is strewn 
 a mass of rock and debris, which countless tempests have gathered 
 there. From amidst these the supreme column rises up like a pillar, 
 and seems to touch the white cloud, which floats past in mid-heaven. 
 A short distance below the crowning rocks of summit a dark spot is 
 visible on the face of the cliff. At first sight it appears to be the 
 shadow of a passing cloud upon the mountain, but a closer observa- 
 tion shows that it is immovable, and, when approached, proves to be 
 the mouth of a cave, so extensive that it will accommodate several 
 hundred persons. To this friendly chamber the Waldensians were 
 accustomed to flee when Pandemonium reigned in the valleys be- 
 neath, glittering with steel, red with crime, and resounding with 
 execrations and blaspheiriies. During the great massacre of 1655 
 many of the Vaudois secreted themselves in this cave; but, alas, the 
 persecutor tracked them thither, and, dragging them forth rolled them 
 down the dreadful precipice. 
 
 The law of association, that indissolubly links atrocious crimes 
 with the spot where they were perpetrated, has written the ' ' Mas- 
 sacre of 1655 " on this mountain, whose rocks will remain as eternal 
 witnesses of that bloody tragedy. As Dr. Wylie eloquently remarks, 
 "there is not another such martyr's monument in the whole world." 
 While the Castelluzzo stands the cruel slaughter will be remembered, 
 and through all ages it will continue to speak in terms which Milton, 
 the subHme poet, has interpreted: 
 
 " Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones 
 Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ; 
 Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, 
 When all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones, 
 Forget not ; in thy book record their groans 
 
ASCENT OF LA COMBE. 417 
 
 Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold 
 Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that roll'd 
 
 Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans 
 The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
 
 To heaven. Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow 
 O'er all the Italian fields where still doth sway 
 
 The triple tyrant ; that from these may grow 
 A hundred-fold, who, having learned thy way, 
 
 Early may fly the Babylonian woe." 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 GIANAVELLO—THE MASSACRE— THE EXILES. 
 
 WHILE the revolting events described in the preceding chapter 
 were transpiring in the valleys of Lucerna and Angrogna, 
 tragic scenes were also being enacted in the valley of Rora. This 
 valley is situated on the left as one enters La Torre, and is separated 
 fronn Lucerna by a barrier of moutitains. It has two entrances, one 
 by a side ravine, which branches off about two miles before reaching 
 La Torre, and the other by crossing the valley of Lucerna and 
 climbing the mountains. The latter is deserving of a brief descrip- 
 tion. Starting from the town of La Torre and skirting the Castelluzzo 
 on the right, we then, by turning to the left, find ourselves descend- 
 ing into the valley, with its bright meadows shaded by the vine, which 
 extends its arms in classic freedom from tree to tree. By passing 
 over the torrent of the Pellice on a small bridge and advancing to the 
 foot of the mountains of La Combe — that wall in the valley of 
 Rora^ — we are ready to ascend by a winding path. As we proceed 
 upward we discover that pasturage and vineyard disappear, and the 
 chestnut forest surrounds us; cHmbing higher we lose sight of the 
 chestnut, and see only the pine; and soon we reach that elevation 
 where we stand amid the naked ledges of the mountain, with their 
 gushing rills margined by moss or other Alpine herbage. After an 
 ascent of two hours we come to the summit of the pass, and, while 
 resting upon this pedestal, some four thousand feet in height, we can 
 behold the grandeur of the stupendous amphitheater of Alps around 
 us. How profoundly deep the valley at our feet from which we have 
 'just climbed up! The PeUice now seems like a thread of silver; the 
 meadow like a patch of green a few inches square; the chestnut tree 
 seems to be a mere dot, scarcely visible; while yonder are La Torre 
 
41 8 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and the white Villaro, so tiny in appearance that they look as if they 
 could be "packed into a child's toy-box." 
 
 While distant objects appear smaller, the mountains around us 
 seem to have enlarged their bulk and increased their stature. The 
 summit of the Castelluzzo towers high above us; still higher rise the 
 rolling masses of the Vandalin, the lower slopes of which form a vast 
 and magnificent hanging garden, excelling those which once ranked 
 among the wonders of Babylon. In the far distance a tumultuous 
 sea of mountains charm the eye, here extending upward like sharp 
 needles, there stretching away in long serrated ridges, and there 
 rising up in massy peaks of naked granite wearing the glorious shining 
 garments which Winter weaves for the giants of the Alps. Beneath 
 us is the Valley of Rora, a cup of verdure some sixty miles in cir- 
 cumference, its sides and bottom variously clothed with corn-field 
 and meadow, with vineyard and orchard, with the walnut, the cherry, 
 and fruit-bearing trees, from amid which numerous brown chalets 
 cheerfully look forth. The great mountains sweep around the valley 
 like a wall, and among them, pre-eminent in glory as in stature, 
 stands the monarch of the Cottian Alps, Monte Viso. 
 
 From time to time God raised up among the Waldenses mighty 
 men of valor to deliver his people as he did among the ancient Jews. 
 One of the most remarkable of these Vaudois was Gianavello, com- 
 monly known as Captain Joshua Gianavello, a native of this same 
 Valley of Rora. We learn from historical accounts of him that he 
 possessed all the qualities of a great military leader — daring in cour- 
 age, resolute in purpose, fertile in resource, and self-possessed in 
 emergencies. He was quick to resolve and prompt to execute, 
 besides having the faculty of skillful combination, which is so essen- 
 tial in a commander. By his devotion and energy he succeeded in 
 mitigating, to some extent, the horrors of the ''Massacre of 1655," 
 and his heroism ultimately rolled back the tide of that great calamity 
 and made it recoil upon its authors. On the morning of the 24th of 
 April, A. D. 1655 — the same day that Pianeza stained the valleys 
 of Lucecna and Angrogna with innocent blood — that inhuman leader 
 sent five hundred soldiers to the Valley of Rora to murder its unsus- 
 pecting and unoffending inhabitants. These soldiers ascended from 
 the valley of the Pellice until they had gained the summit of the pass, 
 and were already descending on the town of Rora stealthily and 
 swiftly, as a herd of wolves might descend upon a sheepfold, or as, 
 says Leger, "A brood of vultures might descend upon a flock of 
 harmless doves." 
 
GIANAVELLaS VICTORY. 419 
 
 Gianavello, who had been expecting for some weeks an attack, 
 though he knew not when or where it would be made, was vigilant 
 and active. He saw the troops and at once understood their mission. 
 Not a moment could be lost without endangering the inhabitants of 
 Rora. Unless a speedy resistance was made not a man would be 
 spared to carry the tidings of their extermination to the next com- 
 mune. But how could Gianavello alone overcome an army of five 
 hundred men? Determined to make a desperate effort, he hastened 
 up the mountain under cover of the rocks and trees, and, on his way, 
 persuaded six peasants, brave like himself, to join him in repelling 
 the invaders. The heroic little band marched on until they were 
 near the troop, then, concealing themselves in the bushes, they lay 
 in ambush by the side of the path. The soldiers came on, never 
 suspecting the trap into which they were marching. Gianavello fired 
 with such precision that seven of the troop fell dead. Then reload- 
 ing their pieces and adroitly changing their ground they fired again 
 with like effect. The suddenness of the attack, and the invisibility 
 of the enemy, surprised Pianeza's soldiers, whose frightened imagina- 
 tions multiplied tenfold the number of their assailants. Resolved to 
 seek -safety in flight they began to retreat; but Gianavello and his 
 men, springing from cover to cover like so many chamois, followed 
 them, harassing their rear, and pouring upon them a deadly volley 
 of bullets. Fifty-four of the invaders were found dead upon the field ; 
 and thus did these seven peasants chase from their Valley of Rora 
 the five hundred assassins who had come to murder its peaceful 
 inhabitants. 
 
 On that same afternoon the people of Rora, who were ignorant 
 of the fearful massacre which was at that very moment proceeding in 
 the valleys of their brethren, visited the marquis di Pianeza and 
 complained of the attack, but he pretended to be ignorant of the 
 whole affair. "Those who invaded your valley," said he, "were a 
 set of banditti. You did right to repel them. Go back to your fam- 
 ilies and fear nothing. I pledge my word and honor that no evil 
 shall happen to you." These words did not deceive Gianavello, who 
 remembered the maxim enacted by the Council of Constance, and so' 
 often practiced in the "Valleys:" "No faith is to be kept with 
 heretics." He knew that Pianeza was the agent of the "Council of 
 Extirpation." The light of the following morning had scarcely 
 dawned when the hero-peasant was abroad, scanning with eagle eye; 
 the mountain paths that led into the valley. Soon his suspicions 
 
 were confirmed. Six hundred men-at-arms, who were selected with 
 
 28 
 
420 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 special reference to this difficult enterprise, were seen ascending the 
 mountain Cassuleto, to do what their comrades of the previous day 
 had failed to accomplish. Gianavello had collected a little host of 
 eighteen, of whom twelve were armed with muskets and swords, and 
 six with only the sling. He divided these into three parties, each 
 consisting of four musketeers and two slingers, and stationed them 
 in a defile, through which he saw the invaders must pass. As soon 
 as the van of the enemy had entered the gorge they were saluted 
 with a shower of bullets and stones from invisible hands. Every 
 bullet and stone executed its mission of destruction. The first dis- 
 charge brought down an officer and twelve men, and was rapidly 
 followed by others equally fatal. The cry was raised, "All is lost; 
 save yourselves!" The flight was precipitate, for every rock and 
 bush seemed to send forth deadly missiles. Thus these murderers 
 were driven from the Valley of Rora, and the Piedmontese troop 
 were disgraced by a second ignominious retreat. 
 
 The inhabitants visited Pianeza a second time and complained of 
 the treatment they had received. ''Concealing," as Leger says, ''the 
 ferocity of the tiger under the skin of the fox," he assured the dep- 
 uties that the attack had been the result of a misunderstanding, that 
 certain accusations had been brought against them, the falsity of 
 which had since been discovered, and now they might return to their 
 homes, for they had nothing to fear. But immediately after their 
 departure this treacherous leader began vigorously to prepare for a 
 third attack, and organized a battalion of from eight hundred to nine 
 hundred men. This host made a rapid march next morning on Rora, 
 took possession of all the avenues leading into the valley, and chas- 
 ing the inhabitants to the caves of Monte Friolante, first plundered 
 and then burned their dwellings. Captain Joshua Gianavello, in com- 
 mand of his little troop, beheld the enemy approaching; but their 
 overwhelming numbers deterred him from attacking them, and he 
 waited for a more favorable opportunity. The Piedmontese soldiers 
 were retiring, iaden with their booty, and driving before them the 
 cattle of the peasants. Gianavello, kneeling down before his hero- 
 band, rendered thanks to God, who had twice saved his people, and 
 prayed that the hearts and arms of his followers might be strength- 
 ened to work yet another deliverance. He then attacked the spoilers, 
 who, in their consternation fled up the mountain, leaving their plun- 
 der behind them, and endeavored to escape into the valley of the 
 Pellice, but when they reached the pass and began to descend their 
 flight became yet more disastrous. The Vaudois gathered massive 
 
MASSA CRE B V PIANEZAS ARMY. 42 1 
 
 stones and rolled them upon the retreating soldiers, at the same time 
 pouring upon them a shower of bullets. These missiles did deadly 
 execution, while many of the enemy in their haste fell over the prec- 
 ipices, and the few who survived fled to Villaro. 
 
 The marquis di Pianeza should have seen the finger of God in 
 these events, but he was only the more filled with rage and the more 
 determined to extirpate every heretic from the Valley of Rora. The 
 historian, Muston, states that all the royal troops that Pianeza then 
 commanded, together with those which could be spared from the 
 other valleys, were assembled and made preparations to surround the 
 small commune of Rora. This was now the fourth attack upon that 
 territory, but the invaders were destined once more to recoil before 
 the shock of its heroic defenders. Some eight thousand men were 
 ready to march, but a certain Captain Mario, who made himself 
 prominent in the massacre at Bobblo, desiring to appropriate the 
 entire glory of this enterprise, became impatient and would not await 
 the movement of the main body of the army. He marched two 
 hours in advance with three companies of regular troops, few of 
 whom ever returned. His soldiers, panic-stricken, rushed along the 
 narrow path and crowded their ferocious and Impulsive leader over 
 the edge of the rock into the stream. He was seriously wounded 
 and was taken to Lucerna, where he died two days afterwards in 
 great torment of body, and yet greater torment of mind. One of the 
 three companies in this fatal expedition was composed of Irish who 
 had been banished by Cromwell, and who met in this distant land 
 the death they had Inflicted on others In their own. 
 
 This series of strange events, in which Pianeza was a prominent 
 actor, was now coming to a close, and that military leader became 
 infuriated because he had been defeated by herdsmen and thereby 
 disgraced. Many of his bravest soldiers had been sacrificed. Victor 
 Amadeus once observed that "the skin of every Vaudois cost him 
 fifteen of his best Italian soldiers." While some hundreds of the 
 best soldiers of Pianeza were slain not one of the little troop of Gian- 
 avello, dead or alive, fell into the enemy's hands. The papal com- 
 mander, however, resolved to prosecute the war more vigorously and 
 with a much larger army. He collected ten thousand men and 
 attacked Rora on three sides at once. While Gianavello was bravely 
 resisting the first troop of three thousand on the summit of the pass 
 that gives entrance from the valley of the Pellice, a division of six 
 thousand had entered by the ravine at the foot of the valley, and a 
 third of one thousand had crossed the mountains that divide Bagnolo 
 
422 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 from Rora. It is impossible to describe the horrors that followed the 
 entrance of these assassins. They had no compassion upon those of 
 tender years, and no reverence for the gray hairs of the venerable 
 sire. Neither age nor sex were respected, and happy were they who 
 suffered instant death and thus escaped fearful Indignities and tor- 
 tures. The few spared from the sword were carried away as captives, 
 and among these were the wife and the three daughters of Glanavella 
 The patriot-hero had nothing more to contend for in the Valley of 
 Rora. The light of his hearth was extinguished, his village was a 
 heap of smoking ruins, his fathers and brethren had fallen by the 
 sword; but these accumulated calamities did not intimidate him, and 
 he marched his brave troop over the mountains to the frontier of his 
 country, there to take advantage of whatever opportunities Providence 
 might yet open to him of defending the ancient liberties and the 
 glorious faith of his people. 
 
 Pianeza, having resolved to make a final desperate effort to crush 
 the hero of Rora, first wrote to him as follows: ''I exhort you for 
 the last time to renounce your heresy. This is the only hope of your 
 obtaining the pardon of your prince, and of saving the life of your 
 wife and daughters, now my prisoners, and whom, if you continue 
 obstinate, I will burn alive. As for yourself, my soldiers shall no 
 longer pursue you; but I shall set such a price upon your head as 
 that were you Beelzebub himself, you shall infallibly be taken ; and 
 be assured that If you fall alive into my hands, there are no torments 
 with which I will not punish your rebellion." To these ferocious 
 threats, Gianavello magnanimously and promptly repHed : ''There 
 are no torments so terrible, no death so barbarous that I would not 
 choose rather than deny my Savior. Your threats can not cause me 
 to renounce my faith ; they but fortify me in it. Should the marquis 
 di Pianeza cause my wife and daughters to pass through the fire, it 
 can but consume their mortal bodies ; their souls I commend to God, 
 trusting that he will have mercy on them, and on mine should it 
 please him that I fall into the marquis's hands." If Pianeza did not 
 appreciate the fact that this was the most mortifying defeat he 
 had yet sustained in his contest with Gianavello, he must have real- 
 ized that a crusade against the Alps themselves would be as successful 
 as a war against a cause which could infuse such a spirit into its 
 champions. Glanavello's reply, observes Leger, "certified him as a 
 chosen instrument In the hands of God for the recovery of his coun- 
 try, seemingly lost." 
 
 The heroic peasant had rescued from the wreck of his family his 
 
THE BRAVE VAUDO IS. 423 
 
 infant son, whose safety, first of all, he desired now to secure. He 
 therefore placed him on his shoulders, and, crossing the frozen Alps 
 which separate the valley of Lucerna from France, he intrusted him 
 to the care of a relative resident at Queyras, in the valleys of the 
 French Protestants. With the child he carrried thither the tidings of 
 the awful massacre of his people. A feeling of intense indignation 
 every- where prevailed, and many brave spirits like Gianavello were 
 wiUing to enlist under his banner. Having greatly recruited his lit- 
 tle band, he repassed the Alps in a few weeks to begin his second 
 and more successful campaign. When he arrived in the ** Valleys," 
 he was r6-enforced by Giaheri, under whom a troop had been assem- 
 bling to avenge the massacre of their brethren. In Giaheri, Captain 
 Gianavello had found a companion worthy of himself and worthy of 
 the cause which he was now defending. Of this heroic man Leger has 
 recorded that, ** though he possessed the courage of a lion, he was 
 as humble as a lamb, always giving to God the glory of his victories ; 
 well versed in Scripture, and understanding controversy, and of great 
 natural talent." The Vaudois race had been nearly exterminated by 
 the massacre, so that these two leaders could only collect five hundred 
 men. The opposing army at this time in their ** Valleys" was com- 
 posed of between fifteen and twenty thousand trained soldiers. The 
 faith of these two men in the God of battles must have been strone, 
 else they would not have ventured with such a handful of peasants 
 against such odds. They beHeved that God would not permit his 
 cause to perish or the lamp of the ** Valleys" to be extinguished, 
 and, though few in numbers, they knew that God was able, by their 
 humble instrumentality, to save their country and Church. With a 
 faith resting upon such a basis, these two Christian warriors un- 
 sheathed the sword, and so valiantly did they wield it that soon that 
 sword became the terror of the Piedmontese armies. The ancient 
 promise was fulfilled, ''The people that do know their God shall be 
 strong and do exploits." 
 
 To describe in detail all the prodigies of valor performed by this 
 brave little host would be a difficult task ; but the record would be 
 a thrilling volume. '' I had always considered the Vaudois to be 
 men," said Descombies, who had joined them, ''but I found them 
 lions." They assaulted the enemy with a fury that nothing could 
 resist, and the Piedmontese troops were driven from post to post, 
 from village to village, until they were soon expelled from the upper 
 valleys. The war now passed down into the plain of Piedmont, 
 where it was prosecuted with the same heroism and the same success. 
 
424 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The Vaudois besieged and took several towns, and fought many pitched 
 battles, achieving a victory in nearly every contest, though opposed 
 by more than ten times their number. Their triumphs could hardly 
 be credited were they not recorded by historians of unimpeacha- 
 ble veracity, and the accuracy of whose statements was attested by 
 eye-witnesses. At the close of a day's fighting, as many as four- 
 teen hundred Piedmontese soldiers were often found slain on the 
 field of battle, while not more than six or seven of the Waldenses 
 had fallen. Such victories seemed to be miraculous, and were so 
 regarded, not only by the Vaudois themselves, but even by their foes, 
 who could not refrain from expressing their conviction ' * that surely 
 God was on the side of the barbets." While the Vaudois were thus 
 bravely maintaining their cause by arms, and inflicting the chastise- 
 ment of war on those from whom its miseries had come, tidings of 
 their sufferings and oppressions were being conveyed to all the Prot- 
 estant states of Europe. The reports wakened a feehng of horror, 
 and the cruelty of the government of Savoy was universally and 
 loudly condemned. It was generally acknowledged that such a 
 recital of woe they had never before heard, but the Protestant states 
 did not content themselves by simply condemning these deeds. Be- 
 lieving that it was their imperative duty to interpose in behalf of this 
 poor and greatly oppressed people, they adopted prompt and active 
 measures. Prominent among those nations which achieved imperish- 
 able honor was England, then under the protectorate of Cromwell. 
 As we have already said, a Latin letter, composed by Milton, was 
 sent by the protector to the duke of Savoy. In addition, Cromwell 
 wrote to Louis of France, soliciting his mediation with the duke in 
 behalf of the Vaudois. The letter is interesting because it expresses 
 the truly catholic and noble sentiments of England : 
 ''Most Serene and Potent King, — 
 
 . '* After a most barbarous slaughter of persons of 
 both sexes and of all ages a treaty of peace was concluded, or rather 
 secret acts of hostility were committed the more securely under the 
 name of a pacification. The conditions of the treaty were determined 
 in your town of Pinerolo : hard conditions enough, but such as these 
 poor people would gladly have agreed to, after the horrible outrages 
 to Avhich they had been exposed, provided that they had been faith- 
 fully observed. But they were not observed; the meaning of the 
 treaty is evaded and violated, by putting a false interpretation upon 
 some of the -articles, and by straining others. Many of the com- 
 plainants have been deprived of their patrimonies, and many have 
 
CROMWELLS LETTER. 425 
 
 been forbidden the exercise of their reHgion. New payments have 
 been exacted, and a new fort has been built to keep them in check, 
 from whence a disorderly soldiery make frequent sallies and plunder 
 or murder all they meet. In addition to these things, fresh levies of 
 troops are clandestinely preparing to march against them ; and those 
 among them who profess the Roman Catholic religion have been 
 advised to retire in time ; so that every thing threatens the speedy 
 destruction of such as escaped the former massacre. I do therefore 
 beseech and conjure your majesty not to suffer such enormities, and 
 not to permit (I will not say any prince, for surely such barbarity 
 never could enter into the heart of a prince, much less of one of the 
 duke's tender age, or into the mind of his mother) those accursed 
 murderers to indulge in such savage ferocity, who, while they profess 
 to be the servants and followers of Christ, who came into the world 
 to save sinners, do blaspheme his name, and transgress his mild pre- 
 cepts by the slaughter of innocent men. Oh, that your majesty, 
 who has the power, and who ought to be inclined to use it, may 
 deliver so many supplicants from the hands of murderers, who are 
 already drunk with blood and thirst for it again, and who take pleas- 
 ure in throwing the odium of their cruelty upon princes ! I implore 
 your majesty not to suffer the borders of your kingdom to be pol- 
 luted by such monstrous wickedness. Remember that this very race 
 of people threw themselves upon the protection of your grandfather. 
 King Henry IV, who was most friendly disposed towards the Protest- 
 ants when the duke of Lesdiguieres passed victoriously through their 
 country, as affording the most convenient passage into Italy, at the 
 time he pursued the duke of Savoy in his retreat across the Alps. 
 The act or instrument of that submission is still extant among the 
 public records of your kingdom, in which it is provided that the 
 Vaudois shall not be transferred to any other government, but upon 
 the same condition that they were received under the protection of 
 your invincible grandfather. As supplicants of his grandson, they 
 now implore the fulfillment of this compact. 
 
 '' Given at our Court at Westminster, this 26th of May, 1658." 
 The French king undertook the mediation as requested by the 
 Protestant princes, but hurried it to a conclusion before the embassa- 
 dors from the Protestant states had arrived. The delegates from the 
 Protestant cantons of Switzerland were present, but were not permit- 
 ted to participate in the deliberations. The Grand Monarch managed 
 the whole affair, and on the i8th of August, A. D. 1655, a treaty of 
 
426 ITAL Y STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 peace was concluded ; but it was unjust to the Waldenses. They were 
 deprived of their ancient possessions on the right bank of the Pellice, 
 lying toward the plain of Piedmont. Within the new boundary they 
 were guaranteed liberty of worship ; an amnesty was granted for all 
 offenses committed during the war; captives were to be restored 
 when claimed ; and they were to be exempt from all imposts for five 
 years, on the ground that they were so impoverished as not to be 
 able to pay any thing. 
 
 When the treaty Avas published, two clauses in it astonished the 
 Protestant world. In the preamble the Vaudqis were called rebels, 
 whom it had pleased their prince graciously to receive back into 
 favor ; and there was an article in the body of the deed, which no one 
 remembered to have been mentioned during the negotiations, empow- 
 ering the French to construct a fort above La Torre. This indicated 
 the determination of the enemy to renew the war. By this treaty 
 the Protestant states were deceived, their embassadors were outwit- 
 ted, and the poor Waldenses were left as much as ever in power of 
 the duke of Savoy and the ' ' Council for the Propagation of the 
 Faith and the Extirpation of Heretics." 
 
 After the great ''massacre of 1665" the Waldenses enjoyed com- 
 parative peace for thirty years, though their enemies annoyed them 
 in innumerable ways. Many of their prominent men were sent into 
 exile, and Captain Gianavello and Pastor Leger had sentence of death 
 passed upon them. The former retired to Geneva and the latter be- 
 came pastor of a congregation at Leyden. But the storm of perse- 
 cution again burst upon the ''Valleys." Louis XIV of France had 
 revoked the "Edict of Nantes," and afterwards requested the duke of 
 Savoy to exterminate the Waldenses. The young and humane Vic- 
 tor Amadeus refused to do so ; but the French monarch, in his third 
 message to him, threatened to send an army of fourteen thousand 
 men to purge the "Valleys," which he would add to his dominions. 
 Amadeus yielded; an edict was promulgated on the 31st of January, 
 A. D. 1686, demanding of the Vaudois an immediate acceptance of 
 the Romish faith, or death. An army of between fifteen and twenty 
 thousand French and Piedmontese soldiers invaded the "Valleys," 
 and more than three thousand Vaudois were massacred. . The remain- 
 der of the nation were imprisoned in the various fortresses of Pied- 
 mont. "When they entered these dungeons," says Henri Arnaud, 
 "they counted fourteen thousand healthy mountaineers; but when 
 at the intercession of the Swiss deputies, their prisons were opened, 
 three thousand skeletons only crawled out." In December, A. D. 
 
THE PA TRIO TIC FEELING. 427 
 
 1686, they were liberated; but'^a cruel edict compelled them to start 
 immediately across the snowy Alps. Sick, hungry, and poorly clad, 
 the exiles commenced their weary march, and after three weeks of 
 untold hardship and suffering, reached Geneva on Christmas. Many 
 perished on the way ; but the survivors received a hospitable wel- 
 come from their Swiss brethren. A deputation of prominent citizens, 
 headed by the patriarch Gianavello, who still lived, went out to the 
 frontier and escorted them to the city. 
 
 A 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE WALDENSES. 
 
 BRIGHTER day now dawned upon the Waldenses. We have 
 seen three thousand of them in exile entering the gates of 
 Geneva, the feeble remnant of a population of from fourteen to six- 
 teen thousand. All could not be accommodated in one city, and 
 therefore arrangements were made for distributing them among the 
 reformed cantons. A short time before, the revocation of the Edict 
 of Nantes had thrown thousands of French Protestants upon the 
 hospitality of the Swiss, and the arrival of the Waldensian refugees 
 made yet heavier demands on the public and private charity of the 
 ISwiss cantons. Protestant Helvetia, however, responded with equal 
 cordiality in the case of the Vaudois as they did in that of the 
 French, and perhaps even more so, in view of their greater destitu- 
 tion. Nor were the expatriated Waldenses ungrateful. ''Next to 
 God, whose tender mercies have preserved us from being entirely 
 consumed," said they to their kind benefactors, **we are indebted to 
 you alone for life and liberty." 
 
 Several of the German princes opened their states to the exiles; 
 but their great enemy, Louis XIV, exerted such a powerful influence 
 in these parts that they could not reside in peace. His emissaries 
 were constantly watching them and tampering with their patrons. 
 While being moved about from place to place they began anx- 
 iously to discuss the question of their permanent settlement in the 
 future. Among the projects that were suggested was that of con- 
 veying them across the sea in the ships of Holland, and planting 
 them at the Cape. Their hearts were filled with intolerable anguish 
 when they thought of the possibility of never again beholding their 
 
428 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 native land, which was dearer to them in exile than when they dwelt 
 in it. After three years of banishment from it they began to ask 
 themselves the question whether they Avere not able to reassemble 
 their scattered colonies, return to their valleys, and rekindle their 
 ancient lamp in them. As they wandered by the banks of the 
 Rhine, or traversed the German plains, they delighted to feast their 
 imaginations on their far-off homes. A picture of the past rose be- 
 fore them — the chestnuts shading their former abodes, the vines 
 bending gracefully over their portal, and the green meadow spread- 
 ing out in front, rendered perpetually bright by the crystal stream 
 whose murmur sweetly blended with the evening psalm. Whenever 
 they knelt to pray, their faces were turned towards their grand 
 mountains, where slept their martyred fathers. The duke of Savoy 
 had made several efforts to introduce into their territory a mongrel 
 race, partly Irish and partly Piedmontese; but the land, as if un- 
 friendly to the strangers, refused to be productive. The spies whom 
 the Vaudois had sent to examine its condition reported that its fields 
 were uncultivated, its vines unpruned ; its ruins had not been re- 
 paired, and it was almost as desolate as on the day when its sons 
 had been banished from it. It appeared to them that the land was 
 waiting their return. 
 
 At length they could no longer repress the yearning of their 
 hearts. The lOth of June, A. D. 1688, was the day appointed for 
 commencing their expedition. Leaving their various cantonments in 
 Switzerland, and taking by-roads, they traveled through the country 
 by night and assembled at Bex, a small town in the southern ex- 
 tremity of the territory of Bern. The senates of Zurich, Bern, and 
 Geneva received intelligence of their secret march, and, foreseeing 
 that the departure of the exiles would compromise them with the 
 popish powers, their excellencies adopted measures to prevent it. A 
 boat containing arms for their use was seized on the lake of Geneva. 
 The inhabitants of the valleys, in concert with the Savoyards, at the 
 first alarm seized the bridge of St. Maurice, the key of the Rhone 
 valley, and stopped the expedition. To extinguish all hope of their 
 return to the valleys they were distributed anew over Germany; but 
 scarcely had this second dispersion occurred when war broke out. 
 The palatinate was overrun by the French troops, and the Vaudois 
 who had settled there, dreading, not without reason, the soldiers of 
 Louis XIV, retired before them and started for Switzerland. The 
 condition of these poor exiles, tossed from country to country by 
 political storms, excited the compassion of the Protestant cantons, 
 
HENRI ARNA UD. 429 
 
 and they settled them again in their former allotments. In the mean 
 time important events were occurring in the nations around them, 
 and the expatriated Waldenses, with uplifted hearts, waited the 
 result. They saw their protector, William of Orange, mount the 
 throne of England. They beheld their powerful enemy, Louis XIV, 
 attacked at once by the emperor and humiliated by the Dutch. 
 They saw their own prince, Victor Amadeus, withdraw his soldiers 
 from Savoy because he needed them to defend Piedmont. It ap- 
 peared to the Waldenses that an invisible hand was opening up their 
 path to return to their native land. 
 
 These indications encouraged them to prepare a second time for 
 their departure. They selected as their place of rendezvous a wood 
 on the northern shore of the Leman, near the town of Noyon. For 
 days before they came in scattered bands from various directions, 
 converging by stealthy marches on the point designated. On the 
 decisive evening, the i6th of August, A. D. 1689, a general muster 
 occurred under cover of the friendly wood of Prangius. After com- 
 mending their enterprise to God in solemn prayer, they embarked 
 on the lake, and crossed by starlight. These means of transporta- 
 tion were fortunately provided by a circumstance which threatened at 
 first to defeat their plan, but which in the end greatly facilitated it. 
 Many people had been drawn by curiosity to this part of the lake, 
 and the boats which conveyed these sight-seers became the means 
 of escape to the Vaudois. 
 
 In this emergency, as in others which arose in the past, a distin- 
 guished man was raised up to lead them, Henri Arnaud, who was 
 born at La Tour, in Piedmont, A. D. 1641. His early history is 
 obscure ; but it is said that he at first served as a pastor, until the 
 troubles of his nation compelled him to leave the valleys. Will- 
 iam III of England gave him a colonel's commission, and he acquired 
 great distinction as a military commander, at the head of twelve 
 hundred Vaudois, under Marlborough. He was a man of decided 
 piety, ardent patriotism, and of great decision and courage, combin- 
 ing in a remarkable manner the qualities of the pastor and the sol- 
 dier. It is difficult to say whether his soldiers listened more rev- 
 erentially to his occasional exhortations from the pulpit or to the 
 orders he gave them on the field of battle. These eight hundred 
 Vaudois, after their arrival on the southern shore of the lake, bowed 
 before God in prayer, and began their march through a country con- 
 taining numerous enemies. The lofty snow -clad mountains over 
 which they were to fight their way rose before them, but Arnaud 
 
430 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 was not discouraged. Arranging his little company into three divi- 
 sions — an advanced guard, a center, and a rear -guard — he traversed 
 the valley of the Arve to Sallenches, and seized the chief men as 
 hostages. Just as the soldiers of Arnaud emerged from its dangerous 
 passes the inhabitants of Sallenches had completed their preparations 
 for resisting 'tham. Occasional \ skirmishes occurred during their 
 march ; but as a general thing they encountered slight opposition, 
 for the terror of God seemed to have fallen upon the people of Savoy. 
 
 The Vaudois continued to advance, and climbed the Haut Luce 
 Alp, which was so named by the author of the ''Rentree," from 
 the village at its foot, but which, without doubt, says Mdnastier, is 
 the Col Joli, seven thousand two hundred and forty feet high, or the 
 Col de la Fenetre, or Portetta, as it was named to M. Brockedon, who 
 has visited these countries and traveled the same road as the Vaudois. 
 They next crossed Bon Homme, the neighboring Alp to Mont 
 Blanc, sometimes sinking to their middle in snow, and then subjected 
 to both toil and danger by treacherous glaciers and steep precipices. 
 To add to their discomfort the rain fell in torrents, and thoroughly 
 saturated them. Their provisions were growing scanty; but the 
 shepherds of the mountains recruited their supplies with bread and 
 cheese, and at night welcomed them to their huts. At every stage 
 the Vaudois renewed their hostages; sometimes they "caged" — to 
 use their own phrase — a Capuchin monk, and at other times an 
 influential landlord ; but all were kindly treated. After crossing the 
 Bon Homme, which divides the basin of the Arve from that of the 
 Iser, they descended, on Wednesday, the fifth day of their march, 
 into the valley of the latter stream, where they anticipated oppo- 
 sition, as the numerous population of that region was known to be 
 well-armed and decidedly hostile; but they. did not disturb the Vau- 
 dois. The latter marched forward, traversing Mount Iserna, and 
 also the yet more formidable Mount Cenis, and finally descended 
 into the valley of the Dora. 
 
 On Saturday, the 24th of August, they encountered a considera- 
 ble body of regular soldiers in that valley. At first they met a 
 peasant, of whom they inquired whether they could have provisions 
 by purchasing them. ''Come on this way," said the man, in a tone 
 which seemed to indicate that he was elated; "you will find all that 
 you want; they are preparing an excellent supper for you."' Fol- 
 lowing him into the defile of Salabertrand, where the Col d'Albin 
 closes in upon the*stream of the Dora, they found themselves sud- 
 denly ushered into, the presence of a French army, whose camp- 
 
THE RESULTS OF THE BATTLE. 43 1 
 
 fires — for night had come — illumined the opposite slope far and wide. 
 It was impossible for the Vaudois to retreat. The French were two 
 thousand five hundred strong, flanked by the garrison of exiles, and 
 supported by a miscellaneous crowd of armed followers. The Vau- 
 dois advanced in the dark to the bridge which crossed the Dora, on 
 the opposite banks of which the French were encamped. To the 
 challenge, "Who goes there?" the Vaudois answered, ''Friends." 
 The instant reply shouted out was, ''Kill! kill!" followed by a tre- 
 mendous fire, which was kept up for about fifteen minutes. It did 
 no harm, however, for Arnaud commanded his soldiers to fall flat 
 on their faces and permit the deadly shower to pass over them. But 
 now a division of the French appeared in the rear of the Vaudois, 
 thus placing them between two fires. Some one in Arnaud's army, 
 seeing that all must be risked, shouted out, "Courage! the bridge 
 is won." At these words the Vaudois started to their feet, rushed 
 across the bridge sword in hand, and, clearing it, they threw them- 
 selves with the impetuosity of a whirlwind upon the enemy's in- 
 trenchments. Confounded by the suddenness of the attack, the 
 French could only use the butt -ends of their muskets to defend 
 themselves. The fighting lasted two hours, and ended in the total 
 rout of the French. Their leader, the marquis de Larr, after a fruit- 
 less attempt to rally his soldiers, fled wounded to Briancon, exclaim- 
 ing, "Is it possible I have lost the battle and my honor?" 
 
 In a short time after the battle the moon rose, and revealed the 
 field of conflict to the victors. On it, stretched out in death, lay six 
 hundred French soldiers, besides officers ; while arms, military stores, 
 and provisions were strewn promiscuously among the dead. Thus 
 had been suddenly opened an armory and magazines to men who 
 greatly needed both weapons and food. Having amply replenished 
 themselves, they collected into a heap what they could not carry 
 away, and burned it. The explosion of the gunpowder, the sound- 
 ing of the trumpets, and the shouting of the captains, who, throwing 
 their caps in the air, exclaimed, "Thanks be to the Lord of hosts, 
 who hath given us the victory!" awakened the silence of the valleys 
 and reverberated from mountain to mountain. 
 
 This great victory cost the Waldenses only fifteen killed and 
 twelve wounded. They were very much fatigued; but, fearing to 
 halt on the battle-field, they aroused those who had already sunk into 
 sleep, and commenced to climb the lofty Mont Sci. The day was 
 breaking as they gained the summit. It was the Lord's-day, and 
 Henri Arnaud, halting until all should assemble, pointed out to 
 
43 2 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 them, just as they were becoming visible in the morning light, the 
 mountain-tops of their own land. No sight was ever more welcome 
 to their longing eyes. Bathed in the radiance of the rising sun, it 
 seemed to them, as one snowy peak began to burn after another, 
 that the mountains were kindling into joy at the return of their 
 long -absent sons. This army of soldiers resolved itself into a con- 
 gregation of worshipers, and the summit of Mont Sci became their 
 church. Kneeling on the mountain-top, the battle-field belpw them, 
 and the solemn and sacred peaks of the Col du Pis, the Col la 
 Vachera, and the glorious Monte Viso looking down upon them in 
 reverent silence, they humbled themselves before the Almighty, con- 
 fessing their sins, and giving thanks for their many deliverances. 
 From this assembly of warrior-worshipers, gathered under the dome- 
 like vault that rose over* them, the offering of sincere and devout 
 thanksgiving ascended to God. 
 
 This heroic band, invigorated by the services of the Sabbath, 
 and encouraged by their recent victory, rapidly descended to the 
 valley of Clusone, which is about two miles in width, and is watered 
 by the broad, clear Germagasca. Before they could enter San Mar- 
 tino, one of the grandest of their "Valleys," they w^ere compelled 
 to pass through a narrow defile which was guarded by a detachment 
 of Piedmontese soldiers, but the latter fled at the approach of the 
 Vaudois. These brave mountaineers rushed through the open gate, 
 and, on the twelfth day after departing from the shores of Leman, 
 stood once more within the limits of their inheritance. They dis- 
 covered, when they reached Balsiglia, in the western extremity of San 
 Martino, that fatigue, desertion, and battle had reduced their num- 
 bers from eight hundred to seven hundred. 
 
 The Vaudois spent the first Sabbath after their arrival at the 
 village of Prali, where they found the only sanctuary that remained 
 standing in the "Valleys." They resolved to restore their ancient 
 and Scriptural worship, and made a good beginning by purging the 
 church of its popish ornaments. As the edifice was too small to 
 contain all, a portion of the valiant army stood without, while Henri 
 Arnaud, the soldier-pastor, mounted a table which was placed in the 
 porch, and preached to them. They commenced their worship by 
 chanting the seventy-fourth Psalm: "O God, why hast thou cast us 
 off forever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy 
 pasture?" etc. The text selected for the occasion was the one hun- 
 dred and twenty-ninth Psalm, and Arnaud reviewed the wonderful 
 history of the Vaudois, at the same time urging his people to emu- 
 
THE SER VICE A T PR ALL 
 
 433 
 
 late the glorious achievements of their fathers. The service was 
 closed by these seven hundred warriors chanting in magnificent 
 chorus the Psalm from which their leader had preached ; and while 
 
 engaged in these devotional exercises they no doubt recalled the fact 
 that the village of Prali had been the scene of a revolting outrage at 
 the time of their exodus. The pastor of the church at that place, 
 
434 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 M. Leidet, a deeply pious man, had been discovered by the soldiers 
 while he was praying under a rock, and, after being dragged forth, he 
 was first torti^red, then mutilated, and finally executed, his last words 
 being those of the sainted Stephen, ''Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 
 For more than three years the enemies of the Gospel had prevented 
 the preaching of the truth in Prali, and it seemed appropriate that 
 the Vaudois should recommence Protestant worship in the sanctuary 
 of the martyr Leidet. 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 THE WALDENSES RE-ESTABLISHED IN THEIR VALLEYS. 
 
 WHILE the Vaudois had entered the land they had not yet 
 obtained control of it; and what could they, a mere handful, 
 accomplish in a contest with the large and well-appointed Piedmon- 
 tese army, aided by the French ? Their great leader, however, was a 
 man of wonderful courage, and with this was combined a strong 
 faith. They believed that the *' cloud" which had directed their 
 steps over the lofty mountains, with their snows and abysses, would 
 cover their camp and lead them to victory on the battle-field. Hav- 
 ing succeeded, after a marvelous journey, in reaching their native 
 land, they were confident that they would be able to possess it. 
 With these inspiring hopes to sustain them, the brave seven hundred 
 commenced the arduous task before them. 
 
 As they climbed the Col Julien, which separates PraH from Lu- 
 cerna, the fertile and central valley of the Waldenses, and came near 
 the summit of the pass, the Piedmontese soldiers, who had been sta- 
 tioned there shouted out, * ' Come on, ye barbets ; we guard the pass, 
 and there are three thousand of us!" They did come on, and in a 
 few moments forced the intrenchments, and put to flight the gar- 
 rison. The Vaudois found in the evacuated camp a store of ammu- 
 nition and provisions, which to them was a very seasonable booty. 
 They descended rapidly the slopes and precipices of the mountain 
 and surprised the town of Bobbio, which nestles at its foot. Driv- 
 ing out the popish inhabitants, they entered their ancient dwellings 
 and resolved to rest a short time after the march and conflict of the 
 previous days. Here they spent their second Sabbath, the congre- 
 gation celebrating public worship and "chanting their psalm to 
 
THE WALDENSES AT VILLARO. 435 
 
 the clash of arms." On the following day they went to the 
 **Rock of Sibaud, " where their fathers had pledged their faith to 
 God and to one another, and there, on the same sacred spot they 
 renewed their ancient oath, swearing with uplifted hand to abide 
 steadfastly in the profession of tJie Gospel, to stand by one another, 
 and never lay down their arms till they had re-established themselves 
 and their brethren in those ''Valleys," which they beheved had as 
 really been given to them by the God of heaven as Palestine had 
 been to the Jews. 
 
 Marching to Villaro, which is situated half-way between Bobbio 
 at the head and La Torre at the entrance of the valley, they stormed 
 it, and taking possession expelled the new inhabitants. But the 
 Vaudois could not advance further in their career of conquest, but 
 were compelled by a strong re- enforcement of regular troops to 
 abandon Villaro the next day, and fall back on Bobbio. This pat- 
 riot army was now divided into two bands, and for many weeks 
 Avere under the necessity of waging a sort of guerrilla war on the 
 mountains. Desiring to exterminate this little company of warriors, 
 France on the one side and Piedmont on the other continued to 
 pour in soldiers. The Vaudois not only won marvelous victories in 
 their daily skirmishes, but also endured great privations and hard- 
 ships. While they were constantly conquering, their ranks were rap- 
 idly thinning. Even if a hundred of the enemy were slain, while 
 only one Waldensian fell, the former could recruit their numbers, but 
 the latter could not. Besides, they had now neither ammunition nor 
 provisions except what they had captured from their enemies; and to 
 increase their perplexities. Winter was near, and soon their mount- 
 ains would be buried beneath the snow, leaving them without food 
 and shelter. They held a council of war, and finally resolved to 
 march to the valley of Martino and intrench themselves on La 
 Balsiglia. 
 
 As this was the last heroic stand of the returned exiles, a descrip- 
 tion of the natural strength and grandeur of the Balsiglia may be 
 interesting. It is situated at the western extremity of San Martino, 
 extending five miles in length and about two in width, having as its 
 floor the richest meadow-land, and for walls mountains superbly deco- 
 rated with terraces, abundantly covered with flower and fruitage, and 
 its summit ramparted with dark peaks and splintered cliffs. It is 
 closed at its western extremity by the naked face of a perpendicular 
 mountain, down which the Germagnasca dashes like a flood of silver. 
 
 The bosom of the valley is clothed with meadows and woods, through 
 
 29 
 
436 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 which the torrent runs, forming- a seam both broad and white, its bed 
 being strewn with many rocks, that give it the appearance of a con- 
 tinuous river of foam. The mountains, which constitute the walls of 
 this valley, are exceedingly picturesque. Advancing up it the trav- 
 eler beholds on the right a succession of terraced vineyards rising 
 up, finely diversified with corn-fields and massy knolls of rock 
 crowned with cottages or hamlets, which look out amid their rich em- 
 bowerings of chestnut and apple-tree. Leaving this fruit-bearing zone, 
 and ascending higher, we find the grassy uplands, the resort of herds- 
 men, and above these tower the rocky ridges that rise in wavy and 
 serrated lines and run off to the higher summits, which recede into 
 the clouds. The mountain-wall on the left is more precipitous, but 
 equally rich in its clothing. A carpeting of delicious sward envelops 
 its foot, while the bright sunlight shines here and there upon it 
 through the overarching branches of trees, vast in circumference. 
 Higher up, fields of maize and forests of chestnut present them- 
 selves to view, and higher still is seen the rock-loving birch with 
 its silvery stem and graceful tresses. A bristling line of firs runs 
 along the splintered rocks on the summit, ' ' forming a mighty cJiev- 
 aux-de-fiise.'' Toward the head of the valley, near the vast per- 
 pendicular cliff already mentioned, which shuts it in on the west, 
 is seen a glorious assemblage of mountains. "One mighty cone 
 uplifts itself above and behind another mighty, till the last and high- 
 est buries its top in the rolling masses of cloud, which are seen 
 usually hanging like a canopy above this part of the valley. These 
 noble aiguilles, four in number, rise feathery with firs, and remind 
 one of the fretted pinnacles of some colossal cathedral. This is La 
 Balsiglia. " 
 
 Henri Arnaud, with his patriot warriors, pitched his camp on the 
 terraces of this mountain amid the dark tempests of Winter, and the 
 yet darker tempests of a furious and armed bigotry. The Balsiglia, 
 as if proudly conscious of having once been the resting-place of the 
 Vaudois ark, shoots its gigantic pyramids towards heaven. Man, 
 with all his skill, could not erect a castle so mighty and grand ; it 
 had for its builder the almighty Architect himself Behind the Bal- 
 siglia, on the west, stands the lofty Col du Pis, which rarely permits 
 the spectator to behold his full stature, for his dark sides run up and 
 bury themselves in the clouds. Face to face with the Col du Pis, 
 stands on the other side of the valley the yet loftier Mont Guinevert, 
 with most commonly a veil of cloud around him, as if he too were 
 unwilling to allow the visitor to gaze upon his stately proportions. 
 
THE GIANT ALPS. 437 
 
 Thus do these two Alps, Hke twin giants, guard this valley, famous 
 in the wars of conscience and liberty. With his army, now, alas, 
 reduced to four hundred persons, Henri Arnaud encamped on the 
 lower terrace of this pyramidal mountain, the Balsiglia. When seen 
 from the level of the valley, the peak appears to terminate in a point, 
 but on ascending the top expands into a grassy plateau. Its sides, 
 like those of an escarped fortress, could not be scaled ; and the only 
 avenue of approach was by the bed of the torrent. The skill of 
 Arnaud enabled him to add the defenses of art to the natural strength 
 of the Vaudois position. They erected huts as temporary barracks ; 
 they dug out some four-score cellars in the rock to hold provisions; 
 they constructed covered ways and inclosed themselves within earthen 
 walls and ditches. Three springs, that gushed out of the rock, sup- 
 plied them with water. By building intrenchments on each of the 
 three peaks that rose above them they could, if the first was taken, 
 ascend to the second, and so on. A sentinel was placed on the loft- 
 iest summit of the Balsiglia, which commanded a view of the entire 
 valley, to watch the movements of the enemy. 
 
 After three days had elapsed, four battalions of the French army 
 arrived and surrounded the Balsiglia on every side. On the 29th of 
 October the Vaudois position was attacked, but the enemy were 
 repulsed with great slaughter without the loss of a single man to the 
 defenders. The snows of early Winter" having commenced to fall, 
 the French general resolved to defer the capture of the Balsiglia until 
 Spring. He first destroyed all the corn which the Vaudois had col- 
 lected and stored in their villages, and then began his retreat from 
 San Martino. In a laconic manner he bade farewell to the Walden- 
 ses, and requested them to be patient until Easter, when he would 
 again visit them. During the Winter of A. D. 1689-90, the Vaudois 
 remained in their mountain fortress, not only enjoying the rest which 
 they needed after the marches, battles, and sieges of the previous 
 months, but also preparing for the promised return of the French. 
 Wherever Henri Arnaud encamped there he erected his altar, and if 
 from that mountain-top the shout of battle pealed forth, from it 
 ascended also morning and night the psalm and the prayer. Besides 
 the daily devotions he preached a sermon on each Thursday and 
 Sunday, and at stated times administered the Lord's-supper. Proper 
 care was taken to prevent the commissariat from being exhausted. 
 Foraging parties brought in wine, chestnuts, apples, and other fruits, 
 which the Autumn now far advanced had ripened. An incursion 
 was made by a strong detachment into the French valleys of Pragelas 
 
438 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and Queyras, and returned with salt, butter, some hundred head of 
 sheep, and a few oxen. The enemy before departing- had destroyed 
 their stock of grain, and as the fields were long since reaped, the 
 Waldenses despaired of being able to repair their loss. 
 
 In this emergency they found relief in an unexpected quarter. 
 The snow that year began to fall earlier than usual and covered up 
 the ripened corn, which the popish inhabitants had not time to cut 
 when the approach of the Vaudois compelled them to flee. This 
 ample magazine of grain remained unknown to the Waldenses for 
 some time, and was discovered when they needed it most. From 
 this store-house the garrison obtained supplies which had been pro- 
 vided in such a marvelous way as to convince them that He who 
 feeds the fowls of the air was caring for them. They had bread to 
 last them during the entire Winter. Little did the popish peasantry 
 dream, when they sowed the seed in the Spring, that the Vadois hands 
 would reap the harvest. To Vaudois eyes corn had been provided 
 almost as miraculously as was the manna for the Israelites, but how 
 could they grind it into meal? There is a little mill on the stream 
 ,of the Germagnasca and almost at the foot of the Balsiglia. The 
 owner, M. Tron-Poulat, three years before, when going- forth into 
 exile with his brethren, threw the millstone into the river; "for," 
 said he, *St may yet be needed." The necessity now existed, search 
 was made, the stone was found, drawn out of the stream, and again 
 put to work in the mill. At the entrance of the valley there was 
 another and more distant mill, to which the garrison had recourse 
 when the enemy occupied the immediate precincts of the Balsiglia 
 and the nearer mill was not available. **Both mills," says Dr. Wylie, 
 ''exist to this day; their roofs of brown slate may be seen by the 
 visitor peering up through the luxuriant foliage of the valley, the 
 wheel, motionless it may be, and the torrent which turned it shooting 
 idly past in a volley of spray." 
 
 The army of France and Piedmont reappeared in the Spring and 
 completely invested the Balsiglia. The celebrated De Catinat, lieu- 
 tenant-general of the armies of France, commanded the combined 
 force, which amounted to twenty-two thousand in all — ten thousand 
 French and twelve thousand Piedmontese. The "four hundred" 
 Waldenses from their camp of rock beheld the valley beneath them 
 glittering with steel by day and shining with camp-fires by night, 
 De Catinat confidently believed that he could capture the place by a 
 single day's fighting, and, desiring to celebrate the victory which he 
 regarded as already won, he ordered four hundred ropes to be sent 
 
CA TINA T DEFEA TED. 439 
 
 along with the army in order to hang at once the four hundred Wal- 
 denses. He had also commanded the inhabitants of Pinerolo to 
 prepare feux de joie to grace his return from the campaign. The 
 headquarters of the French were at Great Passet, so called in contra- 
 distinction to Little Passet, situated a mile lower in the valley. Great 
 Passet has some thirty roofs, and is situated on an immense ledge of 
 rock which runs out from the foot of Mont Guinevert, some eight 
 hundred feet above the stream, and right opposite Balsiglia. The 
 ruts worn by the cannon and baggage wagons of the French army 
 are still visible on the flanks of this rocky ledge. These marks are 
 unquestionably the memorials of the siege, for no other wheeled 
 vehicles ever were in these mountains. 
 
 Having reconnoitered, Catinat, on the ist of May, A. D. 1690, 
 ordered the assault to be made on that side of the Balsiglia which 
 alone offers any chance of success. At every other point a wall of 
 rock rises up, but at this a stream trickles down from the mountains 
 and makes a gradual slope. But Henri Arnaud had taken care to 
 fortify this point with strong palisades. Five hundred picked men, 
 supported by seven thousand musketeers, advanced to storm the 
 fortress. Rushing forward with ardor, they threw themselves upon 
 the palisades, which they could not tear down, formed as they were 
 of great trunks fastened by mighty bowlders. The Vaudois were 
 massed behind the defense, the younger men loading the muskets 
 and the veterans taking steady aim. At every volley the besiegers 
 fell in dozens. When the Waldenses saw that the assailants were 
 beginning to waver, they, with sword in hand, made a fierce sally, 
 and cut in pieces those whom the musket had spared. A few score 
 only of the five hundred picked soldiers lived to reach the main body 
 of the army which from the valley beheld their total rout. It may 
 appear incredible, but the statement is true that not a Vaudois was 
 killed or wounded, not one of them was touched by a bullet. The 
 fire-works which Catinat was anxious to have ready for the celebra- 
 tion of his victory were not needed that night, and the men of Pine- 
 rolo were disappointed. 
 
 The French were now convinced that the fortress could not be 
 reduced by other means, and accordingly brought up their cannon. 
 The preparations being complete, the last and grand assault was made 
 on the 14th of May. An immense knoll extends across the ravine, 
 in which the recent conflict occurred, and is on an equal level with 
 the point where the Waldenses had constructed their lower intrench- 
 ments. To this rock the cannon were hoisted up to play upon the 
 
440 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 fortress. Never before had the rocks of San Martino been shaken 
 by the sound of artillery. It was the morning of Whit-Sunday, and 
 the Waldenses were preparing to celebrate the Lord's-supper when 
 they heard the first boom from the enemy's battery. The cannon- 
 ading continued all day, its terrible noises re-echoing from rock to 
 rock, and rolling upwards to the summits of the Col du Pis and the 
 Mont Guinevert, being still further heightened by the thousands of 
 musketeers who were stationed all around the Balsiglia. When night 
 came the ramparts of the Waldenses were in ruins and it was evident 
 that the defense could not be maintained any longer. What was 
 now to be done? For the moment the cannonading had ceased, but 
 the attack would certainly be renewed at dawn. 
 
 The Vaudois had been frequently threatened with utter destruc- 
 tion, but never before did it appear to impend so inevitably over 
 them. To remain where they were was certain death, yet no way 
 of escape opened to them. The unscalable precipices of the Col du 
 Pis rose behind them, and the valley swarming with their foes was 
 beneath them. If they should wait until the morning dawned it 
 would be impossible to pass the enemy without being seen, and the 
 night was rendered almost as bright as day by the numerous camp- 
 fires which burned beneath them. But the hour of their extremity 
 was the time of God's opportunity. Often before there seemed to be 
 a special divine interposition in their behalf, but perhaps it was 
 never so strikingly displayed as now. The Vaudois looked in every 
 direction to find some way of escape from the net which inclosed 
 them, but in vain. Suddenly the mist began to gather on the sum- 
 mits of the mountains around them. They immediately recognized 
 the old mantle that covered their fathers in the hour of peril. It 
 crept lower and yet lower on the great mountains. Now it touched 
 the supreme peak of the Balsiglia. Will it mock their hopes ? Will 
 it only touch and not cover their military camp? The Vaudois 
 behold it still rolling downward until its white fleecy billows cover 
 the war-battered fortress. The handful of heroic defenders are now 
 within its sheltering folds. As yet -they dared not attempt escape 
 because the watch-fires burned brightly in the valley. But in a few 
 minutes more the mist in its downward course reached the enemy's 
 camp, and all was dark. A Tartarean gloom filled the gprge of San 
 Martino. While the garrison stood mute, pondering what the next 
 moment would develop, Captain Poulat, a native of that region, 
 broke the silence by commanding them to be of good courage, for 
 he was acquainted with the paths and would conduct them in safety 
 
O VER TURKS OF PEA CE. 44 1 
 
 past the French and Piedmontese Hnes by a track known only to 
 himself. Crawling on their hand and knees and passing close to 
 the French sentinels, yet concealed from them by the mist, they 
 descended frightful precipices and escaped. "He who has not seen 
 such paths," says Arnaud in his '^Re^itree Glorieuse,'" "can not conceive 
 the danger of them, and will be inclined to consider my account of 
 the march mere fiction. But it is strictly true, and I must add the 
 place is so frightful that even some of the Vaudois themselves were 
 terror-struck when they saw, by daylight, the nature of the spot they 
 had passed in the dark." When the day appeared every eye in the 
 plain below was directed toward the Balsiglia. On that day the four 
 hundred ropes which Catinat had brought with him were to be put 
 in requisition, and the feux de joze, so long prepared, were to be 
 lighted in Pinerolo. 
 
 To the amazement of the enemy the Vaudois had escaped, and 
 could be seen chmbing the snowy sides of the distant mountains, far 
 beyond the reach of their would-be captors. Well might they sing : 
 "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler: the 
 snare is broken and we are escaped." During several days they 
 wandered from hill to hill, or concealed themselves in the wood, suf- 
 fering great privations and encountering numerous perils. At last 
 they succeeded in reaching the Pra del Tor. When they arrived at 
 this celebrated and hallowed spot, they were astonished and delighted 
 to find deputies from their prince, the duke of Savoy, with overtures 
 of peace. The Vaudois were as men that dream. An overture of 
 peace ! It seemed incredible. What did it mean ? A coalition, 
 including Germany, Great Britain, Holland, and Spain, had been 
 formed to check the ambition of France, and three days had been 
 given to Victor Amadeus to decide w^hat course he would pursue. 
 He resolved to break with Louis XIV and unite with the "Leaguers." 
 In such a contest, to whom could he so well commit the keys of the 
 Alps as to his trusty Vaudois? Hence the overtures that met them 
 in the Pra del Tor. Ever willing to rally around the throne of their 
 prince, they accepted the terms of peace. Their towns and lands 
 were restored ; their churches were reopened for Protestant worship ; 
 their brethren, still in prison at Turin, were liberated, and the colo- 
 nists of their countrymen had passports to return to their homes. 
 Thus, after a gloomy interval of three years and a half, the valleys 
 were again peopled with their ancient race, and resounded with their 
 ancient songs. 
 
442 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 FOREIGN RULE IN ITALY— PROMINENT POPES AND WRITERS. 
 
 DURING nearly the whole of the eighteenth century Italy was 
 the battle-ground of Europe. Many of the most prominent 
 questions of the period were fought out on its soil, and its territory 
 was divided at pleasure by foreign sovereigns, who never regarded or 
 consulted the wishes of the Italian people as to these arrangements. 
 The war of the Spanish succession had a most important bearing 
 upon the destinies of Italy, which was the scene of a part of it. By 
 the peace of Utrecht, A. D. 17 13, the Emperor Charles VI received 
 Milan, Naples, and Sardinia. The duke of Mantua, having been the 
 ally of France in this war, was deprived of his duchy. The duke 
 of Savoy, for his assistance to the house of Austria, was given the 
 island of Sicily, with the title of king, and in the same year was 
 crowned at Palermo. Thus Italy passed from under the power of 
 Spain into the hands of Austria ; a change for the better, though the 
 Austrian rule proved to be very oppressive. Savoy also received 
 Montferrat, Alessandria, and some towns in Lombardy, and was 
 recognized by the treaty as an independent power, or in other words, 
 was relieved of all its former obligations to the empire. 
 
 Philip V, of Spain, was not satisfied with the provisions of the 
 treaty of Utrecht, and was determined to regain a footing in Italy at 
 the earliest opportunity. On the death of his wife, who was the 
 daughter of the duke of Savoy, he married Elizabeth Farnese, the 
 heiress of the duke of Parma. This marriage made him the lawful 
 heir to that duchy, and to Piacenza, and also gave him a claim to 
 the succession to the grand duchy of Tuscany, the reigning duke of 
 which was childless, as the queen of Spain claimed to be descended 
 from a daughter of Duke Cosmo II. This marriage greatly displeased 
 the Emperor Charles VI, who was himself a candidate for the suc- 
 cession to the duchy of Tuscany. Philip was not yet satisfied with 
 what he had done, but, in violation of the terms of the treaty of 
 Utrecht, seized the island of Sardinia, which was held by the Aus- 
 trians, and prepared to send an army into Sicily. England, France, 
 Holland, and the emperor made a league known as the Quadruple 
 Alliance, and an English fleet under Admiral Byng was dispatched 
 to the Mediterranean in the Summer of 1718. Byng annihilated the 
 
AMADEUS II. 443 
 
 Spanish fleet In a battle off Cape Passaro, and Spain was compelled 
 to relinquish Sardinia. The king of Sicily was believed to have 
 favored the course of Philip, and was obliged to surrender his island 
 kingdom to Austria, which gave him in exchange for it the barren 
 and rocky island of Sardinia. The emperor by this transfer became 
 king of the two Sicilies, as he was already king of Naples. The 
 duke of Savoy was thus cut off from participation in the disputes 
 between Austria and Spain, and was able to give his whole attention 
 to the development of his kingdom. One of the first acts of Victor 
 Amadeus was to deprive the Jesuits of their control of public educa- 
 tion, as the power they enjoyed in consequenc of this .control had 
 made them dangerous to the welfare of the state. This action was 
 very popular, and did much to strengthen the national feehng in 
 the new kingdom. 
 
 The conduct of Victor Amadeus II toward the Waldenses is dis- 
 creditable to his name and reign. These unfortunate people, in the 
 wonderful providence of God, were saved from extermination by the 
 rupture which occurred between Savoy and France, A. D. 170 1. The 
 duke seemed to feel that he had done wrong in his former severe 
 treatment of them, and was disposed to do all that he could to assure 
 them of his good will. They were now restored to their native val- 
 leys, and cheerfully went to work to cultivate their little farms, and 
 endeavored in the joys of the present to forget the sorrows of the 
 past. And no sooner did the duke of Savoy ask their assistance in 
 the long war which he was compelled to carry on against the French 
 than they promptly rendered it. Such were their bravery and fidelity, 
 that not only did they often gain the applause of their native prince, 
 Victor Amadeus II, but also that of Prince Eugene of Savoy, who 
 entered Lombardy in May, A. D. 1701, with a powerful force, raised 
 the siege of Turin, and drove the French under Marshal Catinat 
 from the region between the Adige and the Adda. This war, which 
 secured the safety of the Waldenses, was prosecuted with great vigor. 
 Marshal Villeroi succeeded Catinat, but was defeated by Eugene at 
 Chiari and Cremona, and the year closed disastrously to the French. 
 The French and Spanish forces were commanded for a few months, 
 A. D. 1702, by Philip V, but no decisive battles were fought in 
 Piedmont. In August, A. D. 1705, the French under the duke of 
 Vendome defeated Prince Eugene at Cassano. In April, A. D. 1706, 
 Eugene gained a victory of the French at Calcinato, and was prepar- 
 ing to follow up this success by driving them out of Turin, when he 
 was ordered to join the allied forces in Flanders. In the Autumn of 
 
444 ^^-^^ ^ -5-77? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the same year, Turin was invested by the French, under the duke of 
 Orleans, nephew of the king of France, and Marshal Marsin. The 
 duke of Savoy fled, and was compelled to seek refuge among the 
 Waldenses in the Valley of Rora ; but, receiving information that 
 Prince Eugene was returning from Flanders, he went forth with some 
 troops to meet him, and after uniting their forces, both advanced to 
 the relief of Turin. On the 7th of September, A. D. 1 706, the 
 French intrenchments were stormed, and the besieging army scat- 
 tered toward the Alps in utter confusion, with the loss of their camp 
 and their whole train of siege artillery. Lombardy was at once occu- 
 pied by the victors, and Charles VII was proclaimed at Milan. The 
 French Avere obliged to abandon the whole of Northern Italy, and a 
 small force of allies under Marshal Daun conquered the kingdom of 
 Naples, and proclaimed Charles III, the Austrian archduke, king of 
 the two Sicilies. 
 
 After the valuable services rendered by the Waldenses to Prince 
 Eugene and Victor Amadeus in these conflicts, which ended with 
 the peace of Utrecht, on the nth of April, A. D. 1713, these brave 
 sons of the Alps no doubt expected to enjoy tranquillity at least dur- 
 ing the remainder of the reign of the duke of Savoy. But these 
 poor, oppressed subjects soon realized that it was impossible for 
 any of the weak and bigoted house of Savoy to be merciful to Prot- 
 estants. Victor Amadeus, two years before his abdication, which 
 occurred A. D. 1730, caused the governor of Pignerol to receive the 
 oath of allegiance from the Waldenses, and promised them security 
 in their possessions. And yet at the same time he diminished their 
 terHtory by taking from them the Valley of Pragela, and issued an 
 order that all Avho had not been born in the " Valleys" should aban- 
 don them forever. Hence about three thousand Protestant French 
 and Swiss who had been living among the Waldenses, some of them 
 nearly forty years, were compelled to retire to Switzerland, and after- 
 wards to Germany, Avhere they organized a synod which embraced 
 fifteen Churches. When they started on their journey the duke had 
 given them an order on the commissariat for bread ; but a courier 
 overtook the miserable fugitives on Mont Cenis, and under the pre- 
 tense that something was wrong in the form of the order, obtained 
 it, and carried it back to Turin, leaving them to make their way as 
 best they could, through Savoy to Switzerland, without bread. This 
 unjust decree of banishment was an evident infraction of the treaty 
 made, A. D. 1704, between the king of Sardinia and Queen Anne 
 of England, stipulating that the inhabitants of the Valley of Pragela, 
 
SPANISH POWER IN SO UTHERN ITAL V. 445 
 
 in particular, should be left in the free exercise of their religion. 
 Victor Amadeus undoubtedly entertained kind feelings toward his 
 Waldensian subjects. He had not forgotten how nobly they de- 
 fended him when he was a refugee, and he remembered the silver 
 goblet which, on his departure, he presented, as a token of his grati- 
 tude to the family of Durand Canton, by whom he had been hospit- 
 ably received. In his subsequent severe treatment of his faithful 
 subjects he acted in accordance with the instructions of the court of 
 Rome, which he feared to disobey. 
 
 After abdicating in favor of his son, Charles Emmanuel III, the 
 father became dissatisfied, and immediately tried to recover the power 
 he had surrendered ; but he failed, and was imprisoned in the castle 
 of Rivoli, where he died, A. D. 1732. The new ruler of Sardinia 
 entered into an alliance with Louis XV, of France, and Philip V, of 
 Spain, to drive the Austrians out of Italy. The Farnese family hav- 
 ing become extinct, the duchies of Parma and Piacenza were given, 
 A. D. 1 73 1, to the Spanish prince, Charles. Don Carlos, the son of 
 Philip V, was to receive the two Sicilies, and the duchies named 
 above and the duchy of Milan were to go to Sardinia. Charles Em- 
 manuel III soon overran all of Milan but Mantua. Spain having 
 been deprived of all her Italian possessions by the peace of Utrecht, 
 Philip V resolved to recover some of the lost territory, and, there- 
 fore, during the war of the Polish succession, he seized Naples and 
 Sicily where the Austrian rule was detested, and conferred them upon 
 Don Carlos, who became king as Charles III, and with whom began 
 the reign of the Spanish Bourbons at Naples. The war of the allies 
 against Austria commenced in October, A. D. 1733, and was closed 
 by the treaty of Vienna, in November, A. D. 1738. The interests 
 of the king of Sardinia were entirely sacrificed by his allies. Don 
 Carlos was acknowledged king of the two Sicilies, and abandoned his 
 claims upon the duchies. The Medici family had become extinct, 
 A. D. 1737, and the grand duchy of Tuscany was bestowed upon 
 Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa, the Aus- 
 trian empress, and the daughter and heiress of the Emperor Charles 
 VI ; and the duchy of Parma was given up to the emperor, Avho was 
 allowed to retain Milan and Mantua. The king of Sardinia, cheated 
 at every point, received Novara and Tortona, which were cut off from 
 the duchy of Milan. 
 
 The war of the Austrian succession overturned all these arrange- 
 ments, and made Italy the scene of a terrible and destructive con- 
 flict. The object of the war was to exclude Maria Theresa from the 
 
446 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 succession to the dominions of her father, the Emperor Charles VI. 
 Both parties sought the alhance of the king of Sardinia, Avhose action 
 would control that of Lombardy. He at first embraced the cause 
 of the allies, but after the war began abandoned them and supported 
 Maria Theresa, whose rights were gallantly upheld by her Hun- 
 garian subjects. The king was anxious to add the republic of Genoa 
 to his possessions, as he desired a seaport ; and the Genoese, in 
 alarm, gave the French and Spanish forces a free passage through 
 their territory into the dominions of Sardinia. These forces defeated 
 the Sardinian army. A, D. 1745, and occupied the duchy of Milan. 
 In the same year Francis of Lorraine, the grand duke of Tuscany, 
 and the husband of Maria Theresa, \vas elected emperor, and the war 
 was ended in Germany. Thus relieved at home, the empress queen 
 sent an army to the assistance of Sardinia. The combined armies of 
 Austria and Sardinia defeated the French and Spaniards in the -severe 
 battle of Piacenza, A. D. 1746, and the Austrians marched to Genoa, 
 which surrendered at the first demand, and occupied the city. The 
 tyranny of the invaders drove the Genoese into a revolt on the 5th 
 of December, and the Austrians retreating from the city withdrew 
 beyond the Apennines. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed in 
 October, A. D. 1748, ended the war. 
 
 By this treaty Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla were erected into a 
 separate state, and given to Don Philip, the son of the king of Spain, 
 and the brother of the king of the Two Sicilies. The republic of 
 Genoa and the duchy of Modena and its dependencies were placed 
 under the protection of France, to which power Genoa ceded the 
 island of Corsica. During the life-time of the Emperor Francis I his 
 grand duchy of Tuscany was almost a province of Austria. It was 
 given, A. D. 1765, by. the emperor to his third son, Peter Leopold, 
 and became independent once more. Leopold reigned with despotic 
 power, but he was a wise ruler and a benefactor to his people. He 
 reformed the evils which had grown up around the administra- 
 tion of justice, brought the clergy under the control of the state, 
 diminished the number of monks, and abolished the "Inquisition" 
 in his dominions. He drained the unhealthy valley of the Chiana 
 and converted it into a fertile region, and was engaged in draining 
 the Maremma when, on the 20th of September, A. D. 1790, he was 
 elected emperor of Austria. He appointed his second son, Ferdi- 
 nand, his successor in Tuscany. 
 
 From the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to the period of the French 
 invasion Italy was at peace. Charles Emmanuel III, of Sardinia, 
 
VARIOUS POPES. 447 
 
 employed this Interval in advancing the prosperity of his kingdom. 
 He ruled with despotic power, and kept the Church and the Jesuits 
 down with a firm hand. He did this, not because these powers were 
 enemies -of the freedom of Italy, but because they were rivals to him 
 in his own dominions. While he encouraged agriculture, and did 
 something for the cause of education, his reign was destructive of the 
 hberties of his people, who had little cause to regret his death, 
 which occurred, A. D. 1 773. He was succeeded by his son, Victor 
 Amadeus IH, who formed a close alliance with France, and intro- 
 duced into his kingdom the Bourbon plan of tyranny. 
 
 While the prominent Roman Catholic nations — Austria, Spain, 
 and France — were struggling in Italy for political supremacy, they had 
 not time to promote the interests of the Papal See. Hence, during 
 the eighteenth century the flames of persecution were measurably 
 extinguished, and the spirit of toleration prevailed to a considerable 
 extent. There were some persecutions, but, as a general rule, people 
 were permitted to enjoy the liberty of thinking and acting for them- 
 selves. Clement XI succeeded to the papal throne, A. D. 1700, and 
 is chiefly remarkable for having published the famous bull which, 
 from its initial letters, is entitled Unigeiiitus. It was issued in oppo- 
 sition to the Jansenists, and defined and settled the articles of the 
 Romish faith. This pontiff favored Louis XIV and the Jesuits in 
 their persecutions of the Jansenists. Innocent XIII followed Clem- 
 ent, but his reign was not marked by any distinguished event. Bene- 
 dict XIII, who succeeded Innocent, was a man of eminent piety, 
 and, besides, possessed the qualities of liberality, frugality, and indus- 
 try. He once entertained the thought of uniting all Christendom, 
 Catiiolic, Greek, and Protestmtt, in one communion, but the times 
 were not favorable. For the purpose of reforming the errors of the 
 Church he assembled the famous council which met in the palace 
 of the Lateran, A. D. 1725, the acts and decrees of which were 
 made public, but proved utterly ineffectual to the ends which were 
 proposed from them. Benedict XIII died, A. D. 1730, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Clement XII, who reigned during the next decade. His 
 pontificate was marked by the introduction of state lotteries and low 
 finances. He was followed by Benedict XIV, a pious, scholarly, and 
 judicious man, who exhibited wisdom and prudence in managing 
 the difficult questions that arose during his administration. In his 
 reign the Jesuits were threatened in Portugal, and the Jansenists 
 obtained more power. 
 
 Clement XIII, who ascended the pontifical throne on the 6th of 
 
448 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 July, A. D. 1758, was a Venetian by birth and an ascetic in religion. 
 He was a bigot .to every petty ceremony, and his spirit and manner 
 belonged to the twelfth instead of the eighteenth century. Indeed, 
 the celebrated Ganganelli seems to have perfectly characterized his 
 two predecessors in a few words when he said, ** Benedict had writ- 
 ten and Clement had prayed much." The latter exhibited the haugh- 
 tiness of the Venetian character in the dispute in which he involved 
 himself on account of the Jesuits with all the branches of the house 
 of Bourbon, who threatened to withdraw their dominions from the 
 spiritual jurisdiction of Rome. He endeavored to restore the papacy 
 to its former greatness, but sank it lower than he found it, leaving 
 the papal dignity in a critical situation, from which all the prudence 
 and moderation of his successor could scarcely emancipate it. 
 
 Laurenzo Ganganelli, the son of a physician at St. Archangelo, 
 and the only regular in the Sacred College at the time of his election 
 (being of the order of Minor Conventuals), was chosen on the 19th 
 of May, A. D. 1769, and assumed the title of Clement XIV. After 
 completing his studies, he had obtained the regency of his college, 
 and was afterward promoted to the office of consulter to the '' Holy 
 Office." This employment, which included that of pope's minister in 
 all inquisitorial concerns, made him prominent. He was studious, 
 learned, of pure morals, and of genuine piety. His elevation to the 
 papal throne was, no doubt, the result of a concentrated effort made 
 by the "forcing courts," as the courts of Spain, Portugal, and Na- 
 ples were termed from their always taking an active part in the elec- 
 tion of a pope. The indecision of Clement XIII concerning the 
 suppression of the Jesuits had been very offensive to them, and they 
 resolved to secure the election of an ecclesiastic who would execute 
 their will. He became very popular by diminishing several taxes, 
 which were oppressive to the poor, and manifested his liberality and 
 taste by enriching the Clementine museum. He was modest and 
 imaffected, and practiced extreme temperance. Finding his cham- 
 ber in the Vatican hung with crimson damask, he ordered it to be 
 removed, and observed that bare walls were sufficient for a plain 
 monk. No other occupant of the papal chair ever exhibited so 
 much humility, as he performed every office about his person as long 
 as he was able rather than Incommode his attendants. He adopted 
 frugal regulations In his domestic economy, and distributed the sav- 
 ings among the necessitous poor. In the relieving of whom he 
 indulged himself as a favorite amusement. 
 
 Clement endeavored with honest but mistaken zeal to reform the 
 
THE JESUITS SUPPRESSED. 449 
 
 Jesuitical order, but after several years of fruitless effort he aban- 
 doned the undertaking. On the 21st of July, A. D. 1773, he issued 
 the famous bull, ^' Doininus ac Redemptor Noster^''^ by which he 
 dissolved and forever annihilated the order as a corporate body at a 
 moment when it counted according to Duller's ''History of the 
 Jesuits," twenty-two thousand members. The bull justified itself by 
 a long and formidable list of charges against the society. Had this 
 accusation proceeded from a Protestant pen it might have been regarded 
 as not free from exaggerations, but coming from the papal chair it 
 must be accepted as sober truth. It charged the Jesuits with raising 
 various insurrections and rebellions, with plotting against bishops, 
 undermining the regular monastic orders, and invading pious founda- 
 tions and corporations of every kind, not only in Europe, but also in 
 America and Asia, to the danger of souls and the astonishment of 
 all nations. It accused them of engaging in trade, and that instead 
 of seeking to convert the heathen they had shown themselves intent 
 only on gathering gold and silver and precious jewels. The bull also 
 declares that the Jesuits had interpolated pagan rites and manners 
 with Christian beliefs and worship, set aside the ordinances of the 
 Church, and substituted opinions which the apostolic chair had ^^xo- 
 ViOMViZ^di fundamentally erroneous and evidently subversive of good morals. 
 Clement further stated that tumults, disturbances, and violent com- 
 motions had followed them in all countries ; that they had broken 
 the peace of the Church, and so incurably that the pontificates 
 of his predecessors, Urban VIII, Clements IX, X, XI, and XII, 
 Alexanders VII and VIII, Innocents X, XI, XII, and XIII, and 
 Benedict XIV, had been passed in abortive efforts to re-establish the 
 harmony and discord which they had destroyed. 
 
 After this severe arraignment of the Jesuitical order, the bull 
 affirmed that the peace of the Church would never be restored while 
 the institution existed, and the necessity of the papal decree was 
 therefore apparent. It dispossessed the Jesuits "of every office, 
 service, and administration;" took away from them ''their houses, 
 schools, hospitals, estates;" withdrew all "their statutes, usages, de- 
 crees, customs, and ordinances;" and pronounced all the power of 
 the General Provincial Visitors, and every other head of the same 
 order, whether spiritual or secular, "to be forever annulled and sup- 
 pressed." "The present ordinance," said the bull, in conclusion, 
 "shall remain in full force and operation from henceforth and forever." 
 
 When Clement XIV laid down his pen, after signing his name to 
 the bull, he said to his friends around him that he had sic^ned his 
 
45 o ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 death-warrant — " Sotto scriviamo la nostra morte. " He was at that 
 time in robust health, and his vigorous constitution and temperate 
 habits promised a long life. But now dark rumors began to be 
 whispered in Italy that the pontiff would die soon. In April of the 
 following year he began to decline without any apparent cause, his 
 illness increased, no medicine was of any avail, and, after lingering 
 in torture for months, he died on the 22d of September, A.»D. 1774. 
 ''Several days before his death," says Caraccioli, **his bones were 
 exfoliated, and withered like a tree, which, attacked at its roots, 
 withers away and throws off his bark. The scientific men who were 
 called in to embalm the body found the features livid, the lips black, 
 the abdomen inflated, the limbs emaciated and covered with violet 
 spots. The size of the heart was diminished and all his muscles 
 were shrunk up, and his spine was decomposed. They filled the 
 body with perfumed and aromatic substances, but nothing could dis- 
 pel the mephitic effluvia." It was generally believed that Clement 
 had been made to drink the *'Aqua Tofana, " a spring in Perugia 
 more famous than healthful ; but, no matter how administered, poison 
 served the purpose of the Jesuits, whose unforgiving pride and deadly 
 vengeance demanded the payment of this fearful penalty. 
 
 Clement's successor Avas Pius VI, who ascended the papal throne 
 on the 15th of February, A. D. 1775. He Avas a man of fine ap- 
 pearance, of elegant manner, and of a respectable private character. 
 Like Leo X, he was pleasant and cheerful, and fond of magnificence, 
 art, and splendor. He was strongly attached to the Romish faith, 
 delighted to perform the various offices and ceremonies of religion, 
 and labored diligently to promote the interests of the papal Church. 
 Sad events and humiliation awaited him, and he was destined to be- 
 hold the decline of that system which had ruled the most powerful 
 nations. 
 
 During the eighteenth century, art, science, and literature made 
 some advancement in Italy. When, near the beginning of the cent- 
 ury, the war of the Spanish succession raged in the Peninsula, under 
 the scepter of the young Don Carlos, and afterwards of Ferdi- 
 nand III, literature and the sciences were cultivated with renewed 
 vigor. Naples produced Giannone, distinguished in the department 
 of history, Capasso in literature, Cirillo in medicine, Mazocchi in 
 archaeology, Genovesi in political economy, one Gagliani in archi- 
 tecture, and another in domestic economy and philology. Filangieri 
 rivaled Montesquieu in the philosophy of legislation ; Pagano wrote 
 on the criminal law; Poll distinguished himself in the positive sci- 
 
DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS. 
 
 451 
 
 ences ; Maffei and Calsabigi devoted themselves to poetry. The 
 university of Bologna was now in its splendor, its academy of sci- 
 ences taking the name of ''The Institute." Marsigli, Stratico, 
 Cesarotti, Foscarini, tl^e brothers Gozzi, Morelli, Maffei, Pompei, 
 Lorenzi, Mazzuchelli, and Serassi made the city of Venice illustrious ; 
 but political jealousy prevented the culture of the economical and 
 legislative sciences there, which under Beccaria and others were mak- 
 ing great progress in other parts of Italy. 
 
 In Tuscany the famous French encyclopaedia was republished. 
 In the cities of Lombardy flourished Scopoli, Fontana, Frank, Tissot, 
 Spallanzani, Bertola, Villa, Natali, Volta, Scarpa, Tamburini, Parini, 
 Beccaria, Verri, Landriani, Agnesi, Carli, and others, devoted to 
 literature, art, science, and the development of political and ethical 
 principles. Bodoni raised the art of typography to an admirable 
 elegance. Prominent among the patrons of literature was Victor 
 Amadeus II of Savoy. The Italian drama had as yet attained to 
 excellence only in the opera, and lacked superior tragedies and com- 
 edies. The ''Merope" of Maffei was the best tragedy produced in 
 the early part of the century. A greater Influence, however, was 
 exerted upon his age and upon literature by Alfieri. This celebrated 
 poet was born in Piedmont, A. D. 1749. Of patrician birth, after 
 eight years of '.'ineducation," as 
 he styles it, with an absolutely 
 ' ' anti-geometric " head, that could 
 not comprehend the fourth prop- 
 osition in Euclid at the age of 
 twenty-seven, without ever having 
 read a tragedy, without having 
 acquired even his own native lan- 
 guage, he resolves to be a tragic 
 poet. He becomes a child again, 
 plunging, ''Curtlus-like," into the 
 abysses of grammar ; studies Ital- 
 ian and Latin; doffs the cothur- 
 nus; and then goes to Florence 
 to accustom himself ''to speak, 
 hear, think, and dream in beautiful Tuscan." There he met the 
 countess of Albany, who became henceforth his inspiration ; and' 
 then, having watched over him during his last Illness, In 1803 erected 
 his mausoleum. Alfieri was truly the head of an important school' 
 of tragedy. He was hostile alike to the operatic lightness of the 
 
 30 
 
 VITTORIO ALFIERI. 
 
45 2 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Italian drama and to the formal and complicated intrigues of the 
 French, but went to an opposite extreme, demanding in tragedy both 
 the utmost intensity of passion and the utmost simplicity of treat- 
 ment. He was the poet of energetic action and profound thought and 
 feeling, as Metastasio was of love. Indeed, Alfieri bears the same 
 relation to Italian tragedy that Tasso does to the Italian epic, or 
 Goldoni to Italian comedy. He was at the same time its founder 
 and its most brilliant illustrator. An ardent lover of liberty and a 
 pronounced republican, he Avrote an ode on ''Free America," and 
 dedicated his "Brutus" to Washington. The writer, while visiting 
 the church of Santa Croce at Florence, beheld Alfieri's monument, 
 wrought by Canova, and was not surprised at what may appear to 
 be an extravagant description of it by one who called it "the tomb 
 of Sophocles, sculptured by Phidias." Though not a Shakespeare, 
 the tragic poet of Florence deserves a high rank in Italian literature, 
 and Italy is not inappropriately represented by the artist as a weep- 
 ing mourner at his tomb. 
 
 A reformation in the Italian comedy was effected by Goldoni, the 
 only genuine comic poet that Italy can boast. The. most illustrious 
 historians were Muratori, Maffei, Denina, Mazzucchelli, Tiraboschi, 
 and Lanzi. The writings of Muratori and Tiraboschi still maintain 
 their reputation, both for erudition and criticism. In archaeology, 
 the names of Fabretti, Gori, Mazzocchi, Martorelli, Passed, and 
 Carli were distinguished. Vico founded the new science of the phi- 
 losophy of history, and Parini excelled in satirical poetry. 
 
 Chapter XXXL 
 
 THE FRENCH CAMPAIGN IN ITAL Y. 
 
 T^HE outbreak of the French Revolution did not immediately 
 \ affect Italy, although it seemed to threaten the despotisms 
 of that country with ruin. The French republic was estabhshed 
 A. D. 1792, and Savoy and Nice were seized and made parts of the 
 French territory. Under a new government France made peace, 
 A. D. 1795, with all the states of Europe that had been opposing 
 her, save England, Austria, and Sardinia. The Archduke Charles 
 of Austria having repulsed the armies of the republic, the French 
 directory resolved to attack that power through Italy, which was 
 
 I 
 
BONAPARTE'S VICTORIES. 453 
 
 destined to become the principal theater of the war, and three armies 
 were accordingly organized for the campaign of 1796. Two of these 
 were designed for service in Germany, under Generals Moreau and 
 Jourdan; the third was to operate in Italy under General Bonaparte, 
 who had already given proof of his great genius as a soldier. He 
 was a native of the island of Corsica, and of Italian descent, and 
 since his victory over the sections he had been promoted to the 
 command of the army of the interior. On the 23d of February, 
 A. D. 1796, when only twenty-seven years of age, he was appointed 
 to the cJ^mand of the army of Italy, and reached the headquarters 
 at Nice on the 27th of March. 
 
 The army of Italy numbered about thirty-five thousand men, and 
 was* in a wretched state of discipline, and in want of clothing and 
 provisions. Opposed to it v/as an army, of sixty thousand splendid 
 Austrian and Piedmontese troops. Bonaparte soon infused into his 
 own wretched force his own enthusiastic energy, and electrified his 
 men with the promise of victory and wealth in Italy. He then be- 
 gan a forward movement upon Genoa, his plan being to interpose 
 his army between the imperialists and Piedmontese, and prevent their 
 union. Only a few weeks before his troops were a band of malcon- 
 tents, but now they followed him with enthusiasm. Napoleon's plan 
 was completely successful. The Austrians fell back toward Milan, 
 and the Piedmontese toward Turin. A detachment of the Austrians 
 was defeated at Montenotte; and Bonaparte, pursuing the Piedmon- 
 tese army, captured the fortified town of Cherasco, and entirely cut 
 off the Sardinians from the imperialists. He then compelled the 
 king of Sardinia to accept a humiliating armistice, and forced him to 
 cede Savoy and Nice to France, to expel all French emigrants, even 
 his own daughters, who were the wives of the brothers of Louis XVI, 
 from his dominions, and to place Alexandria, Tortona, and the other 
 chief fortresses of his kingdom in the hands of the French as surety 
 for his neutrality until the conclusion of a general peace. 
 
 After concluding this armistice Bonaparte marched at once against 
 the Austrians, and defeated them in the desperate battle of Lodi, on 
 the loth of May, driving them back to the Mincio. Milan was un- 
 covered by this retreat, and was occupied by the French, amid the 
 rejoicings of the people, on the 15th of May. The French directory 
 were astonished at these rapid successes, and alarmed at the boldness 
 of the young general in venturing to treat independently with the 
 Piedmontese king. Desiring to restrain him, they proposed to divide 
 the command in Italy between him and General Kellerman ; but 
 
454 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 Bonaparte would not consent to the arrangement, and offered his 
 resignation to the directory. His brilHant successes in Italy had 
 rendered him so popular at home that the directory did not dare to 
 accept his resignation, and left him without interference. From his 
 headquarters at Milan Bonaparte dictated peace to the minor princes 
 of Italy, and compelled them to purchase it upon his own condi- 
 tions. Money, materials of war, and works of art were demanded 
 from them, and sent to Paris to supply the needs of the republic and 
 adorn the French capital. 
 
 After allowing his army twelve days of rest at Milan Bonaparte 
 advanced to Mantua, and laid siege to that strong fortress. It was 
 the chief Austrian stronghold in Italy, and the key to all further 
 operations in that country. An Austrian army was dispatched to its 
 relief under Marshal Wurmser, one of the most trusted generals of 
 the empire. While it was on the march, Bonaparte left a strong 
 detachment to continue the blockade of Mantua, and by a rapid 
 movement overran the States of the Church with the rest of his army, 
 and dictated an armistice with th,e Papal See. Pope Pius VI was 
 compelled to pay to France the sum of twenty-one millions of francs, 
 together with one hundred valuable pictures and other works of art, 
 and to allow Bologna, Ferrara, and Ancona to be garrisoned by the 
 French. The grand duke of Tuscany Avas compelled to receive a 
 French garrison at Leghorn, in order to prevent the English from 
 trading with that port. Marshal Wurmser, at the head of seventy 
 thousand men, twice entered Italy from the Tyrol to relieve Mantua. 
 He Avas no match for his youthful opponent, and was defeated at 
 Brescia, Castiglione, Roveredo, and Bassano. Finding that he was 
 unable to hold the field, Wurmser, on the 19th of September, retired 
 with the remainder of his army within the walls of Mantua, which 
 fortress was well-provisioned and capable of enduring a long siege. 
 
 The defeat of Moreau and Jourdan in Germany, and their retreat 
 across the Rhine into France, left the army in Italy to bear the full 
 weight of the Austrian power, and a third Austrian army, sixty 
 thousand strong, was assembled under Marshal Alvinzi for the pur- 
 pose of driving Bonaparte out of Italy. The French were far inferior 
 in strength to the Austrians, and Alvinzi believed he would have an 
 easy victory. In the first part of the campaign the Austrians were 
 successful, and the French army became disheartened, but Bonaparte, 
 by a series of bold and rapid movements, soon changed the condi- 
 tions of affairs. On the 14th of November he attacked Alvinzi at 
 Areola, and in a three days' battle drove him back upon Montebello, 
 
THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC OVERTHROWN. 455 
 
 and re-entered Verona in triumph. Alvinzi was re-enforced, and early 
 in January, A. D. 1797, appeared on the Adige with an army of 
 sixty thousand men. On the 14th of January he was utterly routed 
 at RivoH. The French were greatly inferior in force to the Austrians, 
 and the victory was therefore due to the superior genius of Bona- 
 parte. It was followed by the surrender of Mantua by Wurmser on 
 the 2d of February, by which the French received twenty thousand 
 prisoners of war. 
 
 Bonaparte now invaded the papal territories and rapidly overran 
 them. He was ordered by the French directory to destroy the papal 
 government, but oh his own responsibility disregarded these instruc- 
 tions, and concluded with the helpless pontiff the treaty of Tolentino 
 on the 19th of February, by which Pius VI ceded to France the 
 legations of Bologna, Ferrara, and the Romagna and Avignon and 
 its territory in France, and paid a second contribution of fifteen 
 millions of francs and a number of the choicest art treasures of Rome. 
 Thus far the brilliant success of Bonaparte had won for France a 
 third of the papal states and Savoy and Nice ; had detached the king 
 of Sardinian, and the states of northern and central Italy from the 
 coalition against France, and had laid Genoa and Venice under heavy 
 contributions. The expenses of the campaign had not only been 
 defrayed by the conquered territory, but Bonaparte had been able to 
 remit thirty millions of francs to the directory. The officers and 
 men of the conquering army had grown rich from the spoils of war. 
 Piedmont and Lombardy had been conquered, and four Austrian 
 armies had been defeated or captured. It was the most brilliant 
 campaign that had been conducted by the French since the com- 
 mencement of the war. The Italians believed at first that the French 
 had come to deliver them from their old tyrants, and they every- 
 where rose against their rulers and drove out the monks and priests. 
 They soon found, however, that the French were not so disinterested, 
 and that they intended to rule the Peninsula. A growing enmity to 
 the French was now developed in all parts of Italy, and liostiHties 
 soon broke out between the Italians and the French. At Verona 
 the garrison left by Napoleon was massacred by the people, and 
 violent outbreaks occurred at Bergamo and other places. Bonaparte 
 at once marched into the Venetian territory, having first declared 
 war against the republic. The city of Venice was occupied by a 
 French division; the Venetian republic was overthrown; the "Council 
 of Ten" abolished, and a democratic government organized. The 
 French levied a fine of six millions of francs upon the republic, occu- 
 
45 6 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 pied its territory with garrisons, and carried off to Paris a large 
 number of works of art, manuscripts, etc. The Venetians surren- 
 dered the government without a struggle, and thus perished the 
 ancient commonwealth of Venice. But while deprived of the priv- 
 ileges of a republic, the people were delivered from many abuses 
 that had afflicted them. 
 
 On the 17th of October, A. D. 1797, the treaty of Campo Formio 
 was concluded between France and Austria. By its terms Lom- 
 bardy, Parma, and Modena, the papal states of Bologna, Ferrara, 
 and the Romagna and the Venetian territory, as far as the Adige, 
 were organized into an independent state called the ''Cisalpine Re- 
 public." Venice and all her dependencies in the Adriatic were given 
 to Austria, who occupied them with her troops in the early part of 
 the year 1798. Napoleon also created the "Ligurian Republic/' 
 with Genoa for its capital; the " Cispadane Republic," with its cap- 
 ital at Bologna; and the "Tiberine Repubhc," whose capital was 
 Rome. Naples was captured by the French A. D. 1798, and made 
 the capital of the ''Parthenopaean Republic." A second coalition 
 had been formed against France by Russia, Turkey, Great Britain, 
 Austria, and the Two Sicilies. The king of the Two Sicilies, before 
 the treaties were signed between these powers, advanced upon Rome 
 with an army of forty thousand men; but the French repulsed this 
 force, pursued King Ferdinand IV into the Neapolitan territories and 
 compelled him to take refuge in Sicily. 
 
 As Napoleon had declined to obey the instructions of the French 
 directory respecting the papal government. General Berthier was sent 
 on a special mission to Rome. He found the people thoroughly dis- 
 contented, and they received him as a deliverer. After proclaiming 
 the restoration of the republic, he made Pope Pius VI a prisoner and 
 stripped him of all his property. The unfortunate pontiff was con- 
 veyed to the convent of Sienna, and subsequently removed to France, 
 where, after being detained in captivity, he died in the eighty-second 
 year of his age. In the Summer of 1799 the French army pillaged 
 Rome, and the efforts of the people to "protect their property were 
 unavailing. Berthier, who had promised to respect the private pos- 
 sessions of the citizens, was disgusted with the course of the direc- 
 tory and the conduct of his own army, and demanded to be recalled. 
 
 In the mean time France, having lost her hold upon Italy, was 
 alarmed at the situation. A powerful Russian army under the famous 
 Marshal Suwarof had entered the Peninsula and formed a junction 
 wdth the Austrians under General Kray. This force successively 
 
THE FRENCH DEFEA T IN ITAL Y. 45 7 
 
 defeated the French army under General Sherer at Verona and 
 Magnano. Sherer was succeeded by Moreau, who was defeated by 
 Suwarof at Cassano. The alHes then occupied Milan, and Moreau 
 would have been crushed had not the Austian government ordered 
 Suwarof to lay siege to Mantua, Peschiera, and other places that 
 were considered essential to the preservation of the territory already 
 won. Profiting by this delay, Moreau took position at Coni, where 
 he could communicate with Genoa and with France. Re-enforcements 
 were hastening to him, but desiring to distinguish himself by some 
 decisive act before their arrival, Moreau left his position and attacked 
 Suwarof near the Trebia and was utterly routed. This defeat was fol- 
 lowed by the loss of Piedmont, The allies occupied Turin, Pignerol, 
 Susa, and other important points, and the Cossacks of Suwarof's 
 army passed the Alps and invaded Dauphine. Joubert was sent 
 to supersede Moreau, but was defeated and slain in the bloody and 
 decisive battle of Novi on the 15 th of August, 1799. -^ combined 
 force of Russians, Turks, and Neapolitans advanced upon Rome, 
 which was surrendered by the French on the 27th of September. 
 Later in the same year' the city of Naples was taken by the army of 
 Ferdinand IV and the English fleet under Lord Nelson. After a 
 short existence the " Parthenopaean Republic" Avas overthrown, and 
 the government of Ferdinand IV re-established by Cardinal Ruffo, 
 the leading patriots having surrendered the castle on condition that 
 they should be allowed to go to France. The capitulation was broken 
 by Lord Nelson, and the liberals who had already embarked on ship- 
 board, and who numbered many of the best and most learned men 
 in Naples, were all executed. By these reverses all of central and 
 southern Italy were lost to the French, who had already been driven 
 from northern Italy. 
 
PAPAL DARKNESS DISAPPEARING. 
 
 CENTURY XIX. 
 
 FIRST DECADE, 1800-1810. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 ITALY UNDER FRENCH RULE. 
 
 THE dawn of the nineteenth century found Italy still the battle- 
 field of hostile nations. Indeed, all Europe was convulsed by 
 the French Revolution, and the thrones of monarchy seemed to be 
 rocking. The idea of liberty, practically illustrated in America, had 
 deeply stirred the people of France, and, though they allowed free- 
 dom to wander unrestrained into the most extravagant and fearful 
 license, yet the principle itself had not ceased to agitate European 
 society. The contest in Italy had been really between republican 
 France and despotic powers, and the Italians themselves,' while in 
 the midst of constant wars and subject to foreign invaders, were not 
 altogether without compensations. On the whole, the period of 
 French rule in the Peninsula was one of order and of observance of 
 law, and something was done for the material and intellectual devel- 
 opment of the country. But, more than all, the hope of national 
 unity then arose in the Italian mind. Natives of different parts of 
 the Peninsula were thrown together in the armies of Napoleon, and 
 from this companionship derived a feeling of brotherhood which 
 tyranny could not crush. Even the papacy proved powerless to 
 resist the popular tide, and Pius VII, who began to reign on the 
 14th of March, 1800, was destined to greater humiliation than his 
 predecessor. 
 
 Austria still continuing hostile. Napoleon resolved to take the 
 field against her. In April, 1800, the Austrian army in Italy under 
 Baron Melas attacked the French under Generals Soult and Massena, 
 458 
 
THE NEG O TIA TIONS. 459 
 
 and drove them back to Genoa, while another French division under 
 General Suchet was forced to retreat upon Borghette. Melas sent a 
 large body of troops to besiege Genoa, while, with the remainder of 
 his army, he followed Suchet, intending to force him back and to 
 invade France by way of Provence. Napoleon now executed a brill- 
 iant and daring plan to expel the Austrians from Italy. He proposed 
 to cross the Alps of Switzerland with his army and plant it in Italy 
 in the rear of the Austrians. He began his march from Geneva with 
 a force of thirty-five thousand men. The French engineers had 
 examined the pass of the Great St. Bernard, and had reported that 
 it was barely possible to cross the mountain. Napoleon at once gave 
 orders to make the attempt. The cannon were dismounted, placed 
 in the hollow trunks of trees, and were dragged over the frozen 
 paths by the troops. By the most indefatigable exertions the mount- 
 ain was passed, and on the i6th of May, 1800, the advanced guard 
 of the French army, under Lannes, entered Piedmont. Another 
 division, under General Moncey, crossed Mont St. Gothard, and a 
 third, under General Thuneau, passed over Mont Cenis. These 
 divisions were reunited in Lombardy, and on the 2d of June Napo- 
 leon occupied Milan without opposition. The passage of the Alps 
 by the French army has always been regarded as one of the most 
 remarkable feats in military history. 
 
 In the mean time Massena, who had held Genoa for sixty days, and 
 had defeated the efforts of the enemy to capture it, was reduced to 
 the necessity of capitulating, and on the 5th of June evacuated the 
 place with the remainder of his force. The exultation of the Aus- 
 trians was suddenly checked by the startling news of the passage of 
 the Alps by the French, and their presence in Milan. Napoleon 
 was between the Austrians and their base of operations, and they 
 must fight to recover their communications with their own country. 
 Melas hastily fell back to Alessandria, and concentrated his forces 
 there. Napoleon took position in the great plain of Marengo, where, 
 on the 14th of June, the decisive battle of the campaign was fought. 
 The Austrians were successful in the morning ; but the arrival of 
 Desaix with a fresh corps, in the afternoon, enabled Napoleon to 
 renew the battle, and the Austrians were defeated and driven in con- 
 fusion across the Bormida. Each army lost about seven thousand 
 men killed. The heroic Desaix was mortally wounded. Their defeat 
 left the Austrians in such a critical condition that Melas was com- 
 pelled to enter into negotiations with the first consul. An agreement 
 was signed by which the Austrian army withdrew beyond the Min- 
 
46o ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 cio, and twelve fortresses, including Milan, Turin, Genoa, Piacenza, 
 and Alessandria, passed into the hands of the French. By his single 
 victory Napoleon gained all the territory he had won in his earlier 
 campaigns, and which had been lost by his absence from Italy. 
 Austria was deprived of all that she had obtained in the northern part 
 of the Peninsula. A suspension of hostilities was agreed upon until 
 the Austrian commander could receive definite instructions from 
 Vienna as to a treaty of peace; and Napoleon returned to Paris, 
 where he was received with an ovation. 
 
 On the 9th of February, 1801, the peace of Luneville, which 
 confirmed the treaty of Campo Formio, was signed, by which the 
 duke of Parma obtained Tuscany under the designation of the Etru- 
 rian Kingdom ; Lombardy and Parma fell to France, and Venice to 
 Austria. In 1802 the Cisalpine was changed into the Italian Repub- 
 lic, its constitution revised, and Napoleon made president. Piedmont 
 was formally annexed to the French dominions in September of the 
 same year, and about the same time the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, 
 and Guastalla were seized and placed under a French administration. 
 In 1805, when the military regime was completed in France, and 
 Bonaparte had become its emperor, the same kind of monarchy was 
 forced upon Italy, and he was crowned king of the latter country in 
 the cathedral of Milan, on the 26th of May, the ancient iron crown of 
 Lombardy being used on that occasion. The emperor appointed his 
 stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, his representative in Italy, with the 
 title of viceroy. On the 30th of June the Genoese territory was 
 organized as three French departments, and formally incorporated 
 with France. Guastalla was annexed to the new Italian kingdom, 
 and Piambino and Lucca were given in fief to Napoleon's sister, 
 Elisa, who had married Paschal Bacciochi. By the peace of Pres- 
 burg, signed on the 26th of December, 1805, Venice, Istria, and 
 Dalmatia were added to the Italian kingdom, the area of which then 
 comprised thirty-five thousand and four hundred square miles, with a 
 population of five million six hundred and fifty-seven thousand. 
 Naples had entered into a treaty of neutrality with France; but 
 under the influence of Queen Caroline, a sister of the unfortunate 
 Marie Antoinette, it had taken sides with the allies. Napoleon at 
 once proclaimed that "the house of Bourbon had ceased to reign 
 in Naples," and in February, 1806, sent a powerful army under 
 Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Massena into the Neapolitan territory. 
 The royal family fled to Sicily; Naples was occupied by the French, 
 and the emperor conferred the Neapolitan crown upon his eldest 
 
CAMILLO CAVOUR. 46 1 
 
 brother, Joseph Bonaparte. The latter was annoyed by Ferdinand, 
 who made repeated efforts to regain his throne ; but the insurrection 
 was suppressed by the French troops. 
 
 In 1808 Joseph Bonaparte exchanged his position as king of the 
 two SiciUes for the throne of Spain, and was succeeded by his 
 brother-in-law. General Murat, one of the most brilliant marshals of 
 the empire. In the same year the Etrurian kingdom and the Papal 
 States were added to France ; but Istria and Dalmatia were sepa- 
 rated from Italy, and united to the new Illyrian kingdom, while a 
 portion of the Tyrol was assigned to Italy. The last effort of Aus- 
 tria to crush the French in the Italian Peninsula having been frus- 
 trated in a series of battles extending from the 19th to the 23d of 
 April, 1809, the supremacy of Napoleon remained undisturbed until 
 his power was broken by the Russian campaign, and the successful 
 rising of Germany. 
 
 SECOND DECADE, 1810-1820. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 BIRTH OF CAVOUR— ITALY OPPRESSED—GARIBALDI ^ 
 
 THE year 18 10 will ever be regarded by the true Italian pa- 
 triot as one of the most memorable in the history of his coun- 
 try. No startling political or military event occurred, and Napoleon 
 continued to be undisputed ruler of the whole Peninsula. But the 
 birth of one who was destined to be the deliverer of Italy rendered 
 that year almost sacred. If the 22d of February, 1732, is a day to 
 be revered by Americans, the ist of August, 1 8 10, deserves like 
 commemoration by the Italians. The parents of Camillo Bensi di 
 Cavour resided at Turin, where this, their second son, was born. 
 His father, the Marquis Michael Benso di Cavour, belonged to one 
 of the most ancient and noble families of Piedmont, and was for 
 many years, during the reign of Carlo Alberto, mayor of the city in 
 which he lived. The infant son and future statesman was held at 
 the baptismal font by the Princess Pauline Borghese, sister of Napo- 
 leon I, and the Abbe Frezet, author of a history of the house of 
 Savoy, was his first instructor. 
 
 The social center at Turin was united, though varied, and in this 
 
462 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 wholesome and strengthening atmosphere Camillo Cavour was reared. 
 He was a robust child, sparkling with vivacity, enjoying his own 
 life and imparting happiness to all around him. In 18 15, when the 
 tragic warfare which swept away the French empire had made Pied- 
 mont independent, he was only five j^ears of age. In that same year, 
 on the 1 8th of June, the star of Napoleon set on the bloody field 
 of Waterloo to rise no more, while that of Cavour, which was des- 
 tined to guide Italy through its dark night to the haven of national 
 unity and safety was just rising above the horizon. Indeed, the reign 
 of Napoleon was virtually ended in the Peninsula in 18 14. On the 
 nth of January, Murat, king of Naples, abandoned Napoleon, uni- 
 ted his forces with those of Austria, and assisted in expelling the 
 French army from Italy, which was accomplished on the 23d of 
 April, 1 8 14. While Cavour, in the innocence of childhood, spent 
 happy hours under the parental roof, his native land was about to 
 pass under the despotic rule of Austria. 
 
 After the abdication of the French emperor, Eugene Beauharnais, 
 who had been viceroy of Milan, withdrew, and the states of Italy 
 returned to the government of their former rulers, with the exception 
 of Venice, which remained subject to Austria. On the return of 
 Bonaparte from Elba, in 181 5, Murat took up arms, advanced north- 
 ward and entered Bologna. Driven thence, he Avas soon afterward 
 defeated near Tolentino, and his power completely destroyed. The 
 Austrian general, Nugent, entered the capital, and Murat fled to 
 France, while his wife and family found refuge in Austria. Ferdi- 
 nand returned from Sicily to Naples, and maintained with few changes 
 the Code Napoleon and other institutions introduced by the French. 
 Murat made a feeble attempt to recover his kingdom, and having col- 
 lected a small body of troops in Corsica, landed at Pezzo, in Calabria, 
 where he was taken prisoner, tried by a military tribunal, and shot. 
 
 To restore the political system of Europe, which had been so 
 completely subverted, a General Congress met at Vienna, on the ist 
 of November, 18 14. Six of the crowned heads of Europe were 
 present, and also many princes, embassadors, and ministers. This 
 congress decreed a new territorial arrangement of Italy. The king 
 of Sardinia received back all his dominions according to the bounda- 
 ries existing in 1792, with some few changes in the frontier. To 
 these were added Genoa and the territory belonging to it when a 
 republic. The emperor of Austria received the newly elected king- 
 dom of Venetian Lombardy, in which were included the districts of 
 the Valteline, Bormio, and Chiavenna, with parts of the Grisons. 
 
AUSTRIA RULES ITALY. 463 
 
 The valley of the Po was fixed upon as the boundary between the 
 popedom and Parma. The house of Hapsburg again received the 
 sovereignty which it once exercised over Modena, Reggio, Miran- 
 dola, Massa, and Carrara. Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla fell to the 
 Empress Maria Louisa, wife of Napoleon. The first-named was 
 given to her as a sovereignty for her life, after which it was to fall 
 to the duchess of Lucca and her heirs, who were to give up a terri- 
 tory in Bohemia to the duke of Reichstadt, the son of Napoleon and 
 Maria Louisa. Prince Ferdinand received Tuscany and the district 
 of Piombina, with the title of Grand Duke. He also obtained the 
 sovereignty of the isle of Elba, on condition of reserving in that 
 island the rights of Prince Buoncompagni Ludovisi. To the Infanta 
 Maria Louisa, the Bourbon princess, was assigned Lucca, as a sover- 
 eign dukedom, with a yearly pension of five hundred thousand francs 
 till the decease of the Empress Maria Louisa. The pope was fully 
 reinstated in all his dominions, with the exception of a few small 
 portions on the left bank of the Po; but Austria reserved the right 
 of recruiting in Ferrara and Comacchio. Ferdinand of Naples was 
 again acknowledged as king of both Sicilies. Malta, Gozzo, and 
 Comino remained in the hands of England, and the republic of San 
 Marino and the prince of Monaco were guaranteed in the enjoyment 
 of their ancient rights. 
 
 Thus, at the end of twenty years of war, Italy was deprived of 
 the ancient liberties of some of its provinces, and saw the Aus- 
 trian rule more firmly established and extended in others. But 
 this was not the worst feature. Her rulers, who before the French 
 Revolution had commenced civil and religious reforms, returned with 
 an obstinate aversion to any change. All that the country had 
 gained was the abolition of the remnants of feudal rights and privi- 
 leges, the division of feudal domains, and the extensive lands wrested 
 from the suppressed monasteries, and the introduction of the Code 
 Napoleon into most of its states. The restoration of the old govern- 
 ments, however, was not followed by the return of tranquillity, still 
 less of contentment, among the Italians. 
 
 Vienna could not allay the spirit of national independence which 
 was astir among the people. It was first awakened by a few poets 
 of the last twenty years of the eighteenth century and was fostered 
 by the allied powers themselves, whose interests were promoted by 
 the overthrow of the French rule in Italy. The Archduke John of 
 Austria in 1809, Lord William Bentinck in 18 14 at Genoa, and General 
 Nugent in 18 15, had all promised independence to the ItaHans, and 
 
464 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 excited them to arise in the name of their country's freedom and 
 defend their own rights and their own Hberties. When Murat 
 marched into Upper Italy, in 18 15, he appealed to the spirit of na- 
 tional independence, and even proclaimed that the freedom of Italy was 
 the object of his expedition. It became then the favorite theme 
 of the national literature, and was strengthened by the arrangements 
 of the Congress of Vienna. By the extension of the Austrian power 
 in the peninsula all the Italian sovereigns became virtually so many 
 liege lords of the empire. The cabinet at Vienna dictated their 
 policy, and not one of them dared to think or act for himself. Thus 
 Ferdinand, when leaving Sicily in May, 18 15, addressed a proclama- 
 tion to the Neapolitans, in which he promised to be the depositary 
 of such laws as should be decreed by a constitution ; but, in June 
 of the same year, by a secret treaty, signed at Vienna, he engaged 
 himself not to introduce into his states any principles of government 
 irreconcilable with those adopted by Austria in her Italian provinces ; 
 and accordingly, in 1816, he -^wt^de facto ^?\.Vi end to the Sicilian con- 
 stitution of 18 1 2. An intense feeling of hostility to Austria now 
 prevailed, and a deep conviction that there could not be any real im- 
 provement in the state of the Peninsula until national independence 
 had been obtained, had tiaken possession of the Italian mind. 
 
 The Italian sovereigns, on returning to their respective states, 
 neither restored the ancient order of things nor adapted their new 
 policy to the fresh wants and altered conditions of society. In com- 
 pliance with the dictates of the Holy Alliance, they undid not only 
 what had been done' under French rule, but also their own previous 
 reforms. By an agreement with the pope, the Jesuits w^ere restored 
 every-where ; many of the suppressed monasteries were re-established, 
 and the mortmain laws of the eighteenth century were repealed. 
 The taxes upon land were increased, and ' exports and imports 
 checked by means of high duties. The system of passports Avas 
 made much more stringent, and perrtiission to leave one's native 
 town, even for a few days, often denied. Elementary education was 
 nari:owed in its limits, and thrown entirely into the hands of the 
 clergy ; its highest branches were discountenanced and lowered by 
 the expulsion from the universities of some of the ablest professors, 
 supposed to entertain liberal views. Private lecturing or teaching 
 was not allowed without a previous license from the ordinary and 
 police agent. The freedom of the press was fettered more than it 
 had ever been before, and every work, before being published, was 
 subjected to a rigorous scrutiny. Public functionaries were changed 
 
DESPOTIC MEASURES. 
 
 465 
 
 PIUS VII. 
 
 without any regard to justice, but merely because they had served 
 under the former government. All who had distinguished themselves 
 in the time of Napoleon, or who were of a liberal turn of mind, were 
 openly persecuted or ostracized, and their movements and words 
 suspected, watched, and reported. 
 
466 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 In addition to all this, in the papal states ecclesiastics returned to 
 fill all civil offices, and the Code Napoleon was withdrawn from those 
 provinces which had formed part of the kingdom of Italy. Hence, 
 there arose general discontent among the people, and thousands of 
 otherwise quiet persons, either in the hope of finding redress or pro- 
 tection, or only out of a feeling of revenge, united with secret political 
 societies, which had been formed during French rule for the purpose 
 of emancipating the Peninsula. Many officers of the army were con- 
 nected with them, who, at the time of the restoration, either lost 
 their position or failed to be regularly promoted. This vast combi- 
 nation, supported by the general sympathies of the people, wanted 
 but a small impulse to break out into open rebellion ; and it was in 
 vain that the government of Naples endeavored to oppose the popu- 
 lar movement by organizing a secret society called the Calderari. 
 Thus the great evil of oath-bound political associations was sanc- 
 tioned by the royal party. 
 
 When Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuits, A. D. 1773, he 
 decreed the aboHtion of the society ''forever," but it neither ceased 
 to exist nor to act. Its leaders pointed to the awful tempest of the 
 French Revolution and to the fallen thrones and desecrated altars a^ 
 the expression of God's anger at the suppression of their holy 
 order, and demanded of Pius VII its restoration. Scarcely had the 
 latter returned to the Vatican when he issued a bull, dated the 7th 
 of August, A. D. 1 8 14, restoring the order and appointing Thad- 
 deus Borzodzowsky its general or chief. It is said that this step was 
 taken with the full approval of the allied powers, who wished to 
 reward the Jesuits for the zeal which they manifested towards the 
 cause of the Bourbons. 
 
 From 181 5 to 1820 Italy was not disturbed by any violent 
 commotions, though the people were restless under the oppressive 
 rule of their princes, who \\^re Austria's agents. In 1 8 19 young 
 Cavour, the coming Italian statesman, was a student in the Military 
 Academy of Turin, the school of the noble Piedmontese youth, and 
 by his superior ability soon obtained the position of page in the 
 household of the prince di Carignano, the future Charles Albert. But 
 tl:e proud spirit of the future diplomatist chafed Under the ''pack- 
 saddle," as he styled it, of his livery, so that the king soon released 
 him from a service that was uncongenial to his sturdy and robust 
 disposition. 
 
 At this time another youth, who was destined to play an important 
 part in the deliverance of his country from foreign rule, was attend- 
 
GARIBALDI A SAILOR. 467 
 
 ing school at Genoa. Guiseppe Garibaldi was born at Nice on the 
 4th of July, 1807. His father was a sailor, and, after educating 
 his son in the common branches, trained him to the life of a seaman 
 in a vessel with himself. Garibaldi, in writing of his boyhood, refers 
 to a simple incident which made a deep impression upon his mind. 
 Having caught a grasshopper, he carried it into the house ; but, 
 handling it too roughly he broke its leg. After reflecting on the 
 injury he had done the harmless insect, he was so much affected with 
 grief that he retired to his chamber and wept bitterly for several 
 hours. This tenderness of heart in the child characterized him when 
 he became a man. On another occasion he rescued a poor woman 
 who had fallen into a deep ditch filled with water, and he declares 
 that in saving her life he experienced the highest pleasure. It 
 appears, therefore, that in early years, though fearless of danger, he 
 was easily moved by the sight of suffering. 
 
 The instructors of Garibaldi, Padre Gianone and Signor Arena, 
 are mentioned by him in terms of grateful praise. He expresses 
 regret that he was more inclined to play than to study. In view of 
 the proximity of Nice to France, the Italian language was not gen- 
 erally spoken in that city, and besides the government neglected to^ 
 provide proper education for the people. Garibaldi acknowledges 
 his indebtedness to Padre Gianone for instructing him in his own, 
 native dialect. His brother in America encouraged him in the effort, 
 and also persuaded him to read Roman and Italian history, in which 
 he became deeply interested. While at school in Genoa he grew 
 weary of study, and especially of confinement at the desk, and there- 
 fore resolved 'to undertake an adventure by sea and seek his fortune. 
 With several companions he entered a boat, taking with him some- 
 provisions and fishing tackle, and sailed for the Levant. But when 
 the young voyagers reached Monaco they were overtaken by a '* cor- 
 sair," commanded by Garibaldi's father, and taken back to their 
 homes. Garibaldi was exceedingly mortified by the failure of the 
 enterprise, but it was the beginning of an adventurous career un- 
 equaled in heroism and daring. 
 
 In a short time he commenced the life of a sailor on board the 
 vessel Costanza. "How every thing is embellished," he says, ini 
 referring to this event, * ' by the feelings of youth, and how beautiful 
 appeared to my ardent eyes the bark in which I was to navigate the 
 Mediterranean when I stepped on board for the first time ! Her 
 lofty sides, her slender masts, rising so gracefully and so high above, 
 and the bust of 'Our Lady,' which adorned the bow, all remain as 
 
 31 
 
468 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 distinctly painted on my memory at the present day as on the happy 
 hour when I became one of her crew. How gracefully moved the 
 sailors, who were fine young men from San Remi, and true speci- 
 mens of intrepid Ligurians ! With what pleasure I ventured into the 
 forecastle to listen to the popular songs sung by harmonious choirs ! 
 They sang of love until I was transported ; and they endeavored to 
 excite themselves to patriotism by singing of Italy ! But who in 
 those days had ever taught them how to be patriotic and Italian ? 
 Who, indeed, had then ever said on those shores to those young men 
 that there was such a thing as Italy, or that they had a country 
 to be ameliorated or redeemed?" 
 
 The second voyage of Garibaldi was made to Rome in a vessel 
 belonging to his father. ''Rome," he exclaimed, "once the capital 
 of the world, now the capital of a sect ! The Rome which I had 
 painted in my imagination no longer existed. The future Rome, 
 rising to regenerate the nation, has now long been a dominant idea in 
 my mind, and inspired me with hope and energy. Thoughts spring- 
 ing from the past, in short, have had a prevailing influence on me 
 during my life. Rome, which I had before admired and thought of 
 /frequently, I ever since have loved. It has been dear to me beyond 
 all things. I not only admired her for her former power, and the 
 remains of antiquity, but even the smallest thing connected with her 
 was precious to me. Even in exile these feelings were constantly 
 cherished in my heart, and often, very often have I prayed to the 
 Almighty to permit me to see that city once more. I regarded Rome 
 as the center of Italy, for the union of which I ardently longed." 
 
 Garibaldi made several voyages with his father, and afterwards one 
 with Captain Gei'vino to Caglieri, and during the return passage, in a 
 fearful storm, on the ocean, he beheld the capsizing of a Spanish boat, 
 and the drowning of the crew. It was impossible to render them any 
 assistance, and the Italian sailors shed tears over the sad fate of the 
 unfortunate men. This experience on the ocean accustomed Gari- 
 baldi to hardship and danger, and, at the same time, awakened those 
 tender emotions in his heart, which, in subsequent years, manifested 
 themselves in the darkest hours of his life. During one of his voy- 
 ages he visited Constantinople, where he was taken sick, and, after his 
 recovery, being in straitened circumstances, he taught in a private 
 family. In a short time, however, he resumed the nautical life. 
 
CHARLES FELIX. 469 
 
 THIRD DECADE, 1820-1830. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 JOSEPH MAZZINI AND THE CARBONARL 
 
 AMONG the secret political societies that existed in Italy, seek- 
 ing to overthrow Austrian tyranny and to establish a republican 
 form of government, was the Carbonari. It was strong in France, 
 and had been introduced into Italy, where, in 1820, its membership 
 embraced thousands. The order was very powerful in Naples, and, 
 in 1820, under its guidance, the Neapolitans rose in insurrection 
 against King Ferdinand, and demanded that the absolute rule of that 
 king should give way to a constitutional monarchy. Ferdinand was 
 taken at a disadvantage and granted them a constitution, which he 
 intended to revoke at the first favorable opportunity. A few months 
 later the emperors of Russia and Austria, and the kings of Prussia, 
 Sardinia, and Naples met at Laybach, in Austria, and agreed to 
 crush out the Neapolitan movement for constitutional freedom as 
 dangerous to the cause of absolutism. 
 
 In 1 82 1 a force of sixty thousand Austrians entered the Neapoli- 
 tan territories, and, with their aid, King Ferdinand revoked the con- 
 stitution, restored the absolute monarchy, and put down the resistance 
 of his people. He celebrated his victory by treating the liberal 
 leaders with great cruelty. In the same year a similar insurrection 
 broke out in Piedmont, or the Sardinian kingdom, and the people 
 demanded of King Victor Emmanuel I a constitution. Rather than 
 grant this Victor Emmanuel abdicated his crown in favor of his 
 brother, Charles Felix, who was at that time absent in Modena. 
 Until the new king could reach Turin his cousin, Charles Albert, 
 prince of Carignano, was made regent. The latter was the heir to 
 the throne, as the new king had no children. For some reason he 
 complied with the demands of the liberals, but immediately upon his 
 arrival at Turin Charles Felix set aside the regent's concessions and 
 compelled the submission of his people by threatening to call in the 
 Austrians to assist him in maintaining his power. Any thing was 
 better than an Austrian intervention, and, for a while, the liberals 
 
470 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 were forced to submit. The Jesuits and the Austrian party endeav- 
 ored to induce Charles Felix to name as his heir Francis, duke of 
 Modena, who had married a daughter of Victor Emmanuel I; but 
 the king remained faithful to his cousin, Charles Albert. Duke 
 Francis began to intrigue with the liberals, and gave them to under- 
 stand that, if they would declare him king of Italy, he would adopt 
 their principles, head their party, and unite Italy in a constitutional 
 monarch. For some time they believed him sincere. 
 
 One Sunday in 1821, soon after the Piedmontese insurrection had 
 been crushed, partly by Austria, partly by treachery, and partly 
 through the weakness of its leaders, Joseph Mazzini, then a boy of 
 twelve years, accompanied by his mother, and an old friend of the 
 family named Andrew Gambini, walked in the Strada Nuova of 
 Genoa. It was in April, and the revolutio.nists, seeking safety by 
 sea, had flocked to that city, and finding themselves distressed for 
 means they went about asking aid to enable them to cross into Spain, 
 where the revolution was yet triumphant. The greater number of 
 them were crowded in 5. Pier d' Arena, awaiting a chance to embark ; 
 but not a few had contrived to enter the city one by one. Young 
 Mazzini, who was born in Genoa in 1809, was the son of a prominent 
 physician, and had been unconsciously educated in the worship of 
 equality by the democratic principles of his parents, 'Svhose bearing," 
 he says, "towards high or low was ever the same." Disregarding 
 the position of the individual, they estimated him by the standard of 
 character. Mazzini declares that his own natural aspirations towards 
 liberty Avere fostered by constantly hearing his father and mother, 
 and Andrew Gambini, the friend already mentioned, speak of the 
 recent republican era in France, by the study of the works of Livy 
 and Tacitus, which his Latin master had given him to translate, and 
 by "certain old French newspapers" which he discovered half con- 
 cealed behind his father's medical books. Among these last were 
 some numbers 9f the Chronique du Mots, a Girondist publication 
 belonging to the first period of the French Revolution. 
 
 While Mazzini, his mother, and Gambini were proceeding along 
 the street above named, they were stopped and addressed by a tall 
 black-bearded man, with a severe and energetic countenance, and a 
 fiery glance that made a deep impression upon the young patriot in 
 the party. Holding out a white handkerchief towards them, the 
 stranger merely said: "For the refugees of Italy." A contribution 
 was made and he passed on to solicit from others. This man was 
 Rini, a captain in the National Guard, which had been instituted at 
 
MAZZmrS WRITINGS. 471 
 
 the commencement of the revolution. He accompanied the fleeing 
 republicans as collector, and finally perished for the cause of liberty 
 in Spain. "The idea of an existing wrong in my own country, 
 against which it was a duty to struggle, and the thought that I, too, 
 must bear my part in that struggle," says Mazzini, "flashed before my 
 mind on that day for the first time, never again to leave me. The 
 remembrance of those refugees, many of whom became my friends 
 in after life, pursued me wherever I went by day, and mingled with 
 my dreams by night. I would have given, I know not what, to 
 follow them. I began collecting names and facts, and studied, as best 
 I might, the records of that heroic struggle, seeking to fathom the 
 causes of its failure." 
 
 Mazzini associated with the refugees, easily detecting them either 
 by their general appearance, by some peculiarity of dress, by their 
 warlike air or by the signs of a deep and silent sorrow on their faces. 
 The Genoese were deeply moved, and some of the boldest had pro- 
 posed to Santarosa and Ansaldi, the leaders of the insurrection, to 
 concentrate in and take possession of the city, thus organizing a new 
 resistance; but Genoa was found to be deprived of all means of suc- 
 cessful defense; the fortresses were without artillery, and the leaders 
 had rejected the proposition, telling them to preserve themselves for 
 a better fate. The sympathy of young Mazzini was profoundly 
 excited, and the desire to deliver his country from foreign oppression 
 became an absorbing passion. When at school, surrounded by noisy, 
 tumultuous students, he was silent and somber, and appeared like 
 one suddenly grown old. He even resolved to dress always in black, 
 fancying himself in mourning for Italy, and his mind was so much 
 burdened that his mother feared he would commit suicide. 
 
 This first tempest of feeling, however, passed away, and by 
 degrees a calmer state of mind was enjoyed by the young patriot. 
 His friendship for the Ruffinis — an interesting family — had a tendency 
 to soothe his troubled spirit, and afford relief to the inward passion 
 that consumed him. He conversed with them of literature, of the 
 intellectual resurrection of Italy, and upon philosophico-religious 
 questions; but that which brought peace to his mind was the propo- 
 sition to form associations for the purpose of smuggling books pro- 
 hibited by the police. This opening, though on a small scale, 
 encouraged Mazzini, who soon drew around him a little circle of 
 chosen friends, whom he designated as "a group of Pleiads, and a 
 salvation to my tormented spirit." Toward the end of 1826 he wrote 
 his first literary article, ^'DelV Amor Patrio di DaiiU,'' and boldly 
 
472 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 sent it to the ''Antologia,'' of Florence, but it was not published; 
 subsequently, however, it was inserted in the ''Subalpino,'' by N. 
 Tommasseo. For several years Mazzini had studied the writings of 
 Dante, and he venerated him not only as a poet, but as the father of 
 the Itatian nation. In 1827 the literary war between the classicist 
 and romantic schools was raging fiercely. It was a war between the 
 supporters of a literary despotism, dating its origin and authority 
 two thousand years back, and those who sought to emancipate 
 themselves from its tyranny in the name of their own individual 
 inspiration. Mazzini and the young men who followed him belonged 
 to the latter school. The literati of that period were neither citizens 
 nor patriots, and were completely governed by the false French doc- 
 trine of art for art's sake. But Tommasseo and Montani, in the 
 fruitful and fostering school of criticism, taught in their **Antologia," 
 declared that without a country and without liberty no vital art could 
 be produced. The writings of Count Alessandro Manzoni presented 
 similar views. The patriotic heart of this great author earnestly 
 desired the freedom of Italy, and noble sentiments breathing that 
 spirit occasionally transpire in the choruses of his tragedies and other 
 passages of his works, though restrained by his devotion to the 
 Roman Catholic Church and the gentleness of his nature. Mazzini 
 declares that the ideas awakened in him in 1 821 still burned in his 
 soul in 1827, and moved him to renounce the career of literature for 
 the more direct path of political action. 
 
 At that time a small journal called the Indicatore Genovese was 
 published in Genoa by one Ponthenier, who was also the editor. 
 It contained mercantile advertisements, and Mazzini persuaded the 
 proprietor to admit notices of books he had for sale, embracing a 
 brief description of each. This was the commencement of his career 
 as a critic. By degrees the advertisements swelled into articles, but 
 the government, which slumbered like the country, either did not 
 heed or did not observe them, and the Indicatore gradually became 
 a literary journal. These articles, which were collected and published 
 at Lugano many years afterwards under the title of * ' Scritti Letterari 
 d'un Italiano Vivente," show how Mazzini and his few friends under- 
 stood the question of ''Romanticism" or progressive literature. The 
 controversy now assumed a political aspect, and though it was only 
 a miniature warfare, resembling a skirmish between the riflemen of 
 the two camps, yet it was the first step towards national indepen- 
 dence. Mazzini, beHeving that the latter could only be secured by 
 the freedom of the press, desired to arouse the youth of the country 
 
INDICATORE LIVORNESE. 473 
 
 and infuse a new spirit into the hidden, latent Hfe, fermenting deep 
 down in the heart of Italy. He knew that the effort to unite these 
 elements — literary and political independence — would be resisted by 
 both foreign and domestic tyranny. At last the government observed 
 Mazzini's writings and became incensed, and when he, flushed with 
 success, announced at the end of the first year his intention to enlarge 
 his journal, a governmental veto suddenly extinguished it. 
 
 These few articles, full of vigor and daring, gave Mazzini a cer- 
 tain amount of fame in his native city, and he made the acquaintance 
 of the writers of the *'Antologia" of Florence, men who were Ital- 
 ians at heart, though the majority of them were timid. He won 
 their friendship by writing a reproof to Carlo Botta, who by his 
 productions had fascinated the young men; and he published two 
 articles on Guerrazzi's drama, the ''Bianchi e Neri," which led to a 
 correspondence between him and that celebrated man. Guerrazzi 
 had already written not only that drama, but the * ' Battaglia di 
 Benevento ;" yet so great was the distance between the provinces in 
 those days that Mazzini had not heard of him until he accidentally 
 met with the " Bianchi e Neri." He replied to a letter written to 
 him by the author, and this was the commencement of an enthusi- 
 astic and fraternal correspondence between these patriots. 
 
 When the Sardinian government suppressed the htdicatore Gen- 
 ovese they suggested the idea of continuing the publication in Leg- 
 horn under the title of the Indicatore Livomese. Guerrazzi, Carlo 
 Bini, and Mazzini were the chief contributors to this second journal, 
 in which the political purposes of the writers were more openly 
 revealed — almost, indeed, without disguise. They wrote of Foscolo, 
 who, apart from his other merits, is deserving of the reverence of 
 the Italians, because he was the first, both in word and deed, to 
 restore literature to its true patriotic mission in the person of the 
 writer. They wrote of ''The Exile," a poem by Pietro Giannone, 
 then himself in exile — a man of incorruptible fidelity, and an ardent 
 lover of freedom. They also wrote of Giovanni Berchet, the author 
 of magnificent poems, full of patriotism, and whose works were de- 
 graded and lost, in 1848, among the patricians and the courtiers of 
 royalty in Milan. 
 
 The Indicatore Livomese became so bold by the end of the year 
 that even the slumbering Tuscan government ordered the pub- 
 lishers to discontinue it, and they obeyed the official order ; but the 
 two journals had aroused a certain number of young men, who, in 
 1829, were collected together and ready for action. They were con- 
 
474 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 vinced that the various governments in Italy were deliberately 
 opposed to progress and hostile to liberty. ''In the midst of all this 
 literary warfare," says Mazzini, *'I never forgot my own purpose, 
 and I continued to look around me to discover men capable of 
 attempting an enterprise. Whispers were rife amongst us of a 
 revival of Carbonarism. I watched, questioned, and searched on 
 every side, until at last a friend of mine — a certain Torre — confessed 
 to me that he was a member of the sect, or, as it was calkd in those 
 days, the order, and offered me initiation. I accepted. While stu- 
 dying the events of 1820 and 1821 I had learned much of Carbonar- 
 ism, and I did not much admire the complex symbolism, the hier- 
 archical mysteries, nor the political faith — or, rather, the absence of 
 political faith — I discovered in that institution. But I was at that 
 time unable to attempt to form any association of jny own ; and in 
 the Carbonari I found a body of men in whom — however inferior to 
 the idea they represented — thought and action, faith and works, were 
 identical. Here were men who, defying alike excommunication and 
 capital punishment, had the persistent energy ever to persevere, and 
 to weave a fresh web each time the old one was broken. And this 
 was enough to induce me to join my name and my labors to theirs." 
 Mazzini has given an interesting account of his initiation into the 
 Carbonari. He was conducted one evening to the highest story of a 
 certain house, where he met a man named Riamondo Doria, half 
 Corsican, half Spaniard, who was already advanced in years, and had 
 a forbidding countenance. The candidate was solemnly informed 
 that he would be spared the usual symbolical rites, ceremonies, and 
 ordeals, because numerous meetings could not be held while the 
 government was so vigilant. Doria asked him whether he was ready 
 to act, and to obey the instructions that would be imparted to him 
 from time to time, and even to sacrifice himself, if necessary, for the 
 good of the order. Mazzini responded in the affirmative ; and, 
 kneeling down at the request of Doria, who unsheathed a dagger, 
 proceeded to repeat the formula of oath administered to the initiate 
 of the first or lowest rank. He then received from Doria two or 
 three signs by which to recognize the brethren, and was declared a 
 Ca7i>onaro. Mazzini was not fully satisfied, and interrogated the 
 friend who had accompanied him to and from the place of meeting, 
 concerning the organization — its aim, its members, and its work; but 
 in vain. He was told to be silent, to obey, and to slowly deserve 
 and receive confidence. His friend congratulated him on the fact 
 that in view of circumstances he had not been required to pass 
 
FEATURES OF CARBONARISM. 475 
 
 through the usual trying ordeals, and asked him what he would have 
 done if he had been, as in the case of others, in that part of the 
 ceremony where the candidate must fire off a pistol in his own ear, 
 which had been previously loaded before his eyes. Mazzini replied 
 that he would have refused obedience to such a demand, * ' telling 
 the initiators," he remarks, in his characteristic manner, "that either 
 there was some valve in the interior of the pistol into which the 
 bullet fell — in which case the affair was a farce, and unworthy of 
 both of us — or the bullet had really remained in the stock ; and in 
 that case it struck me as somewhat absurd to call upon a man to 
 fight for his country, and make it his first duty to blow out the few 
 brains God had vouchsafed to him." The more Mazzini reflected 
 upon the oath which had been administered to him, the more he 
 realized that it was a mere formula of obedience, saying nothing con- 
 cerning the aim to be reached. He remembered that his initiator had 
 not referred to federaUsm or unity, republic or monarchy. War to 
 the government, and nothing more was proposed. 
 
 The contribution required from each member of the Carbonari was 
 twenty francs at the time of initiation, besides a monthly subscrip- 
 tion of five francs. Mazzini regarded this a heavy tax for a student 
 like him to pay; but he cheerfully made the sacrifice for the good 
 of his country. He denounced the selfishness of those who wasted 
 large sums of money in procuring comforts or enjoyments, which to 
 a great extent were more imaginary than real, and imperiled the 
 honorj dignity, and even the very life of their own souls and those 
 of their fellow-men, rather than ''unloosen the strings of their purse." 
 After directing attention to the noble example of the early Chris- 
 tians, who cast all their possessions at the feet of the apostles for 
 the benefit of the poorer brethren, merely reserving for themselves 
 the bare necessaries of existence, Mazzini, addressing those who 
 should have been willing *'to coin their very blood to create a coun- 
 try or found true liberty," said: ''Amongst us it is a gigantic, a 
 Utopian enterprise to find, among twenty-five millions of men who 
 all prate of liberty, one million ready to bestow a single franc each 
 day for the emancipation of Venetia. The first had faith ; we have 
 only opinions." 
 
 Soon after his first connection with the order the Genoese patriot 
 was initiated into the second rank, with power to affiliate others; and 
 among the Carbonari with whom he became acquainted was Passano, 
 a high dignitary of the brotherhood, who had formerly been the 
 French consul at Ancona. He is described as an old man, full of life 
 
4;6 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 MAZZINI. 
 
 and energy, but more concerned in petty intrigues and low political 
 artifices than in manly efforts to secure the object of the order. As 
 yet Mazzini was completely ignorant of the programme, and was even 
 disposed to think that nothing would be done, because the Carbonari 
 generally spoke of Italy as a nation inheriting no power to act, being 
 a kind of secondary appendix to Europe. They called themselves 
 cosmopolitans, a term which Mazzini said was acceptable to him, 
 provided it meant liberty for all men. At that time the struggle 
 between the French opposition and Charles X was at its height, both 
 in and out of the chamber, and the popular names constantly men- 
 tioned among the Carbonari were Guizot, Berthe, Lafayette, and the 
 ' Haut Vente" at Paris. The lever of republicanism, that is des- 
 tined to move Europe and lift it out of the rubbish of decayed 
 
DORM'S THREAT. 477 
 
 thrones needs a fulcrum, and, while many of the Carbonari in 1829 
 looked for it in Paris, Mazzini sought it in Italy. 
 
 Having been commissioned to write in French a declaration in 
 favor of the liberty of Spain, Mazzini set forth the illegality and also 
 the disastrous effects of the Bourbon intervention of 1823. After 
 performing this duty he occupied himself in affiliating other students, 
 believing that the time would soon come when the young men would 
 be sufficiently strong in numbers to form a compact nucleus among 
 themselves and infuse some new life into the Carbonari. He also 
 continued his skirmishes against those whom he called the ''mon- 
 archists of literature," and wrote the article "Upon a European 
 Literature," which, after long discussions and much correspondence, 
 was inserted in the ''Antologia" of Florence. At length the Car- 
 bonari leaders were aroused to a slight degree of activity by the evi- 
 dent approach of the political tempest in France, and Mazzini was 
 appointed to visit Tuscany and establish the order there. He dis- 
 liked to undertake this mission, not only because it would separate 
 him from his home, but also on account of financial inability. After 
 long hesitation, however, he decided to go, and, stating to the family 
 that he would be absent a few days visiting a student at Arenzano, 
 he obtained a small sum of money upon various pretexts from his 
 mother, and prepared to depart. The day before he started an inci- 
 dent occurred which did not give him an exalted opinion of Carbo- 
 7iarism. Having been ordered to go to the Ponte della Mercanzia at 
 midnight he obeyed, and met several young men there whom he had 
 enrolled, and who, like himself, were ignorant of the object of the 
 convocation. After waiting a long time, they beheld Doria ap- 
 proaching, accompanied by two strangers, whose faces, up to the 
 eyes, were covered by their cloaks. The hearts of the young men 
 bounded within them at the thought and hope of action. 
 
 Having arranged them in a circle, Doria commenced a discourse, 
 directed at Mazzini, in which he referred to the culpable conduct of 
 certain inexpert and imprudent young men who had criticised the 
 order, and pointing to the two cloaked individuals, who were as mute 
 as specters, he said that they were about to start on the morrow for 
 Bologna in order to stab a Carbonaro there for having spoken against 
 the chiefs. Doria, in conclusion, declared that the order was deter- 
 mined to crush rebels as soon as they were discovered. Mazzini 
 knew that he was an offender, because he had uttered complaints 
 which some zealous member reported at headquarters. But Doria's 
 stupid threat sent a thrill of indignation and anger through him, and 
 
478 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 he notified the leaders that he would not go to Tuscany, at the same 
 time informing them that they were at liberty to crush him. Some of 
 his friends, however, admonished him, when he became calmer, not 
 to sacrifice the cause of his country to his own offended individuality, 
 and, after carefully considering the matter, he resolved to obey. He 
 went to Leghorn and there established a Vente, enrolling several Tus- 
 cans and some of other provinces. Among the initiated were Camillo 
 d'Adda, a Lombard, a pupil of Romagnosi, who had just left an 
 Austrian prison, and Marliani, who died, some years later, defending 
 Bologna from the Austrians. Mazzini intrusted all the remaining 
 duties growing out of his mission to Carlo Bini, who was "a young 
 man of pure and noble soul, which he had preserved uncontaminated 
 throughout a life passed amid the rude and quarrelsome populani of 
 Venezia, a quarter of Leghorn so-called." He possessed great intel- 
 lectual power, which revealed itself only occasionally, because his 
 mind, confined to mercantile pursuits, was still further hindered in its 
 development by a profound skepticism, which, though not extending 
 to matters of principle, included the men and events of his own day. 
 He was a man of ''extraordinary moral rectitude, and an immense 
 capacity of sacrifice — all the more meritorious in one without faith or 
 hope in its results." 
 
 Bini, as well as Mazzini, laughed at all the forms and symbolism 
 of Carbonarism, but both believed in the great importance of organi- 
 zation, in some shape or other, for action. They traveled together to 
 Montepulciano, where Guerrazzi was then confined for the offense of 
 having recited a few solemn pages in praise of a brave Italian soldier, 
 Cosimo Delfante. Mazzini in his account of the interview, which he 
 had with Guerrazzi, states that the latter was then writing the ' * Assedio 
 di Firenze, " the introductory chapters of which he read to his two 
 visitors, the blood, in the mean time, rushing to his face and causing 
 him to bathe his head in order to calm himself. During the conver- 
 sation the historical and philosophical lectures of Guizot and Cousin, 
 then coming from the French press, were discussed. 
 
THE WALDENSES ASSISTED. 479 
 
 Third Decade, Continued, 1820-1830. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 THE WALDENSES~COL. BECKWITH—THE PAPACY. 
 
 IN 1823 an important step was taken toward the advancement of 
 education in the *' Valleys" of Piedmont. After the long storm 
 of war, which had spread its devastations over Europe for more than 
 twenty years, had passed away, and general peace was restored upon 
 the final overthrow of Napoleon, English Christians, in their visits to 
 the Continent, began to make their way to Italy, and some of them 
 turned aside to see what had become of the ** Church in the wilder- 
 ness," which they found unconsumed, like the bush which Moses be- 
 held in the midst of the flames in Mount Horeb. 1 Among those who 
 visited the Waldenses at that time were the Rev. W. Stephen Gilly, 
 Prebendary of Durham, Rev. Mr. Sims, and Sir Hugh Duke Acland. 
 Dr. Gilly in particular, by a work, entitled ** Waldensian Researches," 
 which he published in 1823, created a great interest in behalf of this 
 body of primitive Christians. Several books on the same subject also 
 appeared on the Continent, and deeply moved the hearts of philan- 
 thropists in Holland, Germany, and Switzerland. In consequence 
 of the obscurity in which the Waldenses had remained for many 
 years, great ignorance concerning them prevailed, and even Sharon 
 Turner in his ''History of England," located them on the shores of 
 Lake Leman, confounding the ''Valleys" of the Vaudois with the 
 Canton de Vaud. 
 
 When the condition of the Waldenses — their poverty, the insuffi- 
 cient number and support of their pastors, and the want of a college, 
 hospital, primary schools, etc. — became known large sums were 
 raised in the course of five or six years for their aid. Rev. Mr. 
 Sims obtained a considerable amount for the establishment of girls' 
 schools, and, in 1827, Dr. Gilly and other friends succeeded in induc- 
 ing the British government to restore the stipend, which had been 
 long paid, with some serious interruptions, for the support of thir- 
 teen Waldensian pastors. Over sixteen thousand pounds was sent by 
 Oliver Cromwell, A. D. 165 5-A. D. 1658, to assist the Vaudois, 
 after the horrible persecution to which they had just been subjected. 
 
48o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 This sum was designed by him to be a fund for the future assistance 
 of the Vaudois; but Charles II shamefully spent it for his private 
 gratification. To replace this in part, and to efface the national dis- 
 grace, Queen Mary, wife of William III, gave, during her Hfe, an 
 annual pension of four hundred and twenty-five pounds ; but it was 
 discontinued upon her death. Finally, it was again, sent by order of 
 Queen Anne, and, at the instance of Archbishop Sharpe, was increased 
 to five hundred pounds. This sum, under the name of royal bounty, 
 was regularly issued from the British exchequer every year until 
 1797. From that time it was discontinued for a period of thirty years, 
 partly because the ''Valleys" were in the possession of France, dur- 
 ing the former part of that period, and partly because the subject 
 seemed to be overlooked by those in power as well as by others, 
 with the exception of a few, who were unable to induce the govern- 
 ment to restore the annuity. When it was renewed in 1827 the sum 
 was reduced to two hundred and seventy-seven pounds sterling, which 
 amounted to a little more than twenty-one pounds, or one hundred 
 dollars, for each of the thirteen pastors. To their great credit, how- 
 ever, they refused to accept more than sixty dollars each, and devoted 
 the remaining sum to the support of two more pastors, and the assis- 
 tance of disabled ministers and widows of ministers. 
 
 Before the year 1830 twenty thousand five hundred dollars had 
 been received for the Waldenses from France, Switzerland, Denmark, 
 Sweden, and some German states, and this amount was appropriated 
 to buy the grounds, erect, and furnish a hospital at La Tour and a 
 dispensary at Pomaret, with the exception of eight thousand francs, 
 which were funded. In England the sum of seven thousand three 
 hundred and two pounds sterling had been raised, of which the inter- 
 est was appropriated as follows: one hundred and fifty pounds to the 
 hospital and dispensary, twenty pounds to the education of young men 
 for the ministry, and forty pounds to the support of four girls' schools 
 of industry. The money raised in Holland and Prussia was invested 
 in the public funds, and the interest, amounting to one hundred and 
 fifty pounds, was sent to the Vaudois. Indeed, this wonderful peo- 
 ple have extensively shared the sympathy of their fellow-Protestants 
 of every land for a long period. From first to last, probably not 
 less than one hundred thousand pounds sterling have been collected 
 in Great Britain alone, to sustain these children of the ''Valleys," 
 and at least fifty thousand pounds have been donated by the other 
 Protestant countries of Europe and the United States of America. 
 It is but fitting that Protestant Christendom should thus testify a 
 
COL. BECK WITH. . 48 1 
 
 sense of its obligation to this ancient people, who maintained the 
 purity of the Gospel when all others had bowed their necks to the 
 papal Antichrist. 
 
 But the best friend and most efficient worker in behalf of the 
 Waldenses at that time was Col. John Charles Beckwith, whose 
 career is invested with a romance not unlike that which belongs to 
 the life of Ignatius Loyola. He was born in England in the Sum- 
 mer of 1790, and entered the British army in his fifteenth year, 
 serving in Hanover, in 1805, and subsequently in Sweden, Portugal, 
 and Spain. During the Peninsular campaigns of the duke of Wel- 
 lington young Beckwith was on the staff of that great general, and 
 was in almost every considerable action without receiving a wound; 
 but in the battle of Waterloo, on the i8th of June, 18 15, his left 
 leg was carried away by a cannon ball. Having been rendered unfit 
 for military service in the field, he retired on half-pay, his name, 
 however, retaining its place on the army list. At the age of twenty- 
 eight he was promoted to the grade of colonel. Released from active 
 service, he spent his time, for years, partly with his mother and sis- 
 ters in England and partly in foreign travel. During the Winter of 
 1819-20 he was in the United States, ajid, as a gay British officer, 
 with a wooden leg, attracted considerable attention. At that period 
 of his life he was not a religious man, and, though born and brought 
 up in the Established Church of England, had not experienced the 
 power of saving grace. He returned to England, and, being a favo- 
 rite with the duke of Wellington, was often invited to Apsley House. 
 One day in 1827, while there, an incident occurred which influenced 
 his entire subsequent career. The duke being particularly engaged 
 at the time of his call, he was shown into the library to wait until 
 he should be at leisure. To while away the time, he took from the 
 shelves a book, and began to read it. It was Dr. Gilly's ' ' Walden- 
 sian Researches," published in 1823. He had perused but a few 
 pages when he was summoned to the duke's room; but the volume, 
 as far as read, had made such an impression upon him that he pur- 
 chased a copy of it, and collected whatever else he could find relat- 
 ing to these poor mountaineers. He felt himself drawn irresistibly 
 to a people with whose Avonderful history he had become acquainted 
 for the first time. From that hour his life was consecrated to them. 
 
 In 1827 Colonel Beckwith, desiring to know more concerning the 
 Waldenses, visited Piedmont ; but remained only three or four days. 
 The next year he spent three months in the "Valleys," and after- 
 wards six months, until finally he made his permanent home there. 
 
482 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 He exerted himself for the improvement of the people, and con- 
 tributed largely of his own means to aid them. The Waldenses 
 desired to give their children the best education which their extreme 
 poverty permitted ; but it was difficult for them to procure books, 
 and besides, for several centuries, they had not, in the fires of perse- 
 cution, any opportunity to build up a good educational system. 
 Colonel Beckwith found very few schools, and therefore incited the 
 inhabitants to rebuild their school-houses. But, while education was 
 much neglected among them, their religious condition was good. 
 They had suffered very much in their morals for years from the per- 
 nicious influence of the French troops that so often traversed their 
 "Valleys" in the time of Napoleon, as well as from the bad habits 
 which their own conscripts in many cases brought back from the 
 armies of that modern Alexander. But the visit of that wonderful 
 man, Felix Neff, to the ''Valleys," about the year 1823, produced 
 glorious moral results, and that purity of life which so greatly distin- 
 guished their ancestors had to a good degree returned at the period 
 of Colonel Beckwith's settlement among them. 
 
 When this noble philanthropist visited Italy he found the people 
 in mental and moral darkness. The Romish Church was corrupt, 
 and its leaders tyrannical. On the 20th of August, 1823, Pope 
 Pius VII, whom Napoleon called a "fanatic," passed away from 
 earth, in the eighty-third year of his age. He had excommunicated 
 the liberals, restored the Jesuits, brought back to life the bull, In 
 coena Domini, re-established the Inquisition and the torture, and la- 
 bored to suppress the national aspirations of the Italian people. The 
 conclave which assembled after his death was filled with cardinals 
 created by Consalvi, with two exceptions — La Sommaglia and that 
 famous Cardinal Ruffo, who had commanded the bands of the Santa 
 Fede, at Naples. The forty-nine cardinals of the conclave were all 
 old men, the younger part being composed of cardinals from fifty to 
 fifty-nine years of age! 
 
 Cavalchini, Dandini, and Severoli were mentioned, and their qual- 
 ifications discussed ; but no decision was reached until September 29, 
 1823, when the wall of the balcony of the Vatican fell, and Cardinal 
 Ruffo, presenting himself before the people with a red cap on his 
 head, cried out, with a loud voice, "Annuntio vobis gaudium mag- 
 num, papam habemus." Cardinal de la Genga was proclaimed i^ontifif, 
 under the title of Leo XII. "The devil! a hon!" exclaimed the 
 people in their turn: "Abbiamo dunque un papa bestia" (we have, 
 then, for a pope a beast) ! He had followed the career of diplomacy 
 
 d 
 
THE ITALIAN RE VOL UTION, 48 3 
 
 at Paris, Munich, and elsewhere, and had a hand in all the intrigues 
 which the courts of Europe had in secret plotted against Napoleon. 
 He had acquired, at the courts and salons of Europe, aristocratic and 
 elegant tastes, and enlarged views in matters of social life, but at the 
 same time had also acquired the habit of feigning, dissembling, and 
 mistrusting. He despised the people and the ideas which obtained 
 in the world since 1789, and would have made an excellent pope for 
 the Middle Ages. He hated liberty, science, and progress, renewed 
 the bulls against the Carbonari^ and persecuted the liberals in every 
 way. His secretary of state, Cardinal de la Sommaglia, having died, 
 Leo Xn appointed as his successor the Cardinal-deacon Tommaso 
 Bernetti de Fermo, who was descended from a plebeian family, but 
 as a prelate passed successively from chierico di camera to minister of 
 war, and finally to governor of Rome. Leo XH died February 10, 
 1829, and was succeeded, March 31st of the same year, by Pius VHI, 
 who issued, on the 14th of the following May, a general edict of the 
 " Holy Office," and the work of the Inquisition continued. 
 
 FOURTH DECADE, 1830-1840. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION— '^ YOUNG ITALVy 
 
 THE period of Italian history extending from 1830 to 1840 was 
 one of agitation and revolution. In the beginning of the decade 
 the political state of the country appeared tranquil to a superficial 
 observer ; but a strong feeling of dissatisfaction pervaded the public 
 mind. The French revolution of 1830 profoundly stirred the Italian 
 people, and aroused the hope that their deliverance from the Aus- 
 trians, the priests, and the princes was at hand. The news from 
 Paris was eagerly sought, and multitudes surrounded the post-offices, 
 while young men, standing on the benches in front of the cafes, read 
 the newspapers aloud to the bystanders. The echo of the cannon fired 
 on the 2d of February, 183 1, against the dweUing of Ciro Menotti, 
 in Modena, gave the signal for the insurrection. On the 4th of the 
 month Bologna rose; and on the 5th Modena, recovering from the 
 first surprise, drove out the duke and his supporters. Imola, Faenza, 
 
 32 
 
484 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 Forli, Cesena, and Ravenna shook off their rulers. On the 7th of 
 February Ferrara defeated the Austrians, and compelled them to 
 retire. Pesaro, Fossombrone, Fano, and Urbino emancipated them- 
 selves on the 8th of the same month, and on the 13th the movement 
 was triumphant in Parma, Macerata, Cameriho, Ascoli, Perugia, 
 Terni, Narni, and other cities. Ancona, where at the outset Colonel 
 Sutterman showed a disposition to resist, yielded to a few companies 
 of soldiers and national guards, led by Sercognani. **Thus, by the 
 25th of February," says Mazzini, ''nearly two milHons and a half 
 of Italians had embraced the national cause, and were ready, not 
 only for defensive, but for offensive war for the emancipation of their 
 fellow-countrymen." 
 
 During the first days of the insurrection the youth of Bologna 
 had endeavored to invade Tuscany, and they of Modena and Reggio 
 to reach Massa, and later the national guards demanded to be led 
 through Furlo into the kingdom of Naples. The Italian tricolored 
 cockade was adopted every-where, in spite of the entreaties of Orioli 
 and others who afterwards formed part of the government. The 
 instinct of the multitude was for national independence ; but the lead- 
 ers feared to make a declaration of principles. They sought the 
 favor of kings, and prostrated the popular movement at the feet of 
 diplomacy. The revolution, from the very nature of its elements, 
 and the special position of the provinces, was necessarily republican, 
 and the sympathy of existing governments was therefore impossible. 
 Instead of trusting the people the leaders watched the actions of 
 France and Austria ; and this w^eakness and hesitation awakened a 
 feeling of distrust in the insurgent states, and spread discouragement 
 over the other provinces of Italy. 
 
 The principle of non-intervention had been explicitly and solemnly 
 proclaimed by the French government. Before the insurrection oc- 
 curred a memorial had been drawn up by various influential Italians 
 to inquire of the French embassador (Latour Marbourg) what would 
 be the conduct of France in case an Italian revolution should pro- 
 voke the armed intervention of Austria, and the embassador had 
 written with his own hand that France would support the revolution, 
 provided the new government should not assume an anarchical form, 
 and should recognize the order of things generally adopted in Eu- 
 rope. Marbourg afterwards denied this note ; but the fact that it 
 was sent to the "provisional government" during the first days of 
 the movement was stated by Francesco Orioli, one of the members 
 who read it. On the ist of December, 1830, the president of the 
 
THE RE VOL UTION S TA TIONAR V. 48 5 
 
 Chamber of Deputies, Lafitte, had spoken the following words : 
 ''France will not allow any violation of the principle of non-inter- 
 vention. . . . The Holy Alliance made it a fundamental prin- 
 ciple to suffocate popular liberty wheresoever it should raise its 
 standard ; the new principle proclaimed by France is that of allowing 
 the unimpeded development of liberty wheresoever it may spontane- 
 ously arise." On the 15th of January Guizot had declared: ''The 
 principle of non-intervention is identical with the principle of the 
 peoples;" and on the twenty-second of the same month the minister 
 of foreign affairs had said: "The Holy AlHance was founded on the 
 principle of intervention for the overthrow of the independence of all 
 secondary states ; the opposite principle, consecrated by us, and which 
 we intend to see respected, assures liberty and independence to all." 
 On the 28th of the month the same things were repeated by the duke 
 of Dalmatia, and, on the 29th, by Sebastiani. 
 
 As war with Austria was inevitable, republican leaders like Maz- 
 zini urged the people to prepare for hostihties; but the provisional 
 government of the insurgent provinces chose to adopt the hypothesis 
 that Austria would not invade, thus allowing the insurrection suffi- 
 cient time to implant itself firmly In the heart of Italy. It is strange 
 that such an idea could be entertained a moment, as Austria would 
 never consent to the establishment of a free government in the vicin- 
 ity of her Lombardo-Venetlan possessions. The authorities of Parma 
 and 'Modena exhibited their want of courage by declaring that the 
 people were compelled to form a new government because the princes 
 had abandoned their states without establishing any, while the gov- 
 ernment of Bologna defended its organization on the ground that 
 Monsignor Clarelli, the pro-legate, had announced his determination 
 of entirely renouncing the administration of political affairs, and that, 
 therefore, something must be done to prevent anarchy. Even when 
 the revolution was a success, and they held the reins in their own 
 hands, the leaders, instead of using bolder language to give the 
 movement greater internal security, endeavored to deduce the right 
 of Bologna to liberty from the local tradition of a compact signed 
 A. D. 1447 between Bologna and Pope Nicholas V ; and a long, 
 pedantic, ignoble piece of writing, dated the 25th of February, 183 1, 
 was published by the president, Vicini, commenting, attorney- fashion, 
 upon that tradition. In Parma the leadership of the national guard 
 was offered to a certain Fedeli ; but he refused to accept it without 
 permission from the duchess. The government allowed him to re- 
 quest that permission, and was repaid for its folly by his forming a 
 
486 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 retrograde conspiracy. At a later period, and when their finances were 
 almost exhausted, they passed a decree ordering that the payment of 
 the salaries of the employes of the banished court should be continued. 
 
 During the fermentation produced by the rising of Central Italy, 
 in Naples, in Piedmont, and on every side, while all were anxiously 
 awaiting inspiration from the central focus wherein the insurrection 
 had been first kindled, the decree of the nth of February coldly 
 announced that Bologna "did not intend to interrupt her friendly re- 
 lations with other states, nor to permit the smallest violation of their 
 territories; hoping that in return no intervention to her disadvantage 
 would take place, as she had no intention of being drawn into action 
 unless in self-defense." By this act the center of the republican 
 movement abdicated all initiative, and separated her cause from the 
 cause of Italy. Thus the leaders at Bologna, trusting solely in the 
 promises of foreign governments, gave up all idea not only of offense 
 but of defense. The plan of organizing a militia was rejected. The 
 fortifications of Ancona were not rebuilt. The suggestions of Zucchi, 
 w^ho, on his arrival in Bologna, ordered the formation of six regiments 
 of infantry and two of cavalry, were opposed. The idea repeatedly 
 suggested by Sercognani, of a decisive enterprise upon Rome, where 
 symptoms of insurrection had manifested themselves on the 1 2th of 
 February, was repulsed. Neither the minister, Armandi, nor any of 
 the others seemed capable of comprehending the power and signifi- 
 cance of an Italian banner floating from the capitol. Fear was visible 
 in every decree, and, says Mazzini, "Not a single act was passed, 
 therefore, asserting the sovereignty and right of the nation; none to 
 call the people to arms; none to organize the elections; none to incite 
 or encourage the neighboring provinces of Italy to rise." 
 
 The murmurs of the Italian youth were quieted by repeated prom- 
 ises, which were never fulfilled, and the stern voice of the press was 
 silenced by the edict of the I2th of February, "decreeing a penalty 
 of fine or imprisonment to the sellers of any writings likely to injure 
 the existing peaceful and friendly relations with foreign governments." 
 And, as an inevitable consequence of its policy, the "Provisional 
 Government" was abandoned and betrayed by all. The French 
 government did not even deign a reply to Count Bianchetti, who 
 was sent to Florence to interrogate the embassadors of France and 
 Austria, whilst it continued to maintain a friendly correspondence 
 with the court of Rome. Count St. Aulaire, the envoy of France 
 to Rome, avoided the route of Bologna and all contact with its pro- 
 visional government. Austria added insult to outrage by declaring 
 
AUSTRIA VICTORIOUS, 487 
 
 her intentions to invade Parma and Modena, and promising to respect 
 Bologna if she behaved well. The invasion of Parma, Modena, and 
 Reggio soon followed, and on the 6th of March, 183 1, the provis- 
 ional government declared, "The affairs of the Modenese are no 
 concern of ours; non-intervention is a law for us as well as for our 
 neighbors; and none of us have any business to mix ourselves up 
 with the affairs of the states on our frontiers." They also ordered 
 that all ''foreigners presenting themselves on their frontier should 
 be disarmed and sent back;" and seven hundred Modenese foreign- 
 ers, headed by Zucchi, were compelled to pass through Bologna as 
 prisoners. 
 
 After the Austrians had occupied Ferrara they next took posses- 
 sion of Bologna, presenting themselves at the gates on the 20th of 
 March. The government, after giving orders that the National Guard 
 should preserve the public peace, retired to Ancona, where, on the 
 25 th of March, — two days after they had abdicated all power by the 
 election of a Triumvirate — they capitulated to Cardinal Benvenuti, 
 praying for an amnesty. The request was signed by all the members 
 of the government except Carlo Pepoli, who was absent. The con- 
 ditions of the capitulation were violated, as was to be expected, and 
 it was annulled on the 5th of April by the pope. On the 14th and 
 30th of the same month edicts were issued condemning the leaders, 
 accomplices, and approvers. Louis Philippe, imitating the example 
 of many crowned heads, insulted the fallen by announcing to the 
 Chamber, in his speech of the 23d of June, that he had obtained 
 from the pope a complete amnesty for the insurgents. In the mean 
 time the neutrality of the seas was violated by the capture of the 
 vessel which was conveying Zucchi and about seventy others into 
 exile, and conducting them as prisoners to Venice. 
 
 Thus Parma, Modena, Ferrara, Bologna, and other revolted prov- 
 inces quietly submitted to Austria. While these stirring events were 
 transpiring, Mazzini was a prisoner in the fortress of Savona, on the 
 Western Riviera. The French Revolution of July, 1830, aroused 
 him and the other young men belonging to the Carbonariy and they 
 proceeded to cast bullets and to make all preparations for the conflict, 
 which they believed to be certain and decisive. Soon after the three 
 days of Paris, Mazzini received an order to go at a certain hour to 
 the *'Lion Rouge," a hotel then existing in the Salita S. Siro, where 
 he would find a certain Major Cottin, either of Nice or Savoy, who 
 was already initiated into the first rank of the Cai'bonari, and desired 
 to be affiliated in the second. As the young men of the order were 
 
488 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 regarded by the leaders as mere machines, Mazzini was compelled to 
 accept the commission, not even daring to ask why he was selected 
 rather than some member personally known to the major. Before 
 going to the hotel he had a presentiment that he might be arrested, 
 and therefore devised a method by which he could secretly corre- 
 spond with the Ruffinis, who were intimate with his mother, through 
 the medium of the family letters in case of imprisonment. This 
 precaution proved wise. On the appointed day Mazzini went to the 
 "Lion Rouge," asked for Cottin, and, after making himself known 
 by the usual signs to show that he was a brother, or, as it was then 
 called, a cousin of the order, he stated to him the object of his visit. 
 He was invited by Cottin into his bedroom, and the latter, having 
 knelt down, the former, drawing a sword from his stick, in accord- 
 ance with the prescribed form, was just beginning to make the can- 
 didate repeat the usual oath when a small window, cut in the wall 
 by the side of the bed, suddenly opened, and an unknown face 
 presented itself, looked sharply at Mazzini, and disappeared. Cottin 
 requested him to proceed with the ceremony and not be alarmed, as 
 the strange visitor was only a confidential servant. When the initi- 
 ation was completed, the major declared that he would start in a few 
 days for Nice, where he could accomplish something among the mil- 
 itary, and, professing to have a treacherous memory, he asked Mazzini 
 to give him a formula of initiation in Avriting. The latter refused, 
 saying that he was not permitted to write it, but that he might dic- 
 tate it to any member. Cottin wrote what was thus imparted, and 
 then retired. He was a small man, without any uniform, spoke 
 French, and had a forbidding eye. 
 
 Mazzini was dissatisfied with this individual, and fears of betrayal 
 disturbed him. He was not altogether surprised, therefore, when 
 arrested by the police a few days later, but he congratulated himself 
 that the Sbirri, who seized him, did not closely search his person. 
 At that time he had articles enough with him to secure three con- 
 demnations: rifle bullets, a letter in cipher from Bini, a history of 
 the three days of July, printed on tricolored paper, the formula of 
 the oath for the second rank of Carbojiaii, and a sword-stick.' He 
 was taken by the officers when in the act of leaving the family resi- 
 dence, which was subjected to a close examination without leading 
 to dangerous discoveries. Mazzini, who succeeded in getting rid of 
 every thing about his person, refers to the inefficiency of the police 
 by saying that "they had all the incHnation, but not sufficient 
 capacity for tyranny." The commissioner, Pratolongo, was in doubt 
 
THE IMPRISONED PATRIOTS. 489 
 
 concerning the course to be pursued in regard to the prisoner, and 
 sent again for orders; but, in the mean time, Mazzini was taken to 
 the barracks of the carbineers in Piazza Sarzano, where he was 
 examined by an old commissioner, who accused him of initiating a 
 certain Major Cottin into the second rank of Carboitartsm, giving the 
 very hour and day. 
 
 The prisoner remained in the barracks for some days, exposed to 
 the witticisms and sneers of the carbineers — the most hterary of 
 whom presented him to the others as a new edition of "Jacopo 
 Ortis" — and contriving to correspond with his friends through the 
 help of a small pencil concealed in the food, which had been sent to 
 him from home. He wrote upon his Hnen, and thus his mother, 
 who washed it, heard from him. The sentences in their letters were 
 so constructed that every alternate word furnished the key to the 
 sentiment which they concealed. Through this channel Mazzini 
 learned that Passano, Torre, MorelH, Doria, and others had been 
 arrested; but none of those whom he had initiated into the Carbonari. 
 One night he was taken by two carbineers to the fortress of Savona, 
 on the Western Riviera. Before leaving the barracks, however, he 
 obtained the privilege, after considerable persistence, of writing to 
 his mother; and to his delight, when thrust out of the sedan chair 
 into the carriage which was waiting on the suburbs of the city, he 
 heard the voice of his father exhorting him to be of good cheer. At 
 the same time his ardent friend, Agostino Rufifino, who stood near 
 the conveyance, saluted him ; but without delay the prisoner was 
 hurried away to the prison of St. Andrea, in front of which the 
 carbineers halted, and from whence they brought Passano. He was 
 placed in the carriage with Mazzini, who not only recognized him, 
 but also one of the armed guards by his side, who was the unknown 
 spy of the *'Lion Rouge." 
 
 The two patriots were separated in the fortress of Savona, Maz- 
 zini occupying a cell in the highest part, from which he beheld the 
 sea. "The sea and sky," he wrote, **two symbols of the Infinite, 
 and, except the Alps, the sublimest things in nature, were before me 
 whenever I approached my little grated window." This view, and 
 the voices of the fisherman, which the wind often wafted to him, 
 greatly comforted the prisoner. During the first month he had no 
 books, but fortunately for him a new governor, Cavalier Fontana, 
 soon replaced De Mari, a tyrannical old man, and he obtained **a 
 Bible, a Tacitus, and a Byron." During these months of imprison- 
 ment he conceived the plan of the association of ''Young Italy " 
 
490 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 {Da Giovina Italia). He was convinced that Carbonarism had no 
 vitality, and declared tliat, instead of wasting time in the endeavor to 
 ** galvanize a corpse," he would expend his energy in establishing a 
 living organization. 
 
 A committee of senators at Turin investigated the charges against 
 Mazzini ; and, as Major Cottin had stipulated when he consented to 
 play the part of informer {'' Agente Pwvocatore''), that he was not to 
 appear at the trial, the only witness was the carabineer, who had seen 
 the accused in his room with a drawn sword in his hand. The expla- 
 nations of Mazzini, however, counterbalanced the evidence against 
 him, and he was acquitted by the senate. Venanson, the governor 
 of Genoa, who was detested by the people, felt indignant at the 
 result of the trial, and fearing that the liberated patriot would 
 render to him "evil for evil," determined to prevent his return 
 to his native city. Hence, Carlo Felice was importuned by the vin- 
 dictive governor to prohibit Mazzini from residing in Genoa, Turin, 
 or any other large city, or even any part of the Ligurian coast. 
 The king, disregarding individual rights, the sentence of the judges, 
 and the anguish of parental hearts, yielded to the demand of Venan- 
 son, and informed the young republican hero that he could either 
 select a place of residence in such interior towns as Asti, Acqui, or 
 Casales, or be sent into exile for an indefinite period, the duration of 
 which must depend upon the royal pleasure and his own conduct. 
 He was not allowed to see any but his nearest relations, and, accord- 
 ingly, his father went to Savona to escort him home. His fellow- 
 prisoner, Passano, being a Corsican by birth, and having served as 
 French consul at Ancona, had been released some time before this, 
 because the monarchical governments in Italy at that period, while 
 hating France in their hearts, desired to propitiate her in every way. 
 
 The insurrection in the center of Italy had broken out a short 
 time before the liberation of Mazzini, and the latter, while in 
 Genoa, learned that the Italian exiles were crowding to the fron- 
 tier, encouraged both by assistance given and the inducements pre- 
 sented by the new government of France. He resolved to leave the 
 country rather than remain in the smaller towns of Piedmont and be 
 under the constant surveillance of the police. After parting from his 
 family, and proceeding through Savoy, he passed over Mont Cenis to 
 Geneva, where he met Sismondi, the historian of the Italian Repub- 
 lics, whom he describes as "amiable, singularly modest, simple, and 
 affable in his manner, and Italian at heart." Both he and his wife 
 (Jessie Macintosh, a Scotch lady) kindly received the exile, and 
 
SISMONDI. 491 
 
 questioned him as to the state of things in Italy. Sismondi made 
 inquiries concerning Manzoni, whose romance he admired above all 
 his other works, and the few other writers whose works indicated the 
 revival of intellectual life among the Italians. The historian deplored 
 the tendency he observed in the people of Italy to follow the doc- 
 trines of the eighteenth century; but explained it by the necessities 
 of a state of struggle. He was not as liberal as Mazzini had ex- 
 pected, evidently accepting the teachings of Cousin, Guizot, and 
 Villemain, the leaders of the doctrinaire school, and had become 
 imbued with federalism, which he preached as the ideal of political 
 organization to the many Italian exiles who surrounded him, and 
 drew their ideas and inspiration from his lips. It was apparent that 
 none of them dreamed of the possibility or even the desirability of 
 Italian unity. 
 
 Sismondi introduced Mazzini to Pellegrino Rossi at the **Lit- 
 erary Club, " and the latter directed the attention of the young pa- 
 triot to a Lombard exile seated in the corner close to him, who 
 seemed to be listening only to his words. This stranger or spy, 
 Giacomo Ciani, condemned to death by Austria in 1821, then 
 approached Mazzini and said to him in a whisper, that if he was 
 desirous of action he should go to Lyons and make himself known 
 to the Italians at the '' Caff^ della Fenice.'' Without delay he pro- 
 ceeded to that city, and found many exiles, the greater number of 
 whom were military men, and some of whom he had seen wandering 
 in the streets of Genoa ten years before, with all the bitterness of dis- 
 appointment in their looks. Among these were Borso de Carminati, 
 an officer of considerable promise. Carlo Bianco, Voarino, Tedeschi, 
 Pisani, Fecchini, and General Regis, all of them Piedmontese and 
 republicans. They had flocked to Lyons to join in an invasion of Sa- 
 voy, then being organized by a special committee. The expedition 
 already numbered two thousand Italians and many French workmen. 
 They had an abundance of money, for nobles, princes, and men of all 
 shades of opinion, belonging to the wealthier classes, had been in- 
 duced to support the movement, because the French government was 
 supposed to be favorable to it. The exiles made their preparations 
 publicly ; the Italian tricolored flag was entwined with that of France 
 in the '' Caffe della Fenice ;' the depots of arms were known ; and the 
 committee was in communication with the prefect of Lyons. 
 
 The French government, however, soon changed its position, and 
 there appeared a severe proclamation against the Italian enterprise, 
 dated from the office of the prefect, commanding the exiles to dis- 
 
492 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 band, and threatening to punish, with the utmost rigor of the criminal 
 law, any persons who should venture to compromise France with 
 other governments by violating the frontiers of friendly powers. '*I 
 found the committee," says Mazzini, '* completely crushed and over- 
 whelmed. The banners had all disappeared, and a great number of 
 arms had been sequestrated. Old General Regis was in tears, and 
 the other exiles were cursing both the betrayal and betrayer — the 
 sterile vengeance reserved for those who, in their country's cause, 
 put their trust in others rather than in themselves.'' The French 
 authorities not only arrested the advance guard of the expedition 
 which, embracing many Frenchmen, had been sent out toward Savoy, 
 but also seized a large number of exiles, -conveyed them handcuffed 
 to Calais, whence they were embarked for England. In the midst 
 of the confusion of imprisonment, flights, threats, and despair, Borso 
 informed Mazzini that he and a few other republicans intended start- 
 ing that night for Corsica, thence to carry arms and assistance to the 
 insurgents in the center of Italy. Among the refugees in the dili- 
 gence to Marseilles were Borso, Mazzini, Bianco, Voarino, Tedeschi, 
 and Zuppo, a Neapolitan. Proceeding from Marseilles to Toulon, 
 they went on board a merchant vessel of Naples, and after a very 
 stormy voyage reached Bastia. Mazzini, who was delighted to stand 
 upon Italian soil again, found the island "truly Italian, not only in 
 climate, scenery, and language, but in generous patriotism." He 
 made a short tour over the central part of Corsica, in company with 
 Antonio Benci, one of the Tuscan contributors to the *' Antologia," 
 who had fled from threatened persecution to the island, and he found 
 the people hostile to France and in sympathy with the insurrection 
 then progressing in Italy. These rough but worthy mountaineers 
 were armed, and expressed a desire to follow Mazzini and his com- 
 panions as leaders to assist the insurgents in the Romagna. Neapoli- 
 tan exiles first introduced Carboiiansm into Corsica, and it soon be- 
 came a ruling power throughout the island. A venerated leader among 
 them was Galotti, who was given up to the tyrant of Naples by Charles 
 X, of France, but who escaped to Corsica, where La Cecilia and 
 several other refugees from Southern Italy had sought protection. 
 
 Mazzini learned from these individuals the plan that was to be 
 pursued, which was simply to cross to the Continent, and invade the 
 center of Italy at the head of two or three thousand Corsicans, who 
 were already armed and organized. But money was wanting to hire 
 vessels and to support the families of the poorer islanders; and, 
 though solemnly promised by a friend of the patriotic priest, Bonardi, 
 
CHARLES FELIX AND MAZZINL 493 
 
 one of the disciples of Buonarroti, the needed funds never arrived. 
 In consequence of these delays the expedition did not sail, but sud- 
 denly collapsed, when the news arrived that Austrian intervention 
 had restored the insurgent provinces to their former masters. Hav- 
 ing exhausted his means, Mazzini left Corsica in March, 1 831, and 
 returned to Marseilles, where his uncle, in his parents' name, had 
 urged him to come. There he resumed his design of founding the 
 association of ** Young Italy." The exiles of Modena, Parma, 
 and the Romagna flocked into Marseilles to the number of upwards 
 of a thousand. During that year Mazzini became acquainted with 
 Nicola Fabrizzi, Celeste Menotti, Gustavo Modena, L. A. Melegari, 
 and other young, ardent patriots. He mentions in his writings 
 Giuditta Sidoli, "a woman of rare purity of principle and firmness 
 of mind," adding to this special tribute a general eulogy in these 
 words : * ' They were all linked with me in the holiest of all friend- 
 ships, a friendship sanctified by unity of virtuous aim, and which, 
 with some among them — Nicola Fabrizzi, for instance — ripened into 
 an affection, which has endured to the present day ; with others, as 
 in the case of Lamberti, it was only interrupted by death. Towards 
 none of them was it ever betrayed by me. I sketched forth the 
 design and the rules of the association of 'Young Italy,' and sent 
 word of my purpose to my friends in Genoa." 
 
 In April, 1831, Charles Felix died, and his cousin Charles Albert 
 ascended the Sardinian throne. He was inclined to pursue a liberal 
 policy toward his people, and was even willing to grant them the 
 same constitution he had given them as regent; but feared that such 
 a step would involve him in a war with Austria, for which he did not 
 believe his kingdom was prepared. Mazzini resolved to address a 
 letter to the new sovereign. Before printing it, he read it to Gug- 
 lielmo Libri, an eminent man of science, who praised it ; but opposed 
 its publication on the ground that the perpetual banishment of the 
 author would result from it. Disregarding this advice, Mazzini issued 
 the letter, and sent a few copies from Marseilles to Italy, to such 
 individuals as he knew by name in the various cities of the Sardinian 
 states. Three or four clandestine reprints of it were soon made, and 
 thus it quickly spread in all directions. Charles Albert received a 
 copy and read it, and, shortly afterwards, a circular was sent by the 
 government to the authorities at all the frontiers, instructing them to 
 arrest and imprison Mazzini should he attempt to return to Italy. 
 In this letter the king was reminded of the enthusiastic hopes awak- 
 ened in the minds of the Italians by the accession of a prince who 
 
494 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 had been a Carbonaro in 182 1. His attention was then called to the 
 universal dissatisfaction, and the hatred of Austria, existing in all 
 the states of Italy, and the possibility of uniting them in the grand 
 struggle for Italian independence, and he was exhorted to seek a 
 "crown brighter and nobler than that of Piedmont — a crown that 
 only awaits a man bold enough to conceive the idea of wearing it, 
 resolute and determined enough to consecrate himself wholly to the 
 realization of that idea, and virtuous enough not to dim its splendor 
 with ignoble tyranny." 
 
 The association of "Young Italy," founded by Mazzini, adopted 
 as a symbol a sprig of cypress, in memory of those who had died in 
 defense of its principles. Its motto, Ora e Sernpre, ''Now"' and For- 
 ever," indicated the determination of its members to persevere in their 
 enterprise. Its banner, "composed of the three Italian colors, white, 
 red, and green, bore on the one side the words Liberty, Equality, 
 Humanity ; and on the other, Unity and Independence. The first 
 indicated the international mission of Italy ; the second, the national. 
 Committees were rapidly constituted in the principal cities of Tus- 
 cany. In Genoa, the brothers Ruffini, Campanella, Benza, and a few 
 other young men, diligently labored to promote the interests of the 
 association. Mazzini, Lamberti, Usiglio, Lustrini, G. B. Ruffini, and 
 five or six others, mostly Modenese, worked day and night at Mar- 
 seilles, writing articles and letters, seeing travelers, and affiliating 
 Italian sailors. They smuggled their documents into Italy in pack- 
 ages, barrels, and other merchandise, being assisted by French re- 
 publicans and sailors of the Italian merchant navy. Among these 
 friends were Lerici, and Ambrogio Giacopello. The association rap- 
 idly spread from Genoa along the two Riviere, and even extended to 
 the Neapolitan frontier. Clandestine presses were established in 
 various parts of Italy to reproduce the writings of these radical 
 republicans, and the supply was not equal to the demand. Unable 
 to prevent the circulation of these papers in Italy, the authorities 
 there resolved to silence the authors, and, accordingly, France was 
 requested to banish them from her territory. The order was issued 
 in August, 1832; but Mazzini concealed himself, and conveyed the 
 impression that he had departed. He continued the publication of 
 the republican journal. Young Italy, employing French compositors, 
 and secretly circulating the copies when printed. "And then began 
 for me," says Mazzini, in 1861, "the life I have led for twenty 
 years out of thirty — a life of voluntary imprisonment within the four 
 walls of a little room." 
 
ARREST AND PUNISHMENT. 495 
 
 By the middle of 1833 the organization of the '* Young Italy" 
 had become very powerful, especially in Lombardy, the Genoese 
 territory, Tuscany, and the States of the Church. The Tuscan center 
 of the association was Leghorn, where Guerrazzi, Bini, and Enrico 
 Mayer were exceedingly active. The branches of the associations in 
 Pisa, Sienna, Lucca, and Florence were guided by them. Enrico 
 Mayer went to Rome, where he was imprisoned upon suspicion ; but 
 was soon released, and, proceeding to Marseilles, consulted with 
 Mazzini. Among the zealous members of the association, in various 
 cities of Italy, were Professor Paulo Corsini, Montanelli, Francesco, 
 Cempini, Franchini, Enrico Montucci, Carlo Matteuci, Carlo Fenzi, 
 and Maffei. In Naples, Carlo Poerio, Bellini, Leopardi, and their 
 friends had an independent organization, but animated by the same 
 spirit that burned in "Young Italy." There was a committee in 
 Rome, and another in Umbria, of which Guardabassi was chief. In 
 Genoa, not only the youth, but the commercial class, and even many 
 of the nobility, united with the new movement; among others, the 
 brothers Mari, the Marquis Roveredo, the two Cambiasi, and Lorenzo 
 Pareto, afterwards minister. In Piedmont the work proceeded more 
 slowly ; but even there many branches of the association had been 
 organized, and among the active followers were the advocate Azario, 
 Allegra, Sciandra, Romnaldro Cantara, Ranco, Moia, Barberis, Vo- 
 chiero, Parola, Massino, d ' Ivrea, and Stara. 
 
 Mazzini, believing that Sardinia was the most favorable locality in 
 Italy for exciting a revolt against Austrian rule, resolved to occupy the 
 two strategic points — Alessandria and Genoa, where the association 
 was most numerous and powerful ; but the government, suspecting 
 that incendiary documents were being circulated, was successful in 
 discovering some of the pubHcations of "Young Italy." All who 
 had them in their possession were imprisoned, and were threatened 
 Avith death if they refused to give the names of their accomplices. 
 Some complied with this demand, and others confessed their own 
 guilt without betraying their companions. The prisons were filled 
 with the suspected, and their friends were also arrested. Many of 
 the prisoners were treated in the most cruel manner, and every 
 species of torture tried for the purpose of extorting a confession from 
 them. A large number yielded ; others remained firm and were exe- 
 cuted. Jacopo Ruffini tore a nail from the door of his prison, and, 
 opening a vein in his neck, passed away from earth. He was a 
 school-mate of Mazzini, who said that he was * ' a youth of the sweetest 
 nature, the purest and most constant affections," he had ever known. 
 
496 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Some who were present declare that the trial of the prisoners was a 
 mockery, being conducted hastily, without any regard to legal forms. 
 During the months of May and June, 1833, ten or twelve subordi- 
 nate officers of the army suffered the penalty of death. 
 
 After the disastrous and tragic failure of "Young Italy," Mazzini 
 retired to Geneva, in Switzerland, and organized another movement, 
 which he called "Young Europe," his purpose being to unite the 
 cause of Italy with that of the other oppressed nations, and raise the 
 banner of European fraternity upon the Alps. He was assisted by 
 several military men, among whom w'ere Carlo Bianco, then residing 
 at Nyon, and Gentilini Scovazzi. At the hotel where Mazzini made 
 his headquarters were Agostini Ruffini, of Genoa ; Giambattista 
 Ruffini, of Modena ; Celeste Menotti, Nicola Fabrizzi, Angelo Usilio, 
 Giuseppi Lamberti, Gustavo Modena, Paolo Pallia, and others. The 
 new enterprise also received aid from Giacomo Ciani, Gaspare Bel- 
 credi, and Gaspare Rosales, and the command of it was given to 
 General Ramorino, a native of Savoy, who had taken part in the 
 Polish insurrection. Mazzini was not favorable to his appointment, 
 but submitted to the wishes of others. 
 
 On the 1st of February, 1834, the expedition started for St. 
 Julien, for the purpose of invading Savoy. The government of 
 Geneva, however, seized the boats and arrested all suspected parties ; 
 but the population of the city arose in defense of the prisoners, and 
 they were released. As they proceeded onward, the news of their 
 coming reached St. Julien, and the Piedmontese leaders, seeing the 
 impossibility of defending the place, had abandoned it. Ramorino, 
 whose heart was really not in the movement, did not take advantage 
 of the situation ; but divided his forces. In the mean time, Mazzini 
 was taken sick, and became delirious with fever. Ramorino, on ascer- 
 taining this fact, disbanded his troops, and thus ended the campaign. 
 Many of the exiles were arrested and sent to England or America; 
 but Mazzini, the two Ruffinis, and Melegari succeeded in escaping 
 from Geneva, and after remaining for some time concealed in Lau- 
 sanne, finally settled at Berne. While at Lausanne, Mazzini published 
 a small pamphlet under the title, " /Z? so7tt Partis,'' treating of the 
 persecutions of these two hundred exiles. Toward the end of 1834, 
 he founded the association called " Young Switzerland," and in June, 
 1835, commenced the publication of La Jeune Suisse, a bi-weekly 
 journal. In 1836, he and his companions were exiled from Switzer- 
 land by the diet, and, in January, 1837, went to London. 
 
DR. BAIRD'S OBSERVATIONS. 497 
 
 Fourth Decade, Continued, 1830-1840. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 THE WALDENSES— GREG OR V XVI— GARIBAIDI 
 
 IN addition to the large sum contributed in England, previous to 
 1830, for the support of benevolent work among the Waldenses, 
 Dr. Gilly received five thousand pounds from friends in that country 
 to establish a college in the "Valleys." To choose the site, and take 
 the requisite measures for the accomplishment of this great object, 
 he made a second visit to Piedmont in 1831. Returning home the 
 same year, he published a second volume of his * ' Waldensian Re- 
 searches," in which he gave the results of his observations at that 
 time. This book, like the first, awakened a deep interest in behalf 
 of the Vaudois. 
 
 In the latter part of May, 1837, the Rev. Robert Baird, D. D., 
 a prominent American clergyman and active philanthropist, visited 
 the region inhabited by the Waldenses. He had been sent to Paris 
 by the ** French Evangelical Association" of the United States to 
 promote the interests of Protestant Christianity in France, and, also, 
 as far as possible, in other countries on the Continent. Dr. Baird 
 had brought letters from Rome and Naples to Count Walbourg 
 Truchsess, then the embassador of Prussia at the court of Turin, and 
 through him became acquainted with the Rev. A. Bert, chaplain of 
 the Protestant embassies at that city. The latter accompanied Dr. 
 Baird to the residence of his brother-in-law. Rev. Jean Pierre Bon- 
 jour, whose parish of St. Jean was about thirty miles from Turin. 
 Col. Beckwith was a guest of the family, and Dr. Baird records the 
 delightful interview he enjoyed with the inmates. Madame Bonjour, 
 an estimable and pious lady, had died a few months previous, leaving 
 the bereaved husband sad and desolate. She was a daughter of the 
 Rev. Mr. Bert, who, at the time of his death was moderator of the 
 Waldensian Synod. Col. Beckwith and Dr. Baird visited, on foot, 
 La Tour, and other interesting places in the ''Valleys." The lat- 
 ter, in his work entitled "Protestantism in Italy," refers to the favor- 
 able impression made upon his mind by the simple, honest, and 
 Christian appearance and demeanor of the inhabitants. Without an 
 
498 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 exception, he received kind salutations from men, women, and even 
 children, among the Waldensian population ; but the Romanists sel- 
 dom returned any thing more than a sullen look to his civil greeting 
 of Bon jour, or Bon soir, -as the case might be. As an evidence of the 
 industry of the Waldenses, the same writer states that the few beg- 
 gars he saw in the "Valleys" were invariably Roman Catholics, who 
 came there from the country around. 
 
 *'Nor were we able soon," says Dr. Baird, "to divest ourselves 
 of the emotions of the preceding night. We felt that we were in a 
 land where, if every rock and every ancient tree and every ancient 
 house had a tongue, it could tell a tal6 such as none could hear 
 unmoved. And never did we so fully see and feel the beauty and 
 the force of the remark of the Roman orator: 'We are moved, I 
 know not how, by the very places where remain the footsteps of 
 those whom we either love or admire. Even our Athens itself does 
 not so delight me with its magnificent works, and its exquisite arts 
 of the ancients, as by the remembrance of her great men, and the 
 spots where each dwelt, sat, and disputed; I contemplate with eager- 
 ness even their very sepulchers. ' . . . There is hardly a spot on 
 or near which an inteUigent Waldensian pastor or laic even will not be 
 able to relate to you some thrilling occurrence having taken place." 
 
 While among the Waldenses, Dr. Baird observed their mode of 
 worship. The regent or teacher of the chief parish school, which is 
 always held in the village where the church of the parish stands, 
 commences the service by reading two or three chapters from Oster- 
 vald's French Bible, and also the practical observations at the end of 
 each in the old folio edition of that excellent translation. After half 
 an hour has been spent in that way, and when the people are well 
 assembled, the pastor ascends the pulpit and commences with a short 
 invocation of the divine blessing, according to the words of the lit- 
 urgy used in the Waldensian Churches. He then invites the people 
 to listen attentively to the Ten Commandments and the summary 
 thereof given by Christ. The next exercise is the "confession of 
 sins," which is the same that is found in the Hturgies of the French 
 and Swiss Churches. After the singing of a psalm, in which the 
 whole congregation unite, a prayer of some length, either extempo- 
 raneous or taken from the liturgy, is offered up. Then comes the 
 sermon, which is followed by the singing of a psalm or hymn. The 
 concluding prayer, to which are appended the Lord's Prayer and the 
 Apostles' Creed, is selected from the liturgy, and is composed of 
 petitions in behalf of their own Church, their poor and afflicted, the 
 
WALDENSIAN ORTHODOXY. 499 
 
 Church universal, the king and royal family, and others in authority. 
 The service is closed with the singing of a few verses of a psalm or 
 hymn, and the Aaronic benediction. When the rite of baptism is to 
 be performed it immediately follows the sermon. The minister, after 
 a special prayer for the occasion, and an address to the parents or 
 those who present the child, descends from the pulpit, places his 
 hands together, into which some one pours water from a vial or 
 small bottle, which he in turn pours upon the child, pronouncing at 
 the same time its name and repeating the words of the institution : 
 *'I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost." When the Lord's-supper is to be celebrated it likewise fol- 
 lows the sermon in the forenoon, and, like the ordinance of baptism, 
 is administered almost in the same form which the Presbyterian 
 Churches every-where observe. 
 
 Dr. Baird, in examining the historical records of the Waldenses, 
 was impressed '^ith the fact that the "Church of the Valleys" had 
 in all ages maintained the true faith. At their synod, which met at 
 Angrogna in September, A. D. 1535, the pastors ^or barhes adopted 
 seventeen propositions which are eminently Protestant. Their pres- 
 ent ''Confession of Faith" was made A. D. 1655, when they ad- 
 dressed their famous appeal to the Protestant Churches of Germany, 
 Switzerland, England, the United Provinces, Denmark, Sweden, 
 Poland, Bohemia, and other countries, in which they affirmed that 
 their religious views were the same as those held by those orthodox 
 bodies. The document, which contains the belief of the Waldensian 
 Church, consists of thirty-three articles, and was drawn up with great 
 ability by Leger and others^ who passed through dreadful trials rather 
 than deny the evangelical doctrines which they had embraced. In 
 1837 I-^^- Baird found the Waldensian ministers true to their orthodox 
 standards, and, instead of sending their students to the academy of 
 Geneva, where rationalism reigned, they placed those who desired to 
 study in that city in the new theological school, then under the pres- 
 idency of the distinguished Merle d'Aubigne. 
 
 The benevolent work of Colonel Beckwith among the Waldenses 
 excited the admiration of Dr. Baird, who beheld its glorious results. 
 The noble English philanthropist was engaged in promoting the edu- 
 cation of the youth by the establishment of village and hamlet schools 
 throughout the "Valleys." He had already established about ninety, 
 and hoped to increase the number to one hundred and fifty, which 
 would secure the opportunity of gaining a good common education 
 in the French language, which all spoke, to every child and youth 
 
 33 
 
500 ITAL V ST7^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 among the twenty- two thousand Waldensian people. At that time 
 the fruits of the charitable efforts of Dr. Gilly and other English 
 Christians were visible in the three or four female schools at as many 
 different places in the "Valleys," and also in the large and commo- 
 dious college edifice, then in course of erection. Colonel Beckwith's 
 labors in behalf of the Waldenses were appreciated, and no one was 
 ever so highly esteemed by them. His portrait, lithographed at 
 Paris, was almost the only ornament to be seen in many of their 
 cottages. On one of the school-houses in the parish of St. Jean was 
 this inscription : ' * Whoever passes this way let Jiim bless the 7iame of 
 Colonel BeckzvitJi.'' The affection of these hardy mountaineers for 
 this humble and unostentatious Christian foreigner was deep and sin- 
 cere. ' While English philanthropists, like Beckwith and Gilly, were 
 laboring to educate the Waldenses, comparatively little was done by 
 the Italian authorities to elevate the masses throughout the Peninsula. 
 The condition of the country was truly lamentable. On the 2d of 
 February, 183 1, three millions of Italians had a new master, whose 
 name was Gregory XVI. Austria designated the man she wished to 
 succeed Pius VIII in the papal chair, and the sacred college obeyed 
 by selecting Cardinal Mauro Capellari. He was a monk of the Cam- 
 adules and ignorant of public affairs. The political situation was not 
 promising when he commenced his reign, and, filled with alarm, he 
 threw himself into the arms of Cardinal Bernetti. The Roman people 
 suffered innumerable evils. Three millions of citizens were enfeoffed 
 to some thousands of priests or persons under the mask of ecclesias- 
 tical garments, who absorbed for themselves alone fifty-five millions 
 of dollars. All the honors, all the offices, the whole of the author- 
 ity and nine-tenths of the property of the state were in the hands of 
 the clergy. The supporters of this class were a band of assassins 
 called sanfedistes, six thousand Swiss, and a few regiments of national 
 soldiers, despised, in rags, and badly disciplined. Besides this there 
 was no commerce and no industry. The smugglers organized like 
 a regular government, with its bankers, its depots, its chiefs, its army, 
 its correspondents, its docks, stronger than the legal government, 
 more beloved, always ready to give battle to the clerical agents and 
 feared by the latter when they were not accomplices. 
 
 Agriculture was neglected, statistics were not given, and no effort 
 made to sustain a regular and normal administration. Insupportable 
 taxes badly laid and distributed were charged almost entirely upon 
 laymen, and excited discontent, especially in the Marches and Umbria. 
 Innumerable obstacles were opposed to the development of the pub- 
 
POPE GREGORY XVI. 501 
 
 lie wealth, partieularly on aeeoimt of the repulsion which the priests 
 had for railroads, and on account of the preservation of the property 
 in mortmain and the conversion of large personal properties into real 
 estate by a legal fiction. There existed no codes and no equality 
 before the law, but the clergy enjoyed numerous privileges and 
 immunities. The administration of justice was intricate, slow, and 
 uncertain, and the priests were the controlling spirits. The people 
 groaned beneath a public debt of eighty millions of crowns, of which 
 Pope Gregory XVI alone was responsible for twenty-seven millions, 
 which he had extravagantly spent. There was an enormous deficit 
 every year, but no account of the administration of the public finan- 
 ces was rendered and no budget agreed upon. The darkest feature 
 of Gregory's reign, however, was the want of a general system of 
 instruction, and the Jesuits directed the whole course of private 
 education. 
 
 The pontificate of Gregory XVI was not marked by any great 
 events. The prince de Metternich disUked Cardinal Bernetti, and 
 urged the pope to dismiss him. In 1836 he was forced to resign, 
 and Cardinal Lambruschini became the papal prime minister or secre- 
 tary of state. Like Gregory XVI, he was also a monk. He was 
 tall in stature, haughty in manner, and well adapted to shine in diplo- 
 matic circles. He understood men, business, and the proprieties of 
 life; he was not a stranger to the intrigues of the court of Europe; 
 he was initiated into the principles of the "Holy Alliance," and gave 
 to them the consecration of the papacy. Legitimacy was his national 
 religion, and France his delenda Carthago est. In choosing this secre- 
 tary of state, Gregory XVI believed that he was ridding himself of 
 a master, but he soon found himself in the hands of a tyrant. 
 
 While Italy was thus crushed, and the hour of her deliverance 
 appeared to be far in the future, the men who were destined to be 
 her liberators were then in comparative obscurity. Cavour cultivated 
 his farm, Gavazzi occupied a professor's chair, and Garibaldi Avas a 
 sailor. The latter at this period (1832) became deeply interested in 
 the welfare of his country. ** Being an ardent lover of Italy from 
 my childhood," he says, '*! felt a strong desire to become initiated 
 in the mysteries of her restoration, and I sought every-where for 
 books and writings which might enlighten me on the subject, and for 
 persons animated with feelings corresponding with my own. On a 
 voyage which I made to Tagangog, in Russia, with a young Ligurian, 
 I was first made acquainted Avith a few things connected with the 
 intentions and plans of the Italian patriots." As the result of his 
 
502 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 entire devotion to the cause of Italy he was proscribed, and on the 
 5th of February, 1834, at seven o'clock in the evening, passed out 
 of the gate of Linterna, at Genoa, in the disguise of a peasant. A 
 few days afterwards he saw his name for the first time in a newspaper 
 containing his death sentence. 
 
 Proceeding to Marseilles, Garibaldi remained there several months, 
 and then made another voyage to the Black Sea. He resolved to 
 visit the Italian colony in South America, and accordingly sailed for 
 Rio Janeiro. In that city he met Rosetti, with whom he engaged in 
 business. From Zambeccari, a prisoner sent from Rio Grande, Gar- 
 ibaldi learned that the Italians there had declared for independence. 
 With a few companions he sailed in a small vessel, which he named 
 TJie Mazzini, and thus commenced that remarkable military career 
 of thirteen years' duration in South America, which for daring, brav- 
 ery, and hardships has few parallels in history. While fighting for 
 the "Republic of Rio Grande" he was conquered by the beautiful 
 Anna, who became the partner of his sorrows and joys, and was truly 
 the inspiration of his life. 
 
 FIFTH DECADE, 1840-1850. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 MAZZINI IN EXILE— THE BANDIERAS. 
 
 DURING the former part of this decade Italy enjoyed compara- 
 tive exemption from political commotion. Mazzini was in 
 England, struggling with poverty, and only able to support himself 
 by the aid of literature. He made some acquaintances, and became 
 a contributor to several reviews, receiving a small compensation, 
 which, with the help of his own modest allowance, enabled him to 
 meet his daily expenses. Either by choosing Italian subjects, or by 
 frequent allusions to Italian matters, he directed the attention of the 
 English people to the national question in his beloved country. 
 Though some of his ideas appeared impracticable, and even danger- 
 ous to many English minds, yet the sincerity of his convictions, 
 demonstrated by his life, gained him the friendship of a large num- 
 ber of the best residents. ''Nor shall I ever forget while I live," 
 
FOSCOLO'S "DANTEr 503 
 
 he wrote, *'nor ever pronouncewithout a throb of gratitude, the name 
 of the land wherein I now write, which became to me almost as a 
 second country, and in which I found the lasting consolation of affec- 
 tion in a life embittered by delusions and destitute of all joy." He 
 expressed his warmest thanks to many kind families, whose ministries 
 of benevolence almost made him forget at times that he was an exile. 
 
 Mazzini had long cherished the desire of extending the fame of 
 Ugo Foscolo, a writer, in his opinion, who, with the single exception 
 of Alfieri, had contributed more than any other to that manly vigor 
 which Italian literature had manifested during the preceding sixty 
 years. He declared that, while the majority of authors in Italy 
 wrote in the name of princes, patrons, or academies, Foscolo taught 
 a higher and nobler view of art, and inculcated devotion to the great 
 idea of patriotism. Mazzini, after becoming acquainted with the 
 literary men of England, and feeling a new stimulus from the articles 
 which he had written upon the intellectual movement in his native 
 land, resolved to collect the literary productions of the great author. 
 The latter, while in exile, had commenced many works, which were 
 only partially completed, and others, owing to the poverty and isola- 
 tion in which he lived, had been lost. After a long and almost 
 fruitless search Mazzini found — besides several letters to Edgar Tay- 
 lor — ail that Foscolo had finished of his work upon the great poem 
 of Dante, and the proof-sheets of about two-thirds of the ''Lettera 
 Apologetica, " at that time quite unknown in Italy. The discovery 
 of the latter manuscript filled Mazzini with real joy. The pages, 
 without any title, and without the author's name, had been thrown 
 aside with several torn papers, destined to be destroyed, in a room 
 at the house of Pickering, a London publisher. 
 
 The Genoese patriot, when he found these important papers, ex- 
 pressed surprise that not one among the many Italians residing in 
 London or visiting it for amusement had ever sought for them, and 
 that the honor of restoring them to Italy, at least eleven years after 
 Foscolo's death, should have been left to another exile in poverty. 
 If diligent effort had been made earlier all of these valuable writings 
 might probably have been saved ; and Mazzini asserted that this neg- 
 lect is "one among many proofs of the indifference and ingratitude 
 which are the common vices of enslaved peoples." The pubHsher, 
 who had formerly despised these works because ignorant of their 
 value, became exacting when he saw the eagerness of the discoverer, 
 and refused to part with them unless the latter would also purchase 
 the work on the text of Dante, for which he demanded four hundred 
 
504 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 pounds. Mazzini, to use his own expression, ** could not at that 
 time have answered for four hundred pence," and therefore wrote to 
 Quirina Magiotti, "an exceptional woman and exceptional friend," 
 asking help to redeem these relics of one whom she had loved and 
 esteemed beyond all others. This lady responded favorably to the 
 appeal ; but the bookseller still persisted in not selhng the one work 
 without the other, and she regretted her inability to purchase both. 
 After many useless attempts, Mazzini succeeded at last in persuading 
 Pietro Rolandi, an Italian publisher settled in London, to pay the 
 sum demanded and assume the expenses of the edition. It was 
 strange that a man "prudent and timid, both from necessity and 
 habit," should be induced to undertake such a literary enterprise. 
 Though "at heart more tender of his country's glory than book- 
 sellers generally are," and united to Mazzini by strong friendship, 
 yet the latter was astonished at his influence over Rolandi. 
 
 In a short time afterwards the very pages which were needed to 
 complete the book were found in a trunk full of papers belonging to 
 Foscolo, and saved from dispersion by the Canon Riego — the only 
 man who watched by the bedside of the exile during his last illness — 
 w^iich subsequently came into the possession of Enrico Mayer and 
 other friends at Leghorn, but had never been examined. The dis- 
 covery of these last fragments awakened an energy in all of them, 
 which resulted in giving to Italy, first, the volume of the political 
 writings of Foscolo, which Mazzini. published at Lugano, and then 
 the Florentine edition, directed with " I'intelletto d'amore," by Or- 
 landini. Believing that a biography of the distinguished author 
 should be written, Mazzini commenced the pleasant task, but was 
 prevented by adverse circumstances and many cares from completing 
 it. He expressed the opinion that Nicolini was the most competent 
 to do it ; but the latter subsequently died, and his own life is still 
 unwritten. Owing to stress of poverty and illness Foscolo had only 
 completed the first part of his undertaking, "L' Inferno ;" and Maz- 
 zini, finding that the publisher, Pickering, would sell all or none, 
 determined to complete the "Purgatory" and "Paradise." 
 
 In the Summer of 1844 Mazzini, discovering that his correspond- 
 ence had been tampered with in London, placed the evidence which 
 he had accumulated in the hands of a member of parliament, and 
 petitioned the House for an inquiry into the matter. The accusation 
 produced great excitement, and, the London Times having cast re- 
 flections upon the Italian patriot, Mr. Thomas Carlyle pubHshed in 
 that paper a letter defending his character. The following extract 
 
 1 
 
THE BANDIERAS. 505 
 
 indicates its spirit: *'I have had the honor to know M. Mazzini for 
 a series of years ; and, whatever I may think of his practical insight 
 and skill in worldly affairs, I can with great freedom testify to all 
 men that he, if ever I have seen one such, is a man of genius and 
 virtue, a man of sterling veracity, humanity, and nobleness of mind, 
 one of those rare men, numerable, unfortunately, but as units in this 
 world, who are worthy to be called martyr-souls ; who in silence, 
 piously in their daily life, understand and practice what is meant by 
 that." Many of the letters addressed to Mazzini, and which when 
 opened were found to contain some views relative to the proposed 
 expedition of the brothers Bandiera, were copied and sent to the 
 governments of Naples and Austria. 
 
 The brothers Bandiera, who corresponded with Mazzini at that 
 time, were born at Venice. They were the sons of Baron Bandiera, 
 rear-admiral of the Austrian navy, so unfavorably known to Italy for 
 having violated the articles of the capitulation of Ancona in 1831, 
 and captured the insurgents on their way to France by sea. From 
 their earliest years the brothers had dreamed of the national unity of 
 Italy; and long before they were able, to obtain any contact with 
 Italian exiles, or the republican leaders in the center of the Peninsula, 
 they had themselves endeavored to prepare the way for the realiza- 
 tion of their idea. Toward the close of 1842 Attilio, the elder of 
 the two brothers, wrote to Mazzini under an assumed name, express- 
 ing his esteem and love for him ' ' as chief of those who represent in 
 our generation the national opposition to the tyranny and consequent 
 infamy that now contaminates Italy." In the letter he refers to 
 Mazzini as the founder of the secret society called " Young Italy," 
 and also as the editor of a journal bearing the same title, but declares 
 that he had not, until a few days previous, seen any of that patriot's 
 works. Attilio further states that the first and second numbers of 
 the ''Apostolato Popolare " were doubly welcome to him, because 
 to the gratification he received in finding his own political principles 
 shared by a man like Mazzini was added the satisfaction of discover- 
 ing a means, however indirect, of forwarding a letter to him, after a 
 year's earnest effort to learn his address. The bearer of the letter 
 to London was Domenico Moro, a native of Venice, and lieutenant 
 of the Adria. Attilio and his brother Emilio worked secretly, care- 
 fully preparing their expedition; but about the ist of March, 1843, 
 they learned that a certain Micciarelli had betrayed their plans. 
 Attilio resolved to escape, and before starting sent word of his inten- 
 tion to Emilio, then at Venice. The latter souglit refuge in Corfu, 
 
506 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and wrote to Mazzini, on the 2 2d of April, that the Archduke 
 Rainieri, vice-regent of the Lombardo-Venetian provinces, had sent 
 an agent to his mother, promising that if she could persuade her son 
 to return to Venice a pardon would be secured for him. The devoted 
 mother visited him, and endeavored to move him by entreaties, and 
 even tears, but he decided to remain. 
 
 The Austrian government now declared the brothers Bandiera 
 guilty of high treason "for having joined the sect of 'Young Italy,'" 
 and they Avere cited to appear within the space of ninety days before 
 the imperial tribunals at Venice. They replied, through the medium 
 of the public journals, that they gloried in what the authorities called 
 ''high treason," and, as death was certain, they preferred to meet it 
 in any shape rather than under the infamous banner of Austria. At 
 this time Domenico Moro, then only twenty-two years of age, volun- 
 tarily became an exile by uniting with the brave brothers. He is 
 represented as having a fine personal appearance and a truly angelic 
 disposition. Attilio, after visiting Syra, Malta, and other places, 
 went to Corfu on the 8th of May, 1843, and in a letter written to 
 Mazzini a few days subseqi^ently, stated that their band proposed to 
 enter Calabria, and that he and Emilio had sold at ruinous prices 
 the few things which they had brought with them, receiving only 
 five hundred francs. As they needed at least three thousand, Attilio 
 wrote to Nicola Fabrizi for that amount, which Mazzini had depos- 
 ited in his hands for the use of the Bandieras. Instead of complying 
 with the request, Fabrizi endeavored to persuade them to defer their 
 expedition until a powerful force could be organized, and in this 
 effort he was seconded by Mazzini. The latter received a letter from 
 Attilio, on the 21st of May, in which he declared that the attempt 
 they had intended to make during that month was rendered impossi- 
 ble for the want of money. "Do not imagine, however," he wrote, 
 "that poverty can alter us in any way. . . . Whatever our 
 fate, we hope to leave the young generation an example of undying 
 perseverance." 
 
 Meanwhile the general discontent increased, and the popular 
 excitement, which seemed to subside in 1843 manifested itself in a 
 still more threatening manner in 1844, extending from the center to 
 the south of the Peninsula. An armed enieute occurred at Cosenza, 
 which, though soon put down, produced much agitation, and awak- 
 ened a strong desire for action. Sicily, burdened so long by misgov- 
 ernment and extortion, was anxious to revolt ; but certain parties 
 advocated delay, and the brave Sicilians were restrained. While 
 
THE MARTYRS OF COSENZA. 507 
 
 letters were passing between FabrizI at Malta and the brothers Ban- 
 diera at Corfu, relative to the enterprise already mentioned, Ricciotti, 
 a friend of Mazzini since 1831, departed from London and, early in 
 June, joined the Bandieras. He was born in 1800, at Frosinone, in 
 the papal states, and, when only eighteen years of age, the national 
 Italian idea had taken such full possession of his mind that he swore 
 to devote his life to its realization. In 1835, seeing no present prob- 
 ability of redemption for Italy, he resolved to acquire military expe- 
 rience in Spain, saying in a letter to his children, "I shall once more 
 combat in the cause of liberty, and, should fortune favor me, I may 
 yet live to put the knowledge I acquire to profit for my country." 
 
 On the night of the 12th of June, the Bandieras, Ricciotti, and 
 twenty others started for Calabria, and soon arrived there in safety. 
 But a force five times greater than theirs Avas sent to capture them, 
 and, though they fought bravely, the insurgents were compelled to 
 surrender. The prisoners were dragged before a military commission, 
 and nine of them, including the Bandieras, Domenico Moro, and 
 Nicola Ricciotti were condemned to be shot. One who was present 
 at their execution, on the 25th of July, 1844, at Cosenza, speaks of 
 them as saints, calm and intrepid, like the martyrs of the first ages 
 of Christianity. On the morning of their execution they were found 
 asleep, but rising from their humble beds they arranged their toilet 
 carefully, as if they were about to accomplish an act of religious 
 solemnity. They gently repulsed a priest who approached them, and 
 said to him, that having endeavored ' ' to practice the law of the Gos- 
 pel, and to propagate it even at the cost of their blood among those 
 emancipated by Jesus, they hoped more from their own good inten- 
 tions than his words." ** Reserve them," added one of the prison- 
 ers, **for your oppressed brethren, and teach them to be what the 
 cross has made them, free and equal." They walked to the place 
 of execution conversing together without agitation, without ostenta- 
 tion. ''Spare the face," said they to the soldiers, ''it was made in 
 the image of God. Vive r Italia f This was their last cry on earth. 
 
 "The martyrs of Cosenza," says Mazzini, "have taught us that 
 man is bound to live and die for the faith that is in him ; they have 
 proved to the world that Italians know how to die ; they have strength- 
 ened in Europe the conviction that Italy is destined to exist. The 
 faith, for which such men seek death as eagerly as the lover seeks his 
 betrothed, is neither the frenzy of culpable agitators nor the dream 
 of deluded men ; it is the germ of a religion, a providential decree. 
 And from the fire of patriotism that emanates from their sepulcher, 
 
508 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the angel of Italy will one day kindle the torch with which Rome, 
 not as the false prophets tell us, the Rome of the popes, the great- 
 ness of which is extinguished forever, but the Rome of the people, 
 shall, for the third time, illumine the path of progress to be fol- 
 lowed by all humanity." 
 
 Fifth Decade, Continued, 1840-1850. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 CAMILLO CAVOUR—THE CRISIS IN ITALY, 
 
 CAMILLO CAVOUR, Avhether wandering over his farm in the 
 district of Vercelli or enlivening with his sparkling conversa- 
 tion the salon of his aunt, the duchess of Clermont-Tonnere at Turin, 
 or discussing European affairs with the learned circles in Geneva, was 
 closely observing the progress of events in his own country. While 
 visiting London and Paris he studied the institutions of England and 
 France, and derived from them valuable lessons. His models of 
 statesmen were Pitt, Canning, and Robert Peel, and it was thus at 
 the moment when the period of reforms opened for Italy, that "the 
 obscure citizen of Piedmont" found himself armed for public life. 
 At the close of 1847 he established a journal, The Risorgimiento^ to 
 promote and regulate the national movement which Charles Albert 
 had stimulated by his concessions. 
 
 One day, early in 1848, Genoa, that center of keen and bitter 
 passions, was the scene oi tumult, resulting from the excited state 
 of the public mind. A deputation had been sent to Turin to de- 
 mand from King Charles Albert the expulsion of the Jesuits and the 
 institution of a national guard. The liberal section at Turin favored 
 the request of the Genoese deputation. Cavour instantly perceived 
 that such a radical policy would not secure the proposed reforms, 
 because the adoption of rigorous measures against the Jesuits might 
 wound the religious sentiments of the king, and the establishment 
 of a national guard would only provoke trouble and sedition so long 
 as a legal representation of the whole people was wanting. Hence, he 
 resolved to claim a constitution, and thus directly accomplish, without 
 discord, what was demanded in the Genoese petition. While Ca- 
 
THE REVOLUTION OF 1848. 509 
 
 vour's plan was more daring, it was also more politic, because it 
 would flatter the pride and secret ambition of the prince, whom the 
 constitution would elect the chief of Liberal Italy. It was a curious 
 circumstance that those who most warmly opposed Cavour, and 
 refused to follow his suggestions, were extreme liberals, men of the 
 democratic party, Valerio and Sineo, who were suspicious of his 
 leaning to English institutions, and ironically called him *'My Lord 
 Camillo." From that time arose the question between the constitu- 
 tional policy and revolutionary policy. 
 
 Soon after this every thing was strangely changed, and there was 
 no question of the constitution wrested from the vacillations of 
 Charles Albert. The revolution of the 24th of February had recently 
 burst forth, every-where kindling incendiary fires in Italy and in Ger- 
 many — at Vienna as well as at Berlin. As already stated, Sicily was 
 in a state of insurrection ; Milan had expelled the Germans at the 
 close of a five days' struggle ; while, at the same time, Venice was 
 securing her own freedom. The Austrian dominion, weakened in the 
 heart of the empire by the Viennese revolution, had barely a hold 
 even in its fortresses of the Adige. During the progress of these 
 events impassioned appeals were heard in Turin. Cavour was among 
 the first to utter the decisive word. On the breaking out of the 
 revolution in Lombardy he already saw, with prophetic eye, the 
 grand and noble edifice of Italian unity rising under the constitutional 
 scepter of the house of Savoy; and, on the 23d of March, 1848, he 
 addressed a bold and stirring appeal to the Piedmontese government, 
 which sounded out amidst the storm like the blast of a bugle. 
 
 "The supreme hour for the Savoyard monarchy has struck," he 
 wrote, * ' the hour for bold deliberations, the hour upon which de- 
 pends the fate of empires and the destinies of nations. In view 
 of the startling events occurring in Lombardy and Vienna hesita- 
 tion, doubt, delay are no longer possible; they would prove the most 
 disastrous of policies. Men of cool judgment, accustomed to listen 
 much more to the dictates of reason than the impulses of passion, 
 after having pondered well our every word, we are in duty bound to 
 declare there is no alternative for the nation, for the government, for 
 the king, but war — war without hesitation and without delay." The 
 result justified the declaration of Cavour ; for, shortly after. Carlo 
 Alberto formally declared war against Austria. 
 
 On the 1st of May, 1848, the Sub- Alpine parliament was convoked 
 for the first time. Cavour, who was elected as the representative 
 of the first electoral college of Turin, delivered his maiden speech on 
 
5 10 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 the 4th of July following, upon the occasion of the proposed union 
 of Lombardy with Piedmont. ''We must not forget," he exclaimed, 
 "that, while we are talking and debating, our brethren are fighting, 
 and that they have the same rights that we have in the formation of 
 of the Constitutional Assembly, which is to decide the destinies 
 of Italy." On the announcement of the defeat of Custozza, Cavour 
 hastened to enroll himself as a volunteer ; but the armistice of Milan 
 prevented his departure for the theater of war. He accordingly 
 resumed his seat in parliament, where he ably defended the Perrone- 
 Pinelli ministry, which, having accepted the mediation of England 
 and France in obtaining an honorable peace from Austria, was 
 fiercely assailed by the opposition, who were impehed by their prin- 
 ciples to wish a continuation of the war. 
 
 The sudden and, perhaps, inevitable crisis which arose in Italy in 
 March, 1848, was not then fully understood; but it was, nevertheless, 
 the most perilous of trials, and has since been a lesson to a whole 
 generation. Men like Cavour, though opposed to a rash policy, did 
 not deem it their duty to draw back. Circumstances seemed, no 
 doubt, at first to warrant audacity, and fortune apparently smiled on 
 Italy. The army of Radetsky had been driven back from Milan and 
 from Lombardy, and compelled to shut itself up in Verona, in the midst 
 of a circle of fire, and had evidently reached its last defense, because, 
 being almost deserted by) Vienna, it could not maintain the Austrian 
 dominion beyond the Alps. On the other hand, the Piedmontese 
 army, crossing the Ticino under the command of Charles Albert, 
 could have soon occupied the lines of the Mincio and the Adige. For 
 four months it fought bravely, and a day came, that of the taking of 
 Peschiera and the victory at Goito, when the cause of Italian inde- 
 pendence seemed almost won. "It was, in reality," says De Ma- 
 zade, "a grand undertaking, badly begun, and rendered complex by 
 inexperience of every sort, as well as by every passion and every 
 illusion which could lead it to a fatal termination." One of the dan- 
 gers that threatened it was external circumstances. The war of 1848, 
 which broke out thus unexpectedly, and with so little preparation, 
 was intimately connected with a wide -set revolutionary situation, 
 Avith a European convulsion. Hence, to a certain extent, every 
 thing beyond the Alps depended upon what occurred in Europe — 
 upon the reactions which might and which inevitably must ensue. 
 At the commencement of the campaign, the chances of success 
 were no doubt real, but they diminished in proportion as events 
 developed. 
 
CONDITION OF EUR OPE. 5 n 
 
 After the days of June, France was completely absorbed in her 
 own internal affairs. She had thought of intervention when she 
 gathered together the army of the Alps ; but finally concluded to act 
 as a mediator, though she adopted an evasive and lingering policy. 
 England, an ally in this mediation, desired agitations to cease, be- 
 cause they threatened the peace of Europe, established in 181 5. 
 Revolutionary Germany, while expressing her disinclination in par- 
 liament, at Frankfort, also openly pointed to the fortresses of the 
 Adige as being the outworks of her natural frontiers. Austria, 
 though convulsed for a moment, had time to consider the situation, 
 and, by the assistance of her generals at Prague and at Vienna to re- 
 cover herself; and from the heart of the empire the poets sent forth 
 to Radetsky, to that ancient warrior of Italy, the sympathetic war- 
 cry, "Austria is in your camp!" Every thing had changed in a few 
 months, so that, before the Autumn of 1848, Piedmont, driven back 
 from the Mincio to the Ticino, was compelled to submit to the 
 humiliating armistice of the 1 6th of August, and, without any sup- 
 port, resisted a strengthened and victorious Austria. There was no 
 hope of assistance from Europe, and no inducement to recommence 
 hostilities with an army disorganized by defeat, and already powerless 
 to restrain the passions that urged it to renew the conflict. The 
 raging of these violent passions beneath the surface in Italy hastened 
 the overthrow of the national cause. While the army was bravely 
 fighting at Pasrengo, Goito, Curtatone, and Vicenza, a combination 
 of circumstances seemed to conspire against her. The princes, full 
 of misgivings and alarm, refused their alliance ; the pope, by the 
 Encyclical of the 29th of April, disavowed the war of independence; 
 and King Ferdinand, of Naples, was engaging on the 15th of May 
 in a victorious battle of internal repression, which ultimately made 
 the Neapolitan policy one of extreme reactionary measures. 
 
 Not only the ministry, but the monarchy itself, was in imminent 
 peril. The star of democracy was now in the ascendant. Mazzini 
 had proclaimed the advent of the universal republic. Pius IX, who 
 had precipitated a revolution he did not wish, and could not control, 
 was conspiring at Gaeta against the new-born liberties of the people ; 
 Austria, supported by Germany and Russia, triumphant and defiant, 
 with one hundred thousand soldiers in Lombardy ; France declining aid, 
 and England counseling delay. In a word, the Piedmontese govern- 
 ment, without a friend or ally abroad, and with an unpopular ministry 
 at home, was compelled to advance against this powerful opposition. 
 
 Cavour defended the administration so earnestly and boldly that 
 
5 1 2 ITAL V STJ^ [/OGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 a storm of popular abuse soon descended upon him. He had com- 
 menced his career in parhament distrusted by the aristocratic party, to 
 whom he was related by ties of birth and friendship, on account of his 
 liberal proclivities, while he Avas repudiated by the democrats, on 
 account of his moderation. Seated upon the benches of the right 
 center, he opposed every motion proceeding from the extreme right 
 or left, looking to reaction on the one hand, or revolution on the 
 other. He thus became a target for the sharp-shooters of both the 
 political parties. He was characterized as a lukewarm friend of Ital- 
 ian independence and unity, concealing his despotic tendencies under 
 a liberal mask. He was accused of being a blind admirer of Eng- 
 land, and in derision of his so-called Anglomania, was called ''Lord 
 Camillo, " or, ''Milord Risorgiinento.'' While the utterances of the ora- 
 tors of the opposition were greeted with general and prolonged ap- 
 plause, amidst shouts of ''Bravo! Bene!" the voice of Cavour was 
 oftentimes drowned by the interruptions of the opposition, and the 
 hisses of the galleries, which found an echo outside the chamber, in 
 the calumnies of the press, and the jeers of the populace. On one 
 occasion, when the storm was at its height, he resolutely opposed 
 the tide of turbulent passions, and exclaimed, "Whoever interrupts 
 me does not insult me, but the Chamber, and the insult I divide with 
 all of my colleagues." 
 
 The reverses of the Piedmontese army became the signal for an 
 extensive and disastrous anarchy, which manifested itself successively 
 at Milan, in scenes which imperiled the life of Charles Albert ; at 
 Rome, in the murder of Rossi, the flight of the pope, and the proc- 
 lamation of Mazzini's republic ; at Florence, in the flight of the grand 
 duke. While Piedmont was protected "by solid traditions, by a 
 national dynasty, and by the 'statuto, ' or royal decree, recently pro- 
 mulgated," it did not escape the universal contagion of strife and 
 anarchy. The democratic party of the Ratazzis, the Valerios, the 
 Ravinas, the Brofferias, did not have a majority in the newly opened 
 parliament; yet it w^as powerful enough to perplex the military and 
 political action of the government by its inconsistent propositions 
 and its incoherent declamations, supported by the clubs and an 
 intemperate press. At Turin that party represented the advocates 
 of popular insurrections and the wildest of combinations ; it was the 
 ally of all the agitators of Italy, the accomplice of a turbulent dem- 
 ocracy whose motto was "war to the knife." 
 
 In this feverish and dramatic manner public life was inaugurated 
 in Piedmont, and Cavour, undismayed in the midst of these disturb- 
 
CAVOUR'S POLICY. 513 
 
 ances, fought in the front ranks, both as deputy from Turin to par- 
 Hament, and in his capacity of editor of The Risorgiimento. He was 
 a patriot and a constitutionaHst before the *'statuto," and before 
 the war, and during the struggle he was opposed to revolutionary 
 measures, showing himself to be the most liberal and reasonable of 
 men. Some desired to bribe the union of Lombardy and of Pied- 
 mont with the simulacrum of a constituent assembly; but he strenu- 
 ously opposed it,and urged the necessity for immediate amalgamation. 
 To those who advocated the establishment of a sliding scale of taxa- 
 tion, he replied, with the discernment of an experienced financier, a 
 political economist, and a man of business. Some were ever talking 
 of recommencing hostilities with a disorganized army, and depending 
 upon the assistance of England and of France; but he advised differ- 
 ently, and exhibited the sagacity of a politician who understood the 
 affairs of Europe. Cavour did not fear the conflict; but, in the midst 
 of warring factions, resolutely stood by the government. He main- 
 tained a wonderful composure of mind, even when the wild tempest 
 of conflicting passions was at its height. At first he was not distin- 
 guished as an orator ; but had that self-possession and imperturbable 
 coolness which made him master of the situation. Frank, simple, 
 and moderate, he was eager to encounter those who believed only in 
 ** revolutionary means," without taking nature, reality, and expe- 
 rience into account. 
 
 Cavour, in accordance with his political creed, that revolutions, to 
 be permanent, must be in harmony with natural laws, assailed these 
 Utopian reformers with his merciless common sense and irony, and 
 accused them of being independent of every law whatever, whether 
 human or divine. Equally bold and daring as these ultra-revolution- 
 ists, he had a more profound respect for humanity, and a greater faith 
 in the triumph of principles. While he was not satisfied with any 
 thing less than the possible, he never aimed at the impracticable. 
 He resolutely advanced in the path of progress, and was not one of 
 those timid reformers ''who are always waiting until the people 
 become mature before conceding to them the very institutions which 
 are precisely adapted to mature them." Nor did he belong to that 
 impracticable school of politicians who affect to believe that a legis- 
 lative act can create value ; that a law of political economy can be 
 annulled by a parliamentary majority, or a permanent revolution be 
 achieved by a proclamation or a coup d'etat. Referring to the 
 French revolutionists, in The Risorgiimento of the i6th of November, 
 1848, Cavour directly attacked the shibboleth of the extreme party, 
 
514 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 thus characterized their insane poHcy, and with singular precision 
 prophesies its final result : 
 
 ''This iniquitous and ignorant faction finds itself confronted by 
 science, affection, the individual, the family — every fundamental law 
 of human society. . . . What does it signify? It has implicit 
 faith in revolutionary measures, is certain of victory, and enacts the 
 24th of June. French blood flows in torrents. France, upon the 
 brink of an abyss, arouses herself, and hastens to suppress the fool- 
 hardy attempt. What has been the result? We were looking for a 
 democratic and social republic ; we were in possession of the germs 
 of many ideas which, if developed by peaceful and ordinary means, 
 would probably have resulted in some new advance in political sci- 
 ence; and, instead, we have Paris under martial law; in Piedmont, a 
 dubious and dilatory intervention ; at Naples, a shameful intimacy 
 between the French envoy and the Bourbon tyrant. . . . What 
 is it which has always wrecked the finest and justest of revolutions? 
 The mania for reiwlutionary means ; the men who have attempted to 
 emancipate themselves from ordinary laws; . . . the French 
 Constituent Assembly creating the assignats in contempt of nature 
 and economic laws: r ev oh ttionaiy means, productive of discredit and 
 of ruin ! The Convention attempting to smother in blood the resist- 
 ance to its ambitious project; revolutionary means producing the 
 Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire; Napoleon bending all to 
 his caprice, imagining ' that one can with a like facility conquer at 
 the bridge of Lodi and wipe out a law of nature;' revolutionary means , 
 leading to Waterloo and St. Helena! the sectarians of June striving 
 to impose the democratic and social republic by fire and sword; 
 revolutiojiary mea?is, producing the siege of Paris, and reaction every- 
 where. Wait but a little longer, and you will see the last consequence 
 of your revolutionary means — Louis Napoleon on the throne." 
 
 In the elections for January, 1849, Cavour was not returned to 
 parliament. No longer a deputy he was still a journalist. He waged 
 war all the same upon the extremists of both parties, but especially 
 upon the ultra-republicans, whose only idea of democracy seemed 
 embodied in the violence and excesses of the French revolution. 
 But neither Cavour, nor his friends in parliament nor of the press, 
 could, situated as they were, in the center of a circle of criticism and 
 opposition, improvise moderate views that should yet have strength to 
 prevail. The movement that was hurrying Italy away, and re-echoed 
 through Turin, swept off with it successively the first constitutional 
 ministry of Count Balbo, Count Casati's ministry of compromise, 
 
GIOBER TFS PLAN. 5 1 5 
 
 the armistice ministry of Alfieri, Revel, Pinelli, rushing into one 
 of headlong measures, revolutionary plots, and war at any price. In 
 the latter days of 1848, Vincenzo Gioberti, a man raised to power 
 through popularity, seemed, for a moment only, called to arrest 
 events, or to stamp them with a new character. He endeavored to 
 do so, and, in making the effort, he soon began to appreciate the 
 energetic assistance of Cavour, who had previously defended to the 
 utmost the ministry of Counts Revel and Pinelli, against him. 
 
 Gioberti felt the danger of a revolutionary policy, and believed 
 that, without renouncing the idea of national independence, he could 
 secure it by a different method ; and before attacking Austria Pied- 
 mont had another part to play, that of bringing the grand duke to 
 Florence and the pope to Rome, and every-where re-establish a con- 
 stitutional government — in a word, to direct the Italian movement. 
 By pursuing this course Piedmont would deprive Austria of one 
 excuse for intervening in Peninsular affairs, at the same time concil- 
 iating and strengthening the restored princes ; she would regain the 
 sympathy of Europe, which, almost exhausted by constant agitation 
 and excitement, seemed ready to forsake her, and when her work was 
 completed she Avould finci herself in a better position either to nego- 
 tiate with the concourse of mediating powers or again to take up arms. 
 
 Every thing appeared to be in readiness for the consummation 
 of the plan. It was approved by England and France ; and General 
 Alfonso La Marmora was approaching with a Piedmontese division 
 from Tuscany. It Avas unfortunate for Gioberti that he came into 
 power with such men as Ratazzi, Buffa, Sineo, and Tecchio, and, 
 besides, he committed a great error in dissolving the first Piedmontese 
 parliament when it had hardly been established, and in permitting a 
 new and thoroughly democratic chamber to be elected under the 
 auspices of his name. He regarded himself a leader Avhen he had 
 ceased to be any thing. At last he was left alone with his project 
 of intervention, forsaken by a chamber to which ten elections had 
 returned him, betrayed in his own cabinet by certain of his own col- 
 leagues, and vainly supported by Cavour, who had now to defend 
 him against his recent friends. His defeat was the victory of the 
 democratic ministers, opposed to intervention in central Italy, de- 
 siring the failure of the armistice and all negotiations, and anxious 
 for immediate war. The overthrow of Gioberti was the resumption 
 of the old policy of extremes, with an army still inefficiently reor- 
 ganized and irritated by party insults, with a king overwhelmed Avith 
 bitterness. 
 
 34 
 
5 1 6 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 Charles Albert, placed midway between intricate complications at 
 home and a new war of independence, preferred to throw himself on 
 the Austrian sword, heading a country whose only cry was, * ' Let us 
 make an end of it." One year after first crossing the Ticino, and 
 the hopeful departure for the campaign in Lombardy, Piedmont 
 found herself again driven to the combat, to play the highest of 
 stakes. The policy of ** revolutionary means," to use Cavour's own 
 words, had been tried, and it resulted as he had predicted. On the 
 24th of March, 1849, it ended in the catastrophe of Novara, where 
 Charles Albert staked his crown with an all but desperate heroism, 
 and for a time the last chance was wrecked for Piedmont and Italy. 
 The defeat of Novara was soon followed by an armistice, which 
 handed over a portion of the country to foreign occupation. The 
 Austrians, encamped on the Sesia, had power to place a garrison in 
 Alessandria, and they held Piedmont between the two threats of an 
 absolute invasion or a treaty of peace in which they would dictate 
 the terms. The Piedmontese could no longer make any steady re- 
 sistance. The army had fought bravely at Mortara and at Novara, 
 under the eyes of Charles Albert, and always stood firm in the hot- 
 test of the battle. Many of the generals and other officers had 
 fallen before the enemy. As it was chiefly composed of recruits, 
 who felt that it had been compelled to pay the price of blood for 
 the madness of political agitators, the army was entirely demorahzed. 
 A general panic ensued, and the officers could not control their men. 
 
 At Turin the clubs resounded with denunciations, and there nat- 
 urally arose a cry of treason. Popular feeling wavered between 
 discouragement and exasperation, and found expression in passionate 
 rhetoric. In the Chambers Brofferio prepared a decree of general 
 insurrection, and the formation in the assembly of a committee of 
 public safety. In parliament motions rapidly followed one another; 
 one ingeniously declaring the armistice to be * 'unconstitutional," and 
 the " statuto " in peril; another threatening to indict the government 
 if it opened the gates of Alessandria to the Austrians; a third seri- 
 ously proposed an inquiry into the situation and as to means for 
 pursuing the war. All this as though the enemy were not at hand 
 and ready to draw the sword of certain victory when defied. 
 
 But the agitation at Turin was slight compared with that in 
 other cities. When the news of the disaster at Novara first reached 
 the populous and fiery city of Genoa, the town of Mazzini, the 
 contagion of discontent rapidly spread, passing from agitation to 
 insurrection, and thence to a real revolution. Either the army had 
 
 I 
 
THE TWO POLICIES, 517 
 
 betrayed its chiefs or it had been betrayed by them. The ''statute" 
 liad been violated. Turin was to be handed over to the Austrians, 
 and Genoa herself was to be held as a hostage of war. By the cir- 
 culation of these reports the agitators inflamed the public mind and 
 gave the signal for civil war. The garrison was chiefly composed of 
 reserves, poorly commanded, and was compelled to retire after a 
 humiliating surrender to the rioters, who thus remained masters of 
 the town — the arms, artillery, forts, and defenses of the most impor- 
 tant place in the kingdom. The excited populace massacred a few 
 unfortunate persons, among whom were a major of carbineers and 
 the military commandant of the city, and detained as hostages the 
 general and his family. The Genoese revolutionists, headed by an 
 old emigre, the veteran Avezzana, constituted itself an association 
 of pubHc safety — the provisional government of Liguria. It refused 
 to recognize the armistice, it separated itself from Piedmont, and it 
 humiliated the army by arraying itself against the regular authorities. 
 Indeed, Avhat occurred as early as 1849 at Genoa was an anticipatory 
 sketch of the commune in Paris in 1871. 
 
 These disturbances could only add to the misery of the masses, 
 draw on Piedmont a still heavier invasion, and place the government 
 in a more embarrassing situation. The defeat at Novara, the disor- 
 ganized army, the threatened ruin of the army, agitations at Turin, 
 civil war at Genoa, uncertainty every-where; such were the events 
 immediately preceding the abdication of Charles Albert. When the 
 young prince who Avas destined by his birth to wear the crown of 
 Savoy — Victor Emmanuel — re-entered Turin in the last days of 
 March, 1849, ^^ occupied a critical position. Every thing depended 
 upon his first acts. Two policies were open to him. He could lay 
 aside the *'statuto" and the recently inaugurated liberal regime, again 
 become possessor of the blue flag of Savoy, and recover the past by 
 shutting himself up within his frontiers, and no longer directing his 
 attention beyond the Ticino towards Italy. By the adoption of this 
 policy at that decisive moment of European reaction and national 
 confusion he certainly would have obtained an easier peace, and he 
 would in his embarrassment have had the support of Austria. There 
 were not wanting powerful influences which inclined him to this reso- 
 lution, and had he yielded to these external solicitations he would 
 perhaps have obtained a certain momentary security, but it would 
 have placed him in the modest condition of a subject of Austria, 
 another duke of Modena, or a second grand duke of Tuscany. Vic- 
 tor Emmanuel could also have manfully resigned himself to his unfor- 
 
5i8 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 tunate surroundings and have endured the disastrous results of war 
 without sacrificing the ''statuto" or the tricolored flag, the only two 
 surviving representatives, the only two symbols of Piedmontese inde- 
 pendence, and of Italian hopes that were left. 
 
 VICTOR EMMANUEL. 
 
 The soldierly and princely Victor Emmanuel did not long hesitate 
 between these divergent policies, but accepted the part of a liberal 
 and national king. The sincerity of his intentions was shown in a 
 significant manner by his elevating to the post of prime minister, him 
 who might be termed the Knight of Italy, Massimo d'Azeglio, still 
 
TERMS OF PEA CE. 5 19 
 
 lame of a wound he had received at Vicenza. The fate of Italy was 
 decided by this important step. ''This made of that dark day of 
 Novara not only an anniversary of mourning for the bloody termina- 
 tion to the inconsecutive attempts of 1^48," says De Mazade, **but 
 made it also the somber yet absolute starting-point of a new epoch." 
 By the preservation of the tricolored Italian flag and the maintenance 
 of the ''statuto" the future of Italy Avas saved. ''It is a long work 
 to recommence," said D'Azeglio, "but we will recommence it." 
 And on the other hand Cavour wrote about the same time to Sal- 
 vagnoli : "As long as liberty exists in one corner of the Peninsula we 
 must not despair of the future. As long as Piedmont can protect its 
 institutions from despotism and anarchy there will be a means of 
 working successfully at the regeneration of the country." 
 
 Depending alone upon the "statuto," Massimo d'Azeglio entered 
 into office after Novara, associating with himself moderate and patri- 
 otic men — Count Siccardi, Paleocapa, the Venetian, the banker, 
 Nigra, and General Alfonso La Marmora, who had lately won the 
 gratitude of the nation by suppressing with equal judgment and! 
 promptitude the factious Genoese. This great service was not easily- 
 performed, because among the obstacles to be overcome were the 
 irritation and confusion of parties, parliamentary blunders resulting' 
 from inexperience, and all possible internal and external difficulties.. 
 D'Azeglio saw that peace must be secured, and, in submitting to it 
 and negotiating for it as the chief necessity, he set an example of 
 resigned patriotism and real self-denial. It was evident that this, 
 peace must be a hard one, taking Piedmont back to the treaties of 
 181 5, and inflicting a war indemnity of seventy-five millions of francs, 
 a heavy weight on the budget of the country. While to some extent 
 it was humiliating, yet, being a necessity, national honor was willing 
 to endure it. Strange as it may appear, there were parties who 
 desired to bargain with that necessity, and, though scarcely to be 
 credited, refused to co-operate, at the risk of sacrificing every thing. 
 The government on two occasions was compelled to dissolve the 
 house, and, on the last of these two, the king himself deemed it 
 necessary to make a direct appeal to the common sense of the coun- 
 try by the proclamation of Moncalieri, which, under the cloak of a 
 coup d'etat, was nevertheless a deed of far-sighted liberalism. "Do 
 not these gentlemen perceive," said D'Azeglio, sadly, "that the' 
 ministry has already enough to do in upholding the constitution, and; 
 that after 21s, the Croats T ' 
 
 But this was not the only task to be performed. While Piedmont 
 
520 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 boldly stood by constitutional government, reaction was triumphant 
 in all parts of Europe. Piedmontese liberty seemed an anomaly and 
 a danger when contrasted with the absolutist restorations which were 
 occurring around it in Italy, at Rome, at Florence, and at Milan. 
 Austria called Turin an 'incendiary focus." The emperor of Russia 
 declined any intercourse with the new king of Sardinia. Even in 
 France the Conservative party, which had lately reinstated the pope 
 at Rome, regarded this transalpine constitutional regime as an impor- 
 tunate and troublesome brawler, because it pretended to accomplish 
 reforms both civil and religious. Piedmont was compelled, as it were, 
 in the midst of opposition from every side, to wrest virtually, day 
 by day, from Austria and from domestic factions as well as foreign 
 suspicions, that "statuto" which constituted the basis upon which 
 the national edifice could alone stand. Revolutions and revolution- 
 ists had almost wrecked the temple of freedom, but a sagacious 
 prince like Victor Emmanuel and his wise supporters believed that 
 the *'statuto" would be a means of reconstruction if aided by a 
 constitutional monarchy. 
 
 As we have already stated, the elections for January, 1849, which 
 "had overthrown Gioberti, also defeated Cavour. He was excluded 
 from parliament as a reactionary or codino, being defeated by the 
 extremists, who brought forward to oppose him an "obscure nonen- 
 tity" of the name of Pansoya — a Barodet of the period — who derived 
 his celebrity of one day from that strange adventure. But at the elec- 
 tions, which followed soon after the disaster at Novara, Cavour was 
 returned to the house, never again to leave it; and in this new posi- 
 tion his authority rapidly increased, warranted and confirmed by his 
 clear-sighted wisdom, his patriotic spirit, and a superiority that was 
 recognized in matters of public and financial economy. 
 
ALESSANDRO GAVAZZI. 52 1 
 
 Fifth Decade Continued, 1840-1850. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 ALESSANDRO GAVAZZI— PIUS IX—GIOBERTL 
 
 AMONG the eloquent champions of ItaHan independence, unity, 
 and evangeHzation who appeared upon the scene at this mem- 
 orable period was Alessandro Gavazzi. He was born in 1809 at 
 Bologna, and was the second of twenty children. His father was a 
 barrister and a judge, and many of his ancestors were among the 
 most eminent magistrates of his native city. In 1825 he embraced 
 the monastic life and entered the order of the Barnabites, and, in 
 1829, at the early age of twenty, he was appointed professor of rhet- 
 oric in no less a city than Naples. He exhibited great talents and 
 was regarded as precocious in his physical and intellectual develop- 
 ments. Thence he was sent to Livorno or Leghorn. In both places 
 he was not only admired as a man of genius, but beloved as a dear 
 friend. He desired, however, to instruct his fellow-creatures in a 
 larger sphere, and accordingly abandoned the chair for the pulpit. 
 In a short time the principal towns of Italy resounded with his bold 
 and impressive eloquence, and his name became familiar to all. 
 Wherever he preached the churches were crowded to excess, and he 
 was soon recognized as the cherished apostle of the religion of Christ. 
 In a country where only the religion of men was found, such a man 
 produced a sensation, and was "a burning and a shining light" in that 
 night of papal darkness. He did not preach the superstitious prac- 
 tices of Rome, but the precepts of the Gospel; and, above all, he 
 illustrated them by the example of a pure, simple, and moral life. 
 The Jesuits never forgave him for his fearless proclamation of the 
 truth, and the priests opposed him because he advocated a morality 
 which they did not practice. 
 
 When the infamous Gregory XVI died (June i, 1846), Gavazzi 
 had been for twelve months in a sort of confinement in the Convent 
 of Noviziato, at the small town, St. Severino, in the march of Ancona. 
 After the accession of Pope Pius IX, Gavazzi was released, and imme- 
 diately resumed his preaching. His friend and fellow exile, G. B. 
 Nicolini, in writing of this change in the pontificate, says: "The 
 
522 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 pontiff, Pio Nono — alas! why should I be obliged to revert to that 
 brief period of illusion, to that moment when the heart of my noble 
 country beat anew and drew inspiration from the tombs of the CamilH 
 and the Scipios, sanctified as we thought by the blessing of the 
 Vatican? Why did those bright dreams vanish so soon? Why were 
 we recalled from prison and exile, and presented with the cup of 
 liberty, only to have it withdrawn from our lips almost before we 
 had tasted its sweets? Oh, bitter, bitter delusion! Oh, stolid folly 
 to rely on a pope for freedom and independence!" 
 
 After having been in exile sixteen years, Nicolini returned in the 
 middle of November to Senigallia, where his family resided. He was 
 met by many old and dear friends, and, after the first greetings were 
 over, all of them, without an exception, asked him: ''Wert thou 
 here to hear Gavazzi?" or "Hast thou heard Gavazzi?" and similar 
 questions. Gavazzi had preached a day or two before, and his ser- 
 mon, more or less richly framed, hung out of nearly every shop, no 
 matter whether great or small. It was inscribed to Joseph, the pope's 
 brother. Nicolini was not then personally acquainted with Gavazzi, 
 and, desiring to meet him, he hastened to Count Joseph to find the 
 eloquent preacher, but he had gone away. The count, who had 
 been a prisoner and an exile, and who was certainly the less mischiev- 
 ous of the Mastai, declared that he entertained the greatest hopes 
 from the truly liberal and Christian principles of Gavazzi. These 
 incidents, to some extent, indicated the popularity of the Barnabite 
 monk. But his popularity did not result entirely from his eloquence. 
 He proclaimed the truth, and that is more powerful than eloquence. 
 The Italians themselves were astonished at the new phenomenon — a 
 priest and monk exposing the iniquities of priests and monks. The 
 hearts of his auditors palpitated with holy delight when he demon- 
 strated that the religion of Christ was not the religion of blood-thirsty 
 and cruel tyrants or the support of the oppressor, but was a religion 
 of love and of brotherhood, and the refuge of the oppressed. 
 
 The following extract from Nicolini's writings is no doubt a true 
 reflection of the patriotic Italian mind at that time: "And believe 
 me, if you want to introduce reformation into Italy, you must first 
 persuade the Italians that the religion of the Gospel has nothing, 
 absolutely nothing, to do with the religion of the priests. If you do 
 not succeed in this, you may give up all hope, not only of introduc- 
 ing reforms, but even of counteracting the spirit of atheism which is 
 widely spread among the Italian youth. Ah, yes ! so it is. Why 
 should I deny it? I have no motive to deceive you. The priests 
 
NICOLINI ON ROMANISM. 523 
 
 have made of the warm-hearted Itahans almost a nation of atheists. 
 What wonder! Can you not conceive it? Have they not made our 
 religion the cause of all our miseries? Do we not owe to the ambi- 
 tion of the popes the decay of our glory, the loss of our independ- 
 ence? Have they not perverted and turned to their own account the 
 most sacred doctrines of the Gospel? The sign of our redemption, 
 has it not been changed into the ax of the executioner? Are we 
 not condemned to death, not in the name of the law, but in the 
 name of Christ, the judges placing their hands on a crucifix? Does 
 not that priest, who says that an hour before he had in his hand, and 
 now keeps in his bosom, the true body and blood of Christ, does he 
 not, I say, sign our death-warrant, and return immediately after to 
 take in the same hand, covered with our blood, the body of Christ? 
 And are you surprised that the ardent and superficially informed 
 youth of Italy, identifying the religion of Christ with that of the 
 pope, should become atheists? Let us then try to sweep away those 
 priests and their corrupted religion ; let us throw down the last frag- 
 ment of the old house, and then we shall be able to build a new 
 one." By such declarations, in which he exposed the corruption and 
 tyranny of Rome, Nicolini expressed the prevailing sentiment in 
 Italy relative to the priesthood. 
 
 Soon after the accession of Pope Pius IX, in 1846, Gavazzi 
 removed to Rome, drawn thither by sympathy with the reformatory 
 spirit of the new pontiff. The latter had heard of the popularity of 
 the preacher, and, as he was strongly recommended to him by his 
 brothers, Gavazzi Avas admitted to an audience on the second day 
 of his arrival. The reception was at first rather cool, and the coun- 
 tenance of the pope serious. He had been informed of the wonder- 
 ful effect of Gavazzi's sermon at Senigallia, which aroused so much 
 enthusiasm that even the sanctity of the Church could not restrain it, 
 and several times the people expressed their feelings in plaudits, to 
 the great scandal of the cardinal-archbishop, who was officiating. 
 This fact had been communicated to the pope, who, being very 
 strict in the performance of religious ceremonies, was displeased, and 
 thus addressed the preacher : ' ' So, Father Gavazzi ! they have been 
 applauding you in the church?" and he was probably proceeding to 
 reprove him, when the sharp-witted monk answered : "Not me, holy 
 father, but to your holiness's name." Pius smiled graciously, and 
 changed the conversation immediately. Indeed, he was always desir- 
 ous of obtaining applause and flattery, and it is said that, on one 
 occasion, when he had been received coolly by the populace of Rome, 
 
524 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 because he had refused to grant a popular request, he went home 
 and, like Peter, ''wept bitterly." 
 
 Rome, at that time, Avas regarded by the liberal party as the hope 
 of Italy, and Pius IX as the redeemer of their country. It is impos- 
 sible to describe the enthusiasm of the Italians for the pope, and 
 those only who resided in the city at that period can have an ade- 
 quate conception of it. People of every class rejoiced, because they 
 considered him the defender of their sacred rights. All advocated 
 reform except the Jesuits and their partisans, who were enraged at 
 the new order of things, and even formed a conspiracy against the 
 life of the pope. The vigilance and energy of the Romans defeated 
 the parricidal project, and, by the unanimous voice of the citizens, 
 Gavazzi was called to preach a sermon of thanksgiving to God for 
 having delivered the country from the hands of the conspirators. 
 On this occasion he fully expressed the thoughts which burned 
 within his breast. He exposed the enormities of the past reign ; he 
 painted in vivid colors the butcheries which had stained the pontifi- 
 cate of Gregory XVI with blood ; and he demanded a reform of the 
 many abuses which made the religion of Christ a religion of oppres- 
 sion and tyranny. How cruelly disappointed must Gavazzi have been 
 when, instead of receiving the thanks of the pope for his apostolic 
 zeal and unsparing severity in speaking the truth, he was forbidden 
 again to preach. That eloquent and powerful voice, which revealed the 
 secrets of the priests' iniquities, was silenced, and Gavazzi, believing 
 in his heart that perhaps his zeal had led him to utter indiscreet lan- 
 guage, obeyed the order and was silent. On one occasion only he 
 could not resist the temptation again to preach. Some of the pa- 
 triotic Italians were assembled on the 22d of January, 1848, in the 
 University Church at Rome, holding a memorial service in honor 
 of their brethren, who had been slaughtered by the Croats at Milan 
 and at Mantua. The edifice was full to suffocation, and the cere- 
 mony deeply impressive and affecting. There were present all the 
 studious youths and many of the noble and illustrious citizens, attired 
 in deep mourning, and wearing branches of cypress on the breasts 
 of their coats. In devout and profound silence the audience listened 
 to the solemn chants with which the church echoed, when suddenly a 
 unanimous cry was heard from the assembled multitude for Gavazzi, 
 who was present, to ascpnd the pulpit. He was so wonderfully 
 inspired by the commemorative services that he could not refuse the 
 call, and immediately entered the sacred desk. "But how can I 
 describe," says Nicolini, ''the different strong sensations which his 
 
GA VAZZI IMPRISONED. 525 
 
 powerful voice, at times pathetic and commemorative, and at times 
 severe and imprecatory, excited in our breasts? We were almost in 
 a state of delirium. I never heard Gavazzi more eloquent." 
 
 But Pius IX was determined to punish him, even though he had 
 denounced Haynau and Radetsky, the authors of these butcheries, 
 and pronounced a eulogy upon the brave Italians ; and he was, there- 
 fore, sent to the penitentiary at La Polveriera. Rome was in a tumult 
 and many proposed to release Gavazzi by force, but the more cau- 
 tious advised sending a deputation to the pope. Father Ventura, 
 celebrated, first for his exertions in favor of civil and religious liberty, 
 and afterwards his apostasy from that sacred cause, and Prince Gae- 
 tani, the first layman who entered the council of the pope, were sent 
 to the latter to express the wishes of the Romans that Gavazzi 
 should be released. After some observations the pope promised that 
 next morning he should be set free. The embassadors departed 
 highly pleased, and the people who had assembled to hear the 
 answer raised a tremendous shout of applause for Pius IX. What 
 was their astonishment when next morning it was known that during 
 the night Gavazzi had been transferred to the Capuchin monastery 
 of Gensona. These friars were suspected of liberalism by the court 
 of Rome, and not a few of them were once to be found among the 
 Carbonari. They received Gavazzi so kindly and treated him so well, 
 that Pius IX, after his return from Gaeta, sent them into distant prov- 
 inces by way of punishment. 
 
 When first the news spread through Rome of the confinement of 
 the eloquent preacher all the city went to the convent which was 
 his ordinary residence to give in their names ; but he was not there, 
 and Nicolini, in re-entering his own dwelling, on his return from the 
 pious pilgrimage, was dragged to prison by the order of the pope. 
 Gavazzi had spoken the truth and Nicolini had written a pamphlet 
 against the Jesuits. The latter was the first man imprisoned by Pio 
 Nono for a political offense. The arrest of these two patriots pro- 
 duced great excitement, but the pope would not yield to popular sen- 
 timent. The cardinals who were the least inclined to liberal reforms 
 returned to court. Savelli took the place of Morandi as governor 
 of Rome, and the entire policy of Pius IX changed. The proceed- 
 ing against the retrograde conspirators was abandoned, and Rome 
 presented a sad and mournful aspect. But the liberal movement 
 could not be arrested by any man, however great. The execrated 
 king of Naples, urged by the king of Piedmont and the pope to 
 grant some reforms to keep his people quiet, unwilling to consent 
 
526 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and unable to resist, played them a Jesuitical trick by giving them a 
 "constitution." This still further aroused the Romans, and their 
 excited minds became more inflamed as the news came in rapid suc- 
 cession — of the outbreak at Vienna — of the noble and unanimous 
 insurrection of the heroic people of Milan, where some hundreds of 
 unarmed citizens had fought during five days against fourteen thou- 
 sand Austrians, protected by a strong citadel and by hundreds of can- 
 non, and had expelled them from their town. The Austrians, driven 
 from Milan, Venice, Padua, and other places, tremblingly retired into 
 their strongholds of Verona, Mantua, Peschiera, etc. 
 
 When the news of these stirring events reached Rome, the feel- 
 ing of indignation was so intense that no power on earth could have 
 moderated it. From every part of Italy a cry arose — "a cry," says 
 Nicohni, ''universal, irrepressible, powerful as the voice of God, 
 calling for arms, that our sanguinary oppressors might be expelled 
 from the Italian soil. The long-cherished hopes of independence 
 assumed the shape of reality, and from Etna to the summit of the 
 Alps a long and uninterrupted shout was heard, of 'Away with the 
 strangers !' " Pius the Ninth would have prevented the Italians from 
 rushing to arms; but neither he nor any other man could have 
 damped their spirits. Ten thousand National Guards took up arms, 
 and, accompanied by twenty thousand citizens, went to the Quirinal, 
 and demanded to be sent to the plains of Lombardy to drive out 
 the Austrians. To this excited multitude Gavazzi, who had been set 
 at liberty, preached from the middle of the Coliseum. It was an im- 
 posing scene. The powerful orator, surrounded with the ruins of one 
 of Rome's grandest monuments, addressed the "sons of Vesuvius," 
 and denounced the butcheries of their brethren. The multitude 
 seemed to be infuriated, and, together with the speaker, swore to die 
 for their country. But the brave Gavazzi, remembering even then 
 that he was a monk, selected for his standard the typical form of the 
 cross, and wore it on his breast in the thickest of the fray. Before 
 two days had passed the crusade commenced, and the enthusiasm 
 was indescribable. From Prince Ruspoliosi, who marched as a sim- 
 ple commoner, to the lowest shoemaker, the army contained all 
 classes of society. "For the sake of human nature," says Nicolini, 
 "I will believe that even Mastai forgot, for a moment, that he was 
 pope, and felt that he was an Italian ! He blessed his country. 
 'Great God,' said he, 'bless this Italy!' Oh, thou Mastai! either 
 hypocrite or renegade, what hast thou done with those patriots whom 
 thou then blessedst?" In answer to this question, propounded in 
 
O VA TION TO GA VAZZL 5 27 
 
 185 1, Ninolini said: "Alas! most of these generous men are either 
 now wandering in exile or pining in prison." The Barnabite monk 
 was appointed chaplain-in-chief of the army; and the pope afterward 
 received him, addressed him in the kindest manner, and gave him 
 religious instructions for his new mission. 
 
 The army marched onward, preceded by Gavazzi, as "the aveng- 
 ing angel," who exclaimed : " We are blessed by Pius, and God sends 
 us : God who has stretched forth his hands to save the elect people 
 from the bondage of slavery condemned by his holy Gospel !" These 
 words, in the mouth of such a man, prpduced a wonderful effect; 
 and his march through the Roman states and Tuscany was a perfect 
 ovation. The Italians manifest their feelings with all the warm and 
 poetic passion of their southern clime, and hence it was not strange 
 that, in many places, the horses were unharnessed from Gavazzi's 
 carriage, and that noble youths dragged his conveyance in triumph 
 into the towns. Often troops of damsels, arrayed in robes of white, 
 preceded the coach, strewing flowers on his way, and singing national 
 songs as did the Hebrew maidens of old before King David. If the 
 patriotic monk had been a man of motives less pure, ambition might 
 have led him astray ; but he was not selfish. He made every thing 
 subservient to his country's cause, and desired nothing but the mod- 
 est position of a chaplain. 
 
 When the army, in its triumphant, uninterrupted march, reached 
 Bologna, orders were sent from Rome, commanding it to return. 
 Mastai, forgetting that he was an Italian, was animated by the spirit 
 of the papacy, and sanctioned the proposal of the "butcher of Na- 
 ples, the jailer of Poerio," to recall the troops he had been compelled 
 to send for the deliverance of his country. The soldiers were greatly 
 perplexed, not knowing whether to disobey the king, and have their 
 mothers, their wives, and their children imprisoned or murdered, or to 
 disregard the call of their country. The larger part were for the king ; 
 but Gavazzi was not intimidated. Standing in the midst of this armed 
 and excited multitude, he poured forth a strain of the most impas- 
 sioned eloquence, imploring them to be faithful to their country. 
 His courage rose with the occasion, his form seemed to dilate, and his 
 eyes flashed with unusual fire. Though that powerful voice seemed 
 to move the listening crowd, yet only a few noble patriots adhered 
 to the cause of the speaker. The remainder of the troops, or the 
 contingent sent from Naples, were but laszaro7ti, clad in the soldier 
 garb, who uttered imprecations against the fearless preacher, and 
 would have put him to death if he had not displayed firmness and 
 
528 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 remarkable courage. The Neapolitan army went back to Naples to 
 butcher their brethren, and to immure in dungeons the noblest of 
 the citizens. It seemed to be ordained that Italy had yet to pass 
 through bitter trials of blood and misery before she could be free. 
 "Perhaps," says Nicolini, **we were not yet worthy of the blessing 
 of liberty ! Perhaps God, in his infinite wisdom^ prevented Italy from 
 being liberated at the hands of the pope, in order that that abhorred insti- 
 tution, the popedom, might be swept fwm the face of the earth, without 
 leaving beJiind it a single regiTt.'' 
 
 Resolving to deliver their country or to die, the patriotic army 
 marched onward to Padua. In the cathedral of that city, one of the 
 most beautiful of the many magnificent churches of Italy, Gavazzi, 
 that second Peter the Hermit, again raised his eloquent voice in 
 prayer to God to bless the holy cause of national regeneration. True 
 to his apostolic mission, he never spoke without appealing to the 
 religious feelings of his auditors, and inculcating the duty of always 
 following the sublime dictates of the Gospel. From Padua the army 
 marched on to Venice, and received an enthusiastic welcome. There 
 the presence of Gavazzi created an intense excitement, and he was 
 waited on by Manin, Tomasseo, and the other members of the Vene- 
 tian government, and requested to address the people on the Place 
 of St. Mark — the piazza of S. Marco — that noble monument of past 
 glories, that masterpiece of Italian genius ! The Place of St. Marco, 
 the theater, Italians of all states, the auditors, Gavazzi, the orator ! — 
 theater, Auditors, and orator, worthy of one another, and forming a 
 spectacle of rare and engrossing interest! Every stone of the sur- 
 rounding palace spoke of former glory, and the *'Lion of St. Mark," 
 long the dread of the infidel and the barbarian, on his marble column, 
 seemed to revive and shake his noble mane. It is easy to conceive 
 how Gavazzi reveled in great and glorious images and illustrations, 
 suggested by the objects which surrounded him on every side. The 
 emotion was so strong that tears fell from almost every eye. Gavazzi 
 urged the active men to advance against the enemy; and he asked the 
 feeble and the aged to give their offerings towards the expenses of the 
 war. Hundreds of young Venetians, yielding to the powerful effects 
 of eloquence, and moved by the love of liberty, pressed forward, eager 
 to shed their blood for their country. It was a sublime spectacle. 
 
 At the same time thousands of the people of both sexes and of 
 all ages at once poured the contents of their purses on the platform. 
 Those who had no money gave any thing of value they had upon 
 them. Nobody went away without making an offering. No woman 
 
GA VAZZI 'S BRA VER V. 5 29 
 
 took away with her all the jewels she had on when she left home. 
 Many divested themselves of every ornament, thinking their charms 
 sufficiently adorned that day with the inestimable gem, the love of 
 father-land ! The more joyful were those who had the more to give. 
 The smile of satisfaction was on the countenance of every one, ex- 
 cept a poor girl, who was sad and depressed because she had nothing 
 to give. Suddenly clasping her hands, with a cry of exultation, she 
 ran frantically away, cut off her beautiful, black tresses, and, all 
 radiant with joy, brought the price to lay upon the altar of her coun- 
 try. Five thousand pounds, besides precious things, were the results 
 of Gavazzi's appeal. From that moment commenced a series of 
 sacrifices on the part of the Venetians, which almost surpasses con- 
 ception, and which availed Venice nothing, but the glory of being 
 the last bulwark of Italian independence. 
 
 Meanwhile the Austrian forces had gathered courage, and were 
 pouring down on the Venetian territory. The Roman troops met 
 them at Cornuda, and a severe battle was fought at some distance 
 from Treviso. Throughout all the horrors of the war Gavazzi never 
 deserted his post, and in each fierce encounter he and that holy mar- 
 tyr, Bassi, were always to be seen among the foremost, exhorting 
 and encouraging the men before the fight, and, after it, giving every 
 kind of consolation to those who had been sufferers. Nicolini has 
 recorded the fact that four of Gavazzi's brothers were in the Roman 
 army, and that while the battle near Trevi^so was progressing Gavazzi 
 himself, unmindful of the shower of bullets and grape-shot which fell 
 upon the brave troops, went through the midst of it, supporting on 
 his bosom a wounded man. Charles, his eldest brother, trembled for 
 his safety, and cried out: ' ' Alessandro, Alessandro, do not expose 
 yourself. Go behind that tree !" The fearless apostle stirred not 
 from the spot. The Roman forces were compelled to retreat ; but 
 Gavazzi did not move until he had seen the wounded man safe in 
 a wagon. 
 
 Treviso and Vicenza, after performing prodigies of valor, were 
 forced to capitulate. Though brave and ready to die for their native 
 land, inexperienced men, collected from the benches of universities, 
 from the forum, and from the gilded palaces of the city, could not 
 contend against an old and disciplined army. Charles Albert was 
 betrayed by his staff, who were either ignorant of, or adverse to, the 
 Italian movement. The hopes of the patriots began to darken, and 
 their faith in the nation's regeneration to diminish. The warm-hearted 
 Gavazzi, however, did not despair. After the capitulation of Vicenza, 
 
5 30 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 he went from town to town, from Florence to Milan, to endeavor to 
 revive the fire of patriotism wherever it seemed to be dying out. 
 But misfortune followed misfortune. The Piedmontese army was 
 routed and Milan surrendered by a very inglorious capitulation. 
 With the fall of the latter the fate of Italy was decided. Vainly 
 the brave Garibaldi, with his gallant band, made heroic efforts to 
 renew the war in the advantageous position of the Alps ; but, desti- 
 tute of all resources, he was compelled to yield. Italy was again 
 trodden by its merciless tyrants. All Milan fled from the infuriated 
 Radetsky, whose revengeful anger even burst upon women, many of 
 whom were publicly whipped for the crime of preferring their coun- 
 trymen to the Austrians. Gavazzi formed one of the large body of 
 emigrants, and departed for Genoa, where he spent some days in 
 sorrow. The prospects of Italy were so dark that even his dauntless 
 heart became discouraged. 
 
 But while the patriot was lamenting the fate of his beloved coun- 
 try the priest was called to the discharge of the duties of his holy 
 ministry. Bologna, his native town, was the theater of many acts 
 of ferocious barbarity. It is a common belief • that the priests insti- 
 gated some ruffians to commit murders, that the blame might be 
 cast upon the liberal party. However it was, the spirit of blood had 
 entered men's hearts, and Bologna was a scene of death and desola- 
 tion. All the means adopted to calm the excited passions that pre- 
 vailed having failed, as a last resource the citizens of Bologna sent 
 for ** Father Gavazzi," who accepted the perilous task, rejoicing in 
 the noble enterprise that was laid before him. Leaving Genoa, he 
 proceeded to Livorno, whose inhabitants received the apostle of lib- 
 erty with wild enthusiasm, and desired him to remain a long time in 
 their city; but the noble hero, having always before him his ** bleed- 
 ing Bologna," was anxious to hasten his departure. Now a question 
 arose with him whether he should or should not pass through Flor- 
 ence. The Florentines longed to hear his powerful voice, and derive 
 from it some comfort to the glorious but mournful remembrance of 
 Curtadona. But the government, and especially the grand duke, 
 Leopold of Hapsburg, the gens d'aiines of Guicciardini, had no desire 
 that the eloquent voice of such a man should be heard in the same 
 place where once preached Savonarola ; so that, repenting of having 
 granted him permission to pass through his capital, he sent troops 
 oi gens d' mines and dragoons to arrest him on the way. It was truly 
 a ludicrous sight to see such an army of sbirri sent, brandishing their 
 arms, to arrest a poor, unarmed monk. He was seized, put into a 
 
PIUS IX. 
 
532 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 coach, and escorted by gens d'annes to the Tuscan frontier. But this 
 breach of faith nearly cost the hypocritical grand duke his throne. 
 The Livornese revolted, the Florentines followed their example; and 
 Leopold, compelled to fly, did not return to Florence but through 
 the treason of Guerrazzi, and after four months' exile. 
 
 At Bologna, however, Gavazzi found ample compensation for the 
 insult he had suffered. He entered the city as an angel of peace, 
 with an olive-branch in his hand, and addressed the multitude col- 
 lected on the public place. **Am I among assassins, or among 
 Italians?" exclaimed he to the crowd. An outburst of applause told 
 him that the assassins would disappear and the Italians remain. 
 After that day Bologna was the quietest of all the Italian cities. 
 As a recompense for his noble and courageous conduct he was 
 again arrested, and sent, a prisoner, to be immured in the inquis- 
 itorial dungeon of Corneto. He had denounced the wrath of 
 God not only on the assassins, but also on the betrayers of their 
 country. He disarmed the ruffians, but frightened the priests. 
 Pius IX ordered him to a dungeon; but before he was thrown into 
 it, on passing through Viterbo, the people of that town rose, dis- 
 persed the gens d' amies who guarded him, and gave Gavazzi 
 his liberty. 
 
 At this period a new era opened for Italy. Deceived by princes, 
 the people resolved to fight for liberty, and the progress of events 
 rapidly brought them to the decisive hour. When Cardinal Mastai 
 Feretti ascended the papal throne, on the i6th of June, 1846, and 
 began his reign by reversing the policy of Gregory XVI, his unpop- 
 ular predecessor, the Italians were both surprised and delighted. 
 Pius IX inaugurated a series of moderately liberal reforms, and was 
 hailed as the political savior of his country. He was to be a consti- 
 tutional pope, and his first acts revived the drooping hearts of the 
 people. All those who had been imprisoned for violating the civil 
 law were liberated, and received a full amnesty. The citizens of the 
 States of the Church were granted liberty of speech and the right to 
 petition for a redress of grievances. The convents and monasteries 
 were made subject to a rigid inspection, and other innovations were 
 made. The Gregoiiani, or admirers of the previous pope, were in- 
 dignant at these radical changes ; the extreme republicans were angry 
 because Pius IX had become the most popular man in Italy; but the 
 great mass of the people of the papal states were enthusiastic in 
 their support of the new regime. In the Autumn of 1846 and the 
 Spring of 1847 many disturbances occurred in the streets of Rome, 
 
DANIEL MANIN. 533 
 
 and, the papal troops and the municipal police being- unable to pre- 
 serve peace, the liberal party demanded of Pius IX the formation of 
 a national guard. This was done, not only in Rome, but in all the 
 papal states; and the Austrian government, wishing to punish the 
 pope for yielding to the popular demand, sent a strong force of 
 Croats into his territory. Ferrara was occupied, in spite of the pro- 
 tests of the papal legate. The success of the Roman movement 
 encouraged the other Italian states to compel their rulers to grant 
 them constitutions. In January, 1848, an insurrection occurred at 
 Palermo, and the Sicilians made the duke of Genoa king, resisting 
 for more than a year the efforts of Ferdinand V of Naples to subdue 
 them. They lost confidence in the latter because, after having given 
 them a liberal constitution, he soon violated it. Hence their deter- 
 mined opposition to him. 
 
 All the Italian princes looked to Austria for aid to suppress these 
 popular movements ; but Charles Albert, king of Sardinia, became 
 the champion of the national cause, and declared his intention to 
 resist any further invasion of the papal territory by Austrian troops. 
 The French revolution of 1848 aroused all the nations of Europe, 
 and even conservative Austria was shaken. Her Hungarian subjects 
 openly revolted, and rose in arms to win back their national inde- 
 pendence. The Italians immediately took advantage of this rebellion, 
 and also endeavored to throw off the Austrian yoke. On the i8th 
 of March, 1848, the Milanese attacked the Hungarian garrison under 
 Marshal Radetsky, and, after a five days' struggle, drove it from the 
 city. Vicenza, Padua, Brescia, Bergamo, and other places, united 
 with Milan in opposition to the Austrian army, and Radetsky, the 
 commander, was compelled to relinquish Lombardy and fall back on 
 Verona. On the 2 2d of March Venice drove out her Austrian gar- 
 rison under Count Zichy ; the republic of Venice, or St. Mark, was 
 proclaimed on the 23d, and Manin and Tommasseo were placed at 
 the head of affairs. The first -named patriot and statesman, Daniel 
 Manin, was born in Venice in 1804. He was the son of an eminent 
 Jewish lawyer, and prepared himself for the same profession, grad- 
 uating at the University of Padua in 1 821. He married in 1825, and 
 led a quiet, domestic life at Mestre, near Venice, engaged in histor- 
 ical and legal studies and writings ; and commencing practice at the 
 bar about 1830, he gained a high reputation as a jurist and orator. 
 He early became known as the champion of the national cause, 
 though not involved in any of the secret societies, and aiming to 
 combat Austria rather with legal weapons than by conspiracies. On 
 
5 34 ^^-^^ ^ -STT? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 several important political trials he acted as counsel for the defense, 
 which brought him into collision with the government. 
 
 After the accession of Pius IX to the Holy See Manin and 
 Tommasseo became the leaders of the reform movement in Venice. 
 In 1847 Manin exerted himself to make Austria give practical effect 
 to the laws which she had nominally granted to Venice. He asked 
 for a separate government of Venice and Lombardy, a revision of 
 the codes, an annual budget, and freedom of religion and of the 
 press. But his hopes of obtaining pacific concessions from the house 
 of Hapsburg were destroyed by Radetsky's massacres in Milan on 
 the 9th of January, 1848. On the i8th of January he and his col- 
 league protested against these outrages, and were imprisoned. The 
 French revolution, of the 24th of February, 1848, found Manin still 
 in prison, and, as he Avas detained illegally, he refused to be set free 
 by the populace on the 17th of March, and would only leave his place 
 of detention on a decision of the courts. The revolution advanced 
 in the mean time with rapid strides, and by the surrender of Count 
 Zichy Venice became free. The people prepared to form an inde- 
 pendent, permanent, republic in confederation with the Italian states; 
 but as the king of Sardinia had already declared war against Austria, 
 and was adopting a policy which promised to liberate the whole 
 country, the Venetian assembly, which met on the 3d of June, 
 agreed to the fusion with Piedmont and Lombardy, so as to form a 
 united kingdom of Northern Italy. Manin tendered his resignation, 
 but resumed power after the defeat of the Sardinians at Custozza, on 
 the 25th of July. Previous to this disastrous event Charles Albert 
 had been victorious during a four months' campaign, gallantly fight- 
 ing at Pastrengo, Goito, Curtatone, and Vicenza, and rejoiced at the 
 annexation of Lombardy and Venice to Sardinia, which was accom- 
 plished In June and July, 1848. Radetsky, having been re-enforced, 
 attacked the army of Charles Albert at Custozza, and inflicted upon 
 it such a crushing defeat that it fell back behind the Ticino. The 
 Austrians recovered Milan, and proclaimed Lombardy under martial 
 law, which they enforced with great cruelty. 
 
 This rapid review of events from the election of Pius IX to the 
 promulgation of his encyclical on the 29th of April, 1848, indicates 
 how strongly the national feeling ruled the Italians, leading them to 
 victory and toward independence. A few more steps had yet to be 
 taken before the long-oppressed people would rise against their mas- 
 ters. The Austrian victory at Custozza was exasperating ; but this 
 bitter feeling was intensified when Pius IX and the king of the Two 
 
VINCENZO GIOBERTI. 535 
 
 Sicilies, fearing a war with Austria, deserted the popular cause. In 
 his encyclical of the 29th of April the pope declared that his troops 
 had taken part in the war against Austria without his consent. 
 Ferdinand V deprived his people of the liberties he had granted 
 them, and crushed out their resistance by a brutal massacre in the 
 streets of Naples on the 15th of May. Pius IX was the first to de- 
 sert "the cause of -Italy — or, rather, he had thrown away the mask 
 of hypocrisy which he had worn in the beginning of his pontificate. 
 After disowning the war of independence and blessing the Austrians, 
 whom he called his" cherished sons," he recalled the gallant legions 
 which had so courageously defended Venice. A liberal ministry was 
 dismissed, and a reactionary one, with Rossi at its head, was chosen. 
 It was by order of that ministry that Gavazzi was again arrested and 
 sent to Rome. 
 
 The encyclical of the pope destroyed the moderate party, and he 
 was therefore compelled to fight the extreme republicans. At this 
 time Vincenzo Gioberti occupied a prominent position in the conflict. 
 This distinguished Italian philosopher was born in Turin on the 5th of 
 April, 1801. He studied at the University of Turin, and, in 1825, 
 Avas ordained priest. Becoming professor of theology in his native 
 city, he spent several years in scholastic retirement. He inspired his 
 pupils with the twin motives of patriotism and religion. On the 
 accession of Charles Albert he was appointed court chaplain, but 
 resigned the office in 1833. This step and the liberal tone of his 
 university lectures made him suspected as an accomplice of the 
 revolutionary schemes of "Young Italy," and he was suddenly 
 arrested. No direct connection with the republican societies Avas 
 proved, but he Avas sentenced to four years's imprisonment and to 
 banishment. The first year of his exile he spent in Paris, for the 
 purpose of pursuing his studies in philosophy. He then went to 
 Brussels, where he occupied for eleven years the humble position of 
 teacher in a private school. He resumed his interrupted studies, 
 and in 1838 and 1 840 produced his philosophical works — his "Intro- 
 duction to'the Study of Philosophy" being famous. The mastery dis- 
 played at once of the highest problems of theology, philosophy, and 
 history gave him the reputation of being one of the profoundest 
 thinkers of the age, while his learned expositions and hostile criti- 
 cisms of the principal modern philosophical systems, his brilliant and 
 novel subjection of science to revelation, and of all the culture of life 
 to religion, caused him to be immediately recognized as one of the 
 ablest advocates of the Roman Catholic philosophy. It was rather 
 
5 36 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 by the remarkably original form of its statements than by the novelty 
 of its ideas that the Introdttzione exerted its influence, and caused 
 Gioberti to be hailed as the reconstructor of modern philosophy. 
 
 This work was quoted with applause in the charges of French and 
 Italian bishops, and, though assailed by a portion of the Roman 
 Catholic press, was examined, judged, and commended by Pope 
 Gregory XVL Eloquent, passionate, and full of bold and felicitous 
 digressions, it contains more pages on literature, art, and especially 
 politics, than on the philosophical theory which it introduces. In his 
 work, ''Del Bello,'' published in 184 1, he applies his philosophy to 
 aesthetics. The first treatise of Gioberti that made him popularly 
 known was the ^' Del Primato Morale e Civile Degli Italiani,'' issued in 
 J 843, whose object was to restore in Italy, not only the philosophy of 
 the Christian Fathers, but the Guelf policy of the papacy. Italy, he 
 maintains, is the sacerdotal nation of Roman Catholic Europe, being 
 elected by Providence to guard the second dispensation, as Israel was 
 to guard the first. He affirms that the priesthood has attempted to 
 retain the people in tutelage beyond the proper time, after it has 
 lost its former moral and intellectual authority over them. Hence, 
 a fatal schism exists between the ecclesiastical and temporal orders, 
 between spiritual and secular culture, which is the source of all the 
 evils that afflict modern society. He proposes a voluntary cession 
 by the priesthood of a dominion, which has become incompatible 
 with modern civilization, and a thorough alliance of sacerdotal and 
 lay culture. He calls upon the Italians and the Italian clergy to 
 inaugurate this new civilization, urging the latter to put themselves 
 at the head of social movements, and to be the champions, and not 
 the enemies of the demands of the age for free institutions. He 
 claims for the pope an arbitratorship in the affairs of the European 
 nations, founded on his spiritual authority. The plan which he pro- 
 posed for immediate Italian politics was a confederacy of the states ; 
 the introduction of reforms ; a religious head, the pope ; a military 
 head, the king of Sardinia ; a capital, Rome ; a citadel, Turin ; and, 
 above all, a sentiment of nationality in the Italian princes. From the 
 publication of the '^ Primato'' Gioberti was regarded as the leader 
 of the moderate liberal party. Few works have been received with 
 greater enthusiasm, or have wrought a greater influence upon the 
 public opinion of a nation. It was, however, distrusted by the 
 Jesuits, to whom Gioberti replied in the '' Prolegomeiti'' of the second 
 edition (1845). I^^ 1^4^ he removed to Paris. 
 
 The accession of Pius IX, who had studied with favor the writings 
 
GIOBER TI RETURNS TO ITAL V. 537 
 
 of the exiled philosopher, and the liberal measures that he granted, 
 at the same time that constitutional principles were proclaimed by 
 the court of Turin, promised to Gioberti the speedy realization of his 
 ideal. At the revolution of 1848 he returned to Italy after an ab- 
 sence of fifteen years, and was welcomed with a triumph at Turin, 
 the city being illuminated in his honor several nights in succession. 
 Opposed alike to foreign dominion and to a general republic, his 
 scheme was a union of the states, under the supremacy of the 
 house of Savoy, and he visited the principal cities of the Peninsula, 
 haranguing the troops, the universities, and the populace in favor of 
 his views, and was every-where received with enthusiasm. Mazzini, 
 the head of "Young Italy," was, however, his rival in popularity and 
 influence, and his bitter opponent, and the discord between these 
 leaders soon extended to the princes, some of whom Avithdrew the 
 forces which they had sent to aid Sardinia against Austria. After an 
 exile of seventeen years Mazzini had also returned to Italy, in the 
 early part of 1848. He and Gioberti mutually reproached each other 
 with being the greater enemy to Italy than even Austria. The latter, 
 elected to the Piedmontese parliament, which assembled on the 8th 
 of May, 1848, by both Genoa and Turin, placed himself at the head 
 of the constitutionaHst royal party in the Chamber of Deputies, and 
 was appointed its president by acclamation. In July he entered the 
 Casati ministry, and, for a moment, thought he saw a triumph of his 
 hopes in the vote by which the Lombardo-Venetian provinces were 
 annexed to Sardinia. The military reverses experienced by Charles 
 Albert quickly dissipated the illusion, and the ministry gave place to 
 that of Revel, which accepted an armistice that resembled an aban- 
 donment of the war of independence, and therefore was at once 
 unpopular. Gioberti united with his opponents of the extreme demo- 
 cratic party in efforts to overthrow Revel's ministry, and, at the same 
 time, resumed his idea of a political league, and became president of 
 the society for an Italian confederation, representatives of which, from 
 all parts of Italy, assembled in Turin on the loth of October, 1848. 
 Then followed the uprising in Rome and the assassination of 
 Count Rossi, the papal minister. The palace of the Quirinal, in 
 which Pius IX had taken refuge, was attacked and carried by storm 
 by the citizens. The pope escaped in the disguise of a priest on the 
 24th of November, and fled to Gaeta, in the Neapolitan territory. 
 *'He ran away," says Nicolini, "hoping that Rome would fall into 
 anarchy, and so excite the indignation of Europe — speculating, in 
 so doing, on the calamities to which he exposed his people. And 
 
538 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 this man you call a God on earth, the vicegerent of Christ ! Away, 
 away with you, impious blasphemer. He ran away and threw him- 
 self into the arms of Ferdinand of Naples, that assassin stained with 
 the blood of his own subjects." After the flight of Pius IX two 
 deputations were sent to Gaeta to request him, in the name of the 
 assembly, and in the name of the people, to return and resume 
 the reins of government ; but they were repulsed. The pope had 
 appointed a commission to govern in his name ; but the persons 
 designated for the oflice refused to act. 
 
 In Venice the republican banner of St. Mark still waved in de- 
 fiance of the besieging Austrian army. Manin was again at the head 
 of affairs, and the Neapolitan general, Pepe, was intrusted with the 
 military command. Order prevailed in the city, and the Venetians 
 were united in their efforts to resist the Austrian forces at any cost. 
 
 Fifth Decade, Continued, 1840-1850. 
 
 Chapter X. . , 
 
 THE ROMAN REPUBLIC OVERTHROWN— GARIBALDI— ANTONELLL 
 
 WHEN General Garibaldi heard the news of the Italian revolu- 
 tion he resolved to leave Montevideo, South America, for his 
 native land, and, accompanied by some of his countrymen, he sailed 
 in April, 1848. In that brave band was Colonel Anzani, one of the 
 most intimate friends of Garibaldi. He was consumptive, but hopes 
 were entertained that the genial climate of his loved Italy would at 
 least prolong his days. The sight of its shores, hoAvever, awakened 
 emotions too strong for his frail body, and, while the vessel was 
 approaching the city of Nice, where Garibaldi was born, his devoted 
 friend passed away. The heroic leader, though almost crushed by 
 this bereavement, hastened to the field of battle in Lombardy, and 
 offered his services to King Charles Albert, who received him coolly. 
 A few days after the king was defeated, and signed an armistice with 
 the Austrians ; but, as Garibaldi was not included in it, he refused 
 to lay down his arms. Pursued by the Austrians, he fought several 
 skirmishes at Como, Varese, Laveno, and other places ; but his 
 troops being overwhelmed by numbers, disbanded, and he retired 
 
THE PR VISIONAL G O VERNMENT. 539 
 
 into Switzerland; and, after much suffering, finally made good his 
 retreat across the Po into the papal states, in October, 1848. 
 
 General Zucchi, the papal minister of war, at that time happened 
 to be at Bologna, and wrote to Count Rossi, secretary of state under 
 Pius IX, that he had ordered two Swiss regiments, which were at 
 the service of the pope, to march against Garibaldi, who was then at 
 Ravenna, and to throw him and his followers into the sea — meaning, 
 probably, to compel them to embark. But before this order was 
 executed the pope had fled from Rome, and the popular government 
 which undertook to govern the state enrolled Garibaldi and his fol- 
 lowers, and gave him a commission to increase his band and protect 
 the eastern boundaries of the Roman state against the king of Na- 
 ples. A short time afterwards the elections for the Roman Constit- 
 uent Assembly occurred, and Garibaldi was elected at Macerata, and 
 went to Rome to take his seat in the assembly at its opening, on the 
 6th of February, 1849. After that day Garibaldi put himself again 
 at the head of his troops on the boundaries of Naples, and returned 
 with them to Rome when the French had landed at Civita Vecchia. 
 
 After the flight of Pius IX to Gaeta Rome was absolutely with- 
 out a government. The Chambers appointed a ''Provisional Gov- 
 ernment," and declared themselves dissolved. For two months the 
 administration of public affairs was conducted by this temporary 
 organization ; but it was incapable of prolonging a situation so full of" 
 danger, and yielding to the earnest solicitations addressed to it from, 
 all parts of the states, it convoked the people in the primary assem- 
 blies, and appealed to the universal suffrage of the inhabitants for the 
 election of a Constituent Assembly. The appeal was responded to. 
 By the votes of three hundred and forty-three thousand adult male- 
 persons, out of a total population of two million eight hundred thou- 
 sand souls, a Constituent Assembly, consisting of one hundred and 
 fifty members, was invested with the task of government. The as- 
 sembly, at one o'clock on the morning of the 9th of Feburary, after- 
 an uninterrupted session of fifteen hours, passed that remarkable decree 
 which declared the abolition of the secular papacy, and proclaimed 
 that portion of Italy, Avhich had hitherto been the patrimony of the 
 popes, a free and independent republic. The article abolishing the- 
 secular papacy was passed with only five dissenting voices, and that 
 constituting the republic with only eleven dissenting voices, out of 
 one hundred and forty- four present. On the loth of February the- 
 Constituent Assembly appointed an executive committee of three 
 citizens, through the medium of whom the government might be 
 
540 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 carried on until such time as the constitution of the repubhc should 
 be fully matured. The citizens appointed to this office, by a ma- 
 jority of votes, were Messieurs Armellini, Saliceti.. and Montecchi. 
 Ministers of the different departments of the pubHc service were at 
 the same time appointed. For a period of seven weeks, or from 
 the loth of February to the 30th of March, the government of the 
 republic was carried on in conjunction with the Constituent Assembly. 
 
 The time approached when all eyes were to be opened to the real 
 designs of the French. A crisis was near, when all the charitable 
 hopes of the sincerity of their amicable professions were to be dis- 
 pelled. Rome was to be attacked by a foreign army for the first time 
 since the days of Charles V, in the period of the Reformation, and 
 for the second time since that of the Northern invasions. In looking 
 back for preceding events of the same kind, the mind had but a sin- 
 gle step more to make — the attempt by the Gauls. How different 
 the state of the world since those times ! How different the condi- 
 tion of the city ; the mode and means of warfare ; the principals 
 engaged ; the effect to be anticipated on the world ! Never before 
 had the city of Rome been voluntarily deserted by a pope, and 
 brought to a state of order and tranquillity by a mere declaration of 
 a republic, and become practically and truly a Protestant city. Never 
 had she been, in the judgment of the world, more certain to be over- 
 awed by a powerful host, and more unable to resist. Deeply inter- 
 esting must have been the situation of many a family. 
 
 The negotiations, which had been carried on with the triumvirate 
 by M. Lesseps, the French agent, had resulted in nothing but the 
 manifest exposure of the double dealing of Louis Napoleon, and a 
 display of the integrity, abiHty, and patriotism of the Romans. 
 There was a mixed multitude within the walls ; but most of them 
 belonging to the city, or other parts of the Roman states, and many 
 of them soldiers who had been engaged in one or more battles in 
 other parts of Italy. The whole number of Polanders and other for- 
 eigners was trifling. Volunteers had been hourly arriving for several 
 weeks ; some in regular corps or companies, others in small bands, 
 and some alone. Colonel Manara had entered the city at the head 
 of his legion of Lombards, raised and paid oiit of his princely for- 
 tune, all which, with his services and his hfe, he gave, an offering to 
 his country. 
 
 The following extract from the Roman Monitore, the official jour- 
 nal, shows the character and strength of the Roman army. After 
 denying in such terms, and by such arguments as were unanswerable, 
 
THE ROMAN ARMY. 541 
 
 the calumnious charges against the character and origin of the de- 
 fenders of Rome, the Monitore thus enumerated the troops in the 
 city: **The army of the repubhc being ten regiments of infantry, 
 and two of cavalry — all of them from the Roman states ; the Medici 
 legion of three hundred Tuscans ; the foreign legion of two hundred 
 and fifty men — French and Poles ; the Italian legion of Garibaldi, 
 about two thousand, all except three hundred belonging to the Ro- 
 man states; and, finally, several battalions of the Military Guard 
 Mobile, some of Rome, some of the provinces. . . . The pre- 
 tended foreign banditti, then, who oppj^ss the Roman people, amount 
 to one thousand six hundred and fifty men in a city of one hundred and 
 fifty thousand inhabitants, and with fourteen thousand national guards. 
 These are the men, too, who, for a month, have repelled thirty thou- 
 sand French troops, not only from the city, but from the country- 
 seats around it, and defended a circuit of forty miles. The most sol- 
 emn denial that can be given to the accumulated falsehoods of our 
 enemies is to say to all the people of Europe, * Look and judge ! 
 Assaulted by four armies at once, in the rushing ruin of Itahan mis- 
 fortunes, the Roman Republic raised her sacred standard on the 
 towers of the capitol, and guards the sacred fire of liberty.'" 
 
 From the 29th of April, 1849, '^^ commander-in-chief of the arms 
 of the republic. General Avezzana, who was also the minister of 
 war, was fully informed of the enemy's approach by the numerous 
 scouting parties whose reports were confirmed by a French prisoner, 
 who the same day fell into an ambush of our advance posts. Day 
 dawned upon Rome, on the morning of the 30th of April, and 
 revealed a scene which no human foresight could have anticipated a 
 few weeks before, and which human ingenuity could scarcely have 
 imagined, even in its principal features. The whole city was in sol- 
 emn expectation of the arrival of a large French force, which was 
 known to be on a march from Civita Vecchia, and near enough to 
 arrive at the walls in a few hours. Arrangements had been made, 
 and pubhcly announced, to apprise the inhabitants of their first ap- 
 pearance in sight, by the striking of bells. Preparations for defense 
 had been made, and were still making, by the erection of works in 
 various places in the squares and streets to oppose the French, if 
 they should enter the w^alls ; while the troops were prepared to fight 
 them from the walls, and the ground outside. The elevated buildings 
 and positions were crowded by spectators, some of them foreigners 
 of different classes, and from different countries. The French had 
 pretended to come as friends and protectors ; but persisted in advanc- 
 
542 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ing-, even after being assured by the Romans that they neither needed 
 nor desired their assistance. The French, then, assuming a tone of 
 disdain, had plainly expressed their belief that the Romans woidd not 
 figJit. The world was waiting with anxiety the result of that day's 
 movements; and probably very few men believed that the French 
 would meet with any great obstacle. They expected to dine that 
 day in Rome, and to remain masters of it as long as they pleased. 
 
 Perhaps no news has ever been more unexpected than that which 
 was that day sent from Rome to all parts of the world, that the 
 Romans had fought the French gallantly with far inferior forces, for 
 several hours, and driven them twelve miles back toward Civita Vec- 
 chia. Such, however, was the surprising truth, and, had not the 
 triumvirate peremptorily ordered Garibaldi to pursue them no farther, 
 he would have continued to press them with the resolution which he 
 had formed of driving them into the sea. Among the spectators, 
 who w^rote accounts of what occurred that day, Avere several intelli- 
 gent men of different nations, who described the defense as conducted 
 Avith superior skill, and performed with the greatest vigor and valor 
 by the Roman officers and soldiers. Interesting letters from some of 
 these witnesses may be found in the newspapers of different cou-ntries 
 published soon after, and many concurrent accounts in various other 
 publications, particularly Italia del Popolo, a monthly magazine pub- 
 lished by the exile patriots. 
 
 On the morning of the 30th of April, the telegraph which gave 
 notice of the advance of the enemy's forces announced, at nine o'clock, 
 that they were within five miles of Rome, and the minister of war 
 sent a captain of the general staff to the cupola of St. Peter's, to 
 remain there until the firing should commence, to observe all the 
 movements of the French, and discover their numbers and intentions. 
 In the mean time, all measures were taken to repel the aggression 
 with such desperate energy as is inspired by the holiness of right 
 and the justice of the cause. According to the historical record of 
 the contest, all access into the city was prevented by strong and 
 numerous barricades at all the gates, and in all the principal streets, 
 especially on the right side of the Tiber; the bastions rising above, 
 crowned with cannon, were prepared to fire upon the enemy, and the 
 young Roman army, impatient with warlike ardor, placed at the dif- 
 ferent points where the attack was expected, was disposed in the 
 following order : The first brigade, commanded by General Gari- 
 baldi, and composed of the first Italian legion, the battalion of the 
 universitv, the battalion of the reduced, the legion of exiles, and the 
 
II 1 
 
 aij/ ^ ■'■»■'■'■■>■ 
 
544 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 mobilized Finanzieri, occupied, outside of the walls, the whole line 
 from the Portese gate to the gate of San Pancrazio ; the second brig- 
 ade, composed of two battalions of the mobilized civic troops, and 
 the first light, commanded by Col. Masi, occupied the wall of the 
 gates Cavalleggieri, Vatican, and Angelica; and, finally, the third 
 brigade, commanded by Col. Savini, and composed of the first and 
 second regiments of mounted dragoons, formed the reserve in Piazza 
 Navona. The fourth brigade, consisting of the first and second regi- 
 ments of the line, commanded by Col. Galletti, was in reserve in the 
 Chiesa Nuova and Piazza Cesarini, with all the field cannon, which 
 was not in position. General Giuseppe Galletti, commander of Car- 
 bineers, and Major Manara, Avith the Lombard battalion, forming 
 separate corps, were held ready to proceed wherever necessity might 
 require. 
 
 It was evident that the French army, which was composed of 
 eight thousand men with two squadrons of cavalry and twelve field- 
 pieces, divided in two columns, intended to make a double and 
 simultaneous attack at the gates Cavalleggieri and Angelica. In fact, 
 about eleven o'clock in the morning, proceeding by Villa Pamfili, 
 they occupied two houses, from which they commenced an active fire 
 of musketry and artillery against the Cavalleggieri gate. The valiant 
 General Garibaldi moved from the gate of San Pancrazio to attack 
 them in flank with all his troops and the university battalion, and 
 there commenced a murderous and obstinate battle, in which a hun- 
 dred deeds of personal bravery proved that the modern Italians are 
 prepared to imitate the ancient glories of their fathers. The French 
 made a determined resistance to the attack of Garibaldi, and even 
 repulsed their assailants, favored by their superior numbers and by 
 their artillery, which they fired briskly. But, being re-enforced by 
 the Legion of Exiles, the reduced battalion, the Roman Legion, com- 
 manded by Colonel Galletti, and two companies of the first regiment 
 of the line, charging simultaneously with the bayonet, they compelled 
 the French to retire precipitately, leaving in the hands of the Romans 
 about three hundred prisoners, among whom were six officers, with 
 the commander of a battalion, and a great number of killed. 
 
 While they Avere fighting thus at San Pancrazio other attacks were 
 made on the gardens of the Vatican, and along the entire line from 
 the Cavalleggieri gate to that of Santa Marta, where the enemy 
 endeavored with all their power to silence the artillery of the Romans, 
 and where they made two furious assaults, but were bravely repulsed 
 by the Masi Brigade and the Mobilized Civic, assisted in good time 
 
THE ROMANS VICTORIOUS. 545 
 
 by the brave and ardent Carbineers. At all those points the Roman 
 troops sustained the attacks of the French with admirable firmness 
 and coolness, and, by fighting with the bravery of veteran soldiers, 
 compelled them to make a precipitate retreat. In the reports of that 
 encounter it is said that the National Artillery deserve special com- 
 memoration, being commanded by Colonel Calandrelli, who lost two 
 distinguished officers, besides wounded. The Civic Artillery, who 
 rivaled the former in zeal and ardor, also received honorable mention. 
 
 Thus repulsed on the whole line, the French retired first to Brav- 
 ella, three miles from the city, whence, after a short halt, they con- 
 tinued their retreat towards Castel di Guido. This battle, which 
 wonderfully consolidated the foundation of the Italian Republic, 
 lasted about seven hours, beginning at ten in the morning and end- 
 ing at three in the afternoon, without including, as a part of the 
 contest, the little skirmishes which were continued until evening 
 between the opposing forces. According to facts collected and the 
 statements made by the prisoners, it appears that the French lost 
 more than fifteen hundred men, including killed, wounded, and pris- 
 oners, while the loss of the Italians was only fifty killed, besides two 
 hundred Avounded, among whom were many officers, subaltern and 
 superior. The Italians fought like heroes, showing that, when the 
 love of country is living and strong, the sacrifice of life is sweet. No 
 more expressive eulogium on the valor of these brave men, officers, 
 soldiers, and people can be found than the following extract from a 
 letter, written by General Garibaldi, to the minister of war : 
 
 **A11 the corps which have fought this day are extremely well- 
 deserving of the country. A detachment of the line, the first Roman 
 Legion, the University Battalion, 'the Arcioni Legion, the Battalion 
 of the Reduced, and the first Italian Legion, have been rivals. The 
 chief officers and the soldiers of those corps have merited the grat- 
 itude of Italy and the title of valiant men. Many arms, drums, and 
 other articles of war have remained in our power." 
 
 In the reports of the scenes that followed the battles, the services 
 of the sanitary officers of the ambulances, who were diligent in col- 
 lecting the wounded on the field of conflict, are highly commended. 
 The ladies in the hospital also performed the noblest ministries of 
 charity, and it is said that many of the French declared, before dying, 
 that they departed from the world with remorse for having fought 
 against brother-republicans, while those who were saved denounced 
 their government and repeated as often as their countrymen were 
 made prisoners, ^^Viva la Republica Romana T 
 
546 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The people regarded, with sentiments of profound gratitude, the 
 brave ItaHan general, Avezzana. He was impelled by an intense 
 love of country to provide for every exigency that arose in the 
 discharge of his onerous duties. With a tenacity, alacrity, and per- 
 severance which would have been remarkable in a young man, he 
 devoted himself to the cause of liberty. From the first approach of 
 the enemy, followed by a portion of his staff (for many other officers 
 belonging to it were appointed to the gates to direct the corps which 
 defended them). General Avezzana visited in succession the places 
 attacked, and by his voice and his example excited the enthusiasm 
 of the people to the highest degree. 
 
 In this aggressive movement France was sacrificed by a govern- 
 ment which was the enemy of the true interests of their country, 
 and her people were placed in a humiliating position. She suffered 
 imm.ense losses, more moral than material, being deprived of all 
 political influence, and having no claim upon Italian sympathy. The 
 sons of Italy, convinced of the justice of their cause, had conquered 
 the most warlike soldiers, and they were confident, therefore, of their 
 ability to contest with glory and success against all the enemies of 
 the republic and of Italy. 
 
 Carlo Rusconi gives the following account of the battle of April 
 30th: ''General Oudinot, who, with eight thousand men and twelve 
 field-pieces wished to raze Rome to the ground, ordered a simultane- 
 ous attack on Porta Cavalleggieri and Porta Angelica, and occupied 
 two houses of Villa Pamfili, from which he opened an active fire of 
 musketry and artillery. He presented himself against General Gar- 
 ibaldi, one of those men who serve as types in the creations of art. 
 Beautiful in person, simple in habits, frugal in living, courageous as 
 the heroes celebrated in chivalry, he exerted a fascination on all who 
 surrounded him. He had a thousand men about him who would 
 have allowed themselves to be killed a thousand times at his slightest 
 command. Concise in manner, sparing of words, terrible in wrath, 
 you would have said that Byron must have had this extraordinary 
 man before his eyes when he delineated his immortal Conrad; Gar- 
 ibaldi, who was not in his element except when balls were whistling 
 round his head, moved against the French, attacked them in flank, 
 and, supported by Colonel Galletti, discomfited them after many 
 hours' fighting. Garibaldi, having seen that the engagement with 
 musketry proceeded too slowly, and impatient at that mode of fight- 
 ing, made a charge on the French with the bayonet in the most 
 destructive manner, and which secured him the victory. Finding 
 
A SPIRITED PROCLAMATION. 547 
 
 that that method turned out well he never abandoned It in the suc- 
 cessive conflicts ; and this explains the great number of killed in that 
 obstinate war." 
 
 A spirited proclamation was issued to the people of Rome by 
 their representatives the day after the first battle : 
 
 ''People, yesterday commenced the entrance of the French into 
 Rome. They entered by the Port San Pancrazio as prisoners. To 
 us, people of Rome, this does not cause much surprise ; but it may 
 excite a curious sensation in Paris. That also will be well. 
 
 ' ' People, the attack will be renewed. Let us do as we did yes- 
 terday, and especially do not be alarmed if a few batteries should be 
 silenced by their cannonade. Reports of cannon startle the ears and 
 somewhat shake the houses, but, in fact, when they do not reach 
 united masses of people, they destroy but very few victims. 
 
 "We request good shopkeepers to keep at their business con- 
 stantly; that will have a good influence and be very convenient at 
 the same time. To-day we have need to fortify Pincio (the Pincian 
 Mount) ; be there early in goodly numbers, and let us labor 
 together." • 
 
 The ''Committee of the Barricades," or the "Representatives of 
 the People," Messrs. E. Carnesuchi, V. Cattabeni, and V. Caldesi 
 issued a proclamation, May 2d, two days after the battle: 
 
 "People! General Oudinot promised to pay all, and all in cash. 
 Well, let him pay if he can for the tapestries of Raffaele, shot 
 through with French bullets ; let him pay for the losses — no, not the 
 losses, but the insult cast on Michael Angelo. Napoleon at least 
 carried to Paris our masterpieces, and in a certain way Italian genius 
 received the admiration of the foreigner as a recompense for the 
 conquest. Not so to-day. The French government invade our ter- 
 ritory, and carry their singular predilection for Rome so far as to 
 wish to destroy her rather than have her exposed to the impatience 
 of the terrible (general) Zucchi and the threats of Radetsky and 
 Gioberti, who are both at several weeks' distance from the Tiber. 
 General Oudinot is more hasty than our enemies. The republic is 
 grateful to him. Do you know why? Because, while the imperialists 
 occupy Alessuandria without a blow struck by Charles Albert, it is a 
 great Italian glory that the people's Rome honorably repels the repub- 
 licans of France, whom a black government sends against us after 
 calumniating us as robbers and assassins. And the popes? Let us 
 preserve in memory of them the cannon-balls which solemnly cele- 
 brated the anniversary of the pontifical encyclic. Enough ! Of 
 
 i 36 
 
548 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 kingdoms and triple kings let us talk no more. Let us now think 
 of the barricades. Let us think of our honor, which we must fully 
 vindicate. Rome, like Scsevola, has still her arm on the burning 
 torch, and has sworn an oath. The three hundred of Scsevola routed 
 Porsenna. The history of Rome is not yet finished." 
 
 On the same day the following proclamation was published by 
 the triumvirate, announcing the approach of the numerous army of 
 the king of Naples. Five days later (May 9th) they announced the 
 arrival of the Spanish army of five thousand men on the coast. Both 
 those armies had been raised in obedience to the call of the pope, as 
 well as that of France, which had just been so manfully driven from 
 the walls of Rome: 
 
 "Rome, May 2, 1849. 
 
 "Romans! A corps of the Neapolitan army, having covered the 
 frontier, threatens to move against Rome. 
 
 "Their intent is to restore the pope as absolute master in tem- 
 poral affairs. Their arms are persecution, ferocity, and pillage. 
 Among their files lurks their king, to whom Europe has decreed the 
 name of the bombarder of his own siibjects ; and around him stand 
 most inexorable of the conspirators of Gaeta. 
 
 "Romans! We have conquered the first assailants; we will con- 
 quer the second. The blood of the best Neapolitans, the blood of 
 our brothers of Sicily, lies on the head of the traitor -king. God, 
 who blinds the wicked and strengthens the defenders of right, chooses 
 you, O Romans, for avengers. Let the will of the country, and of 
 God, be done! 
 
 "In the name of the rights which belong to every country, the 
 name of the duties which belong to Rome in regard to Italy and 
 Europe ; in the name of the Roman mothers, who will bless the 
 defenders of their children ; in the name of our liberty, our honor, 
 and our conscience; in the name of God and the people, — let us 
 resist, soldiers and people, capital and province. Let Rome be as 
 inviolable as eternal justice. We have learned that to conquer it is 
 enough not to fear death." 
 
 The retreat of the French army back to the sea -shore, and the 
 armistice which occurred after the first battle of April 30th, afforded 
 a remarkably convenient opportunity to attend to the king of Naples 
 and his army, which amounted to about twenty thousand men. The 
 following is a description of their position, and the marching of the 
 Roman army against them, translated from the beginning of the re- 
 port of General Roselli, then commander-in-chief. The report 
 
GENERAL ROSELLrS REPORT. 549 
 
 includes the time from his leaving Rome, May i6th, until the occu- 
 pation of Velletri, May 20, 1849: 
 
 ' ' The Neapolitan army occupied the position of Albano, Velletri, 
 and Palestrina, and had their line of operations directed against Rome. 
 
 '*The army of the republic left Rome to attack the enemy on 
 the 1 6th and 17th, and maneuvered to turn their flanks and cut off 
 their communications with the Neapolitan state. The point of di- 
 rection of the army was Monte Eortino, whence it might menace all 
 the enemy's communications. The Neapolitans had no other way 
 but to retreat or come out and attack us in the positions we had 
 chosen. The army was composed of five brigades, and one of cav- 
 alry, with twelve pieces of cannon. The first brigade, with a squad- 
 ron of lancers and two pieces of artillery, commenced the march. 
 I left Rome at five o'clock P. M., and took the direction of Zagarola, 
 by the road of Campanelle, to expose the right flank as little as 
 possible. The march was very rapid ; we reached Zagarola at ten, 
 before noon. The vanguard passed the town rapidly, and encamped 
 on the hills which defend the roads of Palestrina and Albano. Ac- 
 cording to instructions, the next day it was intended to attack Pales- 
 trina, and then march on Velletri ; but we learned from our patrols 
 the information that the enemy were no longer in Palestrina, having 
 concentrated their forces in Velletri. It was then immediately de- 
 cided to occupy Monte Fortino. The order had been given to put 
 the army in movement before daylight; but from misunderstanding 
 and insufficiency of the means of transport, the arrival of provisions 
 having been delayed, our brave soldiers were compelled to lose pre- 
 cious time," etc. 
 
 The report of the commander-in-chief is deficient in details ; but 
 General Garibaldi, when visiting New York in 1850, gave to his 
 friend and admirer, Mr. Theodore Dwight, a full account of the 
 battle, and from it we learn that the vanguard, led by Garibaldi, had 
 all the fighting to do ; and that the main body of the Roman army, 
 under Roselli, did not arrive until the result was really secured. The 
 common opinion was therefore confirmed, that the two remarkable vic- 
 tories of Palestrina and Velletri were attributable to Garibaldi. "My 
 first object," said he, "was to turn the enemy's flank; for I thought 
 that if the king of Naples once heard that I was in his rear he would 
 be frightened, and so it proved." It appears from his notes of the 
 engagements that the Neapolitans occupied the strong positions of 
 Tusculum Mountains, with their headquarters at Velletri and their 
 advanced guard at Albano. Their extreme left was at Castel Gon- 
 
550 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 dolfo, and their extreme right a small village. The battle of Pales- 
 trina was about ten days before that of Velletri. The troops present 
 at the former were, a hundred cavalry, under Colonel Massina; three 
 hundred Bersaglieri, under Colonel Manara ; two hundred Finanzieri, 
 of the Nationals ; two hundred students, mobilized ; and the Italian 
 legion of one thousand — in all, about eighteen hundred men. 
 
 Garibaldi was sent out to harass and observe the Neapolitans with 
 his division, and was at Palestrina when seven thousand of the enemy 
 were sent against him with the intention of attacking him. Between 
 the Tusculum Mount and Palestrina is a valley, in one of the projec- 
 tions of the Apennines, in an amphitheater. When Garibaldi per- 
 ceived that the enemy had arrived at Valmontone, he sent a detach- 
 ment to observe them. But it was repulsed, with the videttes, and 
 retired upon the corps. When the Neapolitans reached Palestrina, 
 Garibaldi prepared to defend himself. The enemy advanced by tAvo 
 roads against Palestrina, when Garibaldi prepared two companies to 
 protect the returning soldiers or to harass the enemy if occasion 
 should offer, while he remained in the center with a reserve. The 
 Neapolitans extended in line and attacked, but were repulsed on the 
 left and the center. The two companies on the right were driven 
 back, when Garibaldi, being victorious in other parts, proceeded with 
 the reserve to the right, and the rout of the enemy was then com- 
 pleted. A strong body of royal Swiss troops, in the pay of Bomba, 
 was present. The republicans being destitute of cavalry, and night 
 being at hand, the wrecks of Bomba's troops were saved. From 
 Palestrina Garibaldi returned to Rome. 
 
 A few days after he departed from that city with the Roman 
 army and was in the vanguard, having under his orders the First 
 Italian Legion of eleven hundred men ; the third of the line eight 
 hundred, fifty cavalry, and two light guns. At Valmontone he 
 received advices that the Neapolitans were sending back their bag- 
 gage and heavy artillery, and he therefore concluded that they were 
 retreating, and pressed forward, sending notice to the principal corps. 
 At Monte Fortino he received more positive information and contin- 
 ued to advance with haste. About eight o'clock, A. M. he was in 
 sight of Velletri, which was on the road, and two miles distant. He 
 then discovered the enemy's cavalry in echellon, on the Appian Way, 
 to protect the retreat of their army, for which they were preparing. 
 The main body of the Neapolitan army was then at Velletri, and as 
 soon as Garibaldi's corps was discovered by them the Neapolitans 
 moved to attack it. 
 
THE NEAPOLITANS' DEFEAT. 55 1 
 
 He drew up the third of the Hue in echellon by companies near 
 the road, which was among hills covered with vineyards to protect 
 his retreat in case of necessity, and to act as a reserve in case the 
 enemy should attack. He placed the First Italian Legion on both 
 sides of the road, in the best position he could, and thus awaited the 
 assault of the enemy, leaving two companies in column in the road 
 itself The cavalry and artillery he placed in positions adapted to be 
 most serviceable. The enemy attacked, but all their attempts were 
 fruitless. They had many killed, and were finally compelled to shut 
 themselves up in the city on the defensive. Garibaldi's corps alone 
 was too weak to prevent the retreat of the enemy, which was finally 
 effected by night. 
 
 The principal corps of the Roman army, of seven thousand men 
 under Roselli, arrived late and tired with their march. An attempt, 
 however, was made to attack the city in front by charging at the 
 head of the First Roman Legion with the battalion of artillery placed 
 in a good position upon the road. The Neapolitans sustained the 
 positions of the city, in which they remained the rest of the day. 
 The republicans took positions in order to renew the attack the next 
 day ; but in the morning the Neapolitans retreated and disappeared 
 from Velletri. 
 
 These bold and successful operations, so briefly described, were 
 of the highest importance in their results, both by driving back the 
 enemy, by encouraging the republicans, and by adding to their repu- 
 tation. The rout of the Neapolitans was so decisive that they gave 
 no further annoyance, and never appeared again during the war. As 
 for the poor Spanish army, which had landed on the coast in obedi- 
 ence to the call of the unfortunate pope, they did nothing but issue a 
 few bombastic proclamations, and kept themselves out of harm's way. 
 
 The French, in the mean time, were preparing to take decisive 
 measures against Rome. The wounded, whom they had left behind 
 them on the 30th of April, had been tenderly nursed by the Roman 
 ladies, who had volunteered to attend at the hospitals, and three or 
 four hundred prisoners, had been harangued in the Corso by the 
 commander-in-chief, addressed as brother-republicans in the name of 
 the government and people, and dismissed without exchange or 
 parole, with open gates, to return to Civita Vecchia. On their arrival 
 there, however, full of their praises of the noble Romans, they were 
 immediately shipped for France for fear of their influence among the 
 troops. The French army soon moved in great force for Rome with 
 heavy artillery and all preparations for a siege. But their first step 
 
552 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 was to violate the amnesty by suddenly attacking the outposts the 
 night before the time limited by the armistice, and while they were 
 almost unprotected. 
 
 In the Monitore Romano, of June 8, 1849, General Garibaldi pub- 
 lished an account of the conflict with the French at Villas Corsini 
 and Vascello on the third of the month, and from his report we learn, 
 first of all, the topography of the locality. On leaving the Bastion 
 the ground on the right rises a little in the direction of the Villa 
 Vascello; and on the left forms, by a gentle descent, a small valley, 
 which leads towards the spot where the French were encamped. 
 From the gate of San Pancrazio a street leads directly to the Vascello, 
 a distance of two hundred and fifty paces, and then divides. The 
 principal branch descends on the right along the garden of the Villa 
 Corsini, surrounded by high walls, and goes on to join the great road 
 to Civita Vecchia. Another, flanked by hedges, leads directly to the 
 Villa Corsini, which is three hundred paces in front of the Villa 
 Vascello. And the third road turns to the left and is prolonged, 
 like the first, by the wall of the garden of the Villa Corsini. The 
 Villa Vascello is a large and massive fabric of three stories, sur- 
 rounded by gardens and walls. In front of the villa, at a distance 
 of fifty paces, is a small house, from which firing may be made against 
 the windows of the Villa Corsini. On the left road, about one hun- 
 dred paces beyond the point of separation of the streets, are two 
 small houses, one behind the garden of Villa Corsini, the other 
 twenty paces before, on the left of the street. 
 
 The Villa Corsini, situated on the highest part of the ground, 
 commands all the neighborhood. It is surrounded by a garden and 
 high wall. The position of the villa is very strong, and more so 
 because, wishing to attack it without showing any preparation of 
 approach beforehand, it is necessary, while passing the Concello, 
 which is at the foot of the garden, to bear the concentrated fire which 
 the enemy, defended and covered by the hedges and vases, or within 
 the villa itself, make upon that point at which the garden walls meet 
 at an acute angle. The ground is also very descending, and, besides, 
 the Villa Corsini is very favorable to a body of troops occupying it, 
 because, declining and covered with groves and crossed by deep 
 streets, they can concentrate their reserves in security from the fire 
 of the Romans when the cannon compel them to abandon the house. 
 
 The first attack made by the Italian Legion was against the posi- 
 tions Corsini and Quattro Ventri, which had been abandoned by the 
 Roman troops, because surprised, betrayed, and overpowered by the 
 
A SEVERE ENGAGEMENT. 553 
 
 great number of the enemy. The attack was made with the bayonet 
 without firing- a single shot; the Legion sustained for about three 
 quarters of an hour the whole weight of the enemy ; and Colonels 
 Daverio and Massina and Commandant Peralta were killed, and most 
 of the officers wounded. The Manara Bersaglieri arrived at that mo- 
 ment, and, throwing themselves into the garden, vigorously attacked 
 the French even under the walls of the villa. Here fell Captain 
 Dandolo and many soldiers, and many officers and soldiers were 
 wounded. But the houses on the left were captured by the Romans. 
 The French had ceased their progressive work, and the Vascello, 
 strongly occupied, poured on them a fire of grape-shot. The brave 
 Roman artillerymen very soon disturbed the enemy in the Villa Corsini. 
 
 The French Tiraglieurs were driven from the garden and hedges 
 by the Manara Bersaglieri advancing from the Casini on the left, and 
 by the Italian Legion from the Vascello. A very warm fire was kept 
 up by both parties. The French, however, were no more able, 
 though re-enforced by two pieces of artillery, to take from the Roman 
 troops the position held with so much valor. The artillery fired 
 upon the Villa Corsini so vigorously that the French were compelled 
 to retreat after setting it on fire; while the cannon in the right Bas- 
 tion and Bersaglieri, thrown forward of the Vascello, attacked with 
 great ardor the opposing forces, who were in the Casino Quattro Ven- 
 tri, and who occupied numerous small adjacent houses, from which 
 they made a very heavy but useless fire. Two companies of the 
 Manara Bersaglieri were then sent towards the French camp on the 
 left to annoy the enemy hidden among the vines. A very severe 
 conflict continued all day, always to the advantage of the Roman 
 troops, who (the Manara Bersaglieri and Italian Legion) were able, 
 even a second time, to charge the French beyond the Villa Corsini. 
 
 Towards evening several, companies of the third regiment of the 
 line were sent to re-enforce the Romans in the Vascello, and the 
 Medici Legion was sent to relieve the Manara Bersaglieri in the 
 Casini on the left. The Villa Corsini and the Casino Quattro Ventri 
 were reduced almost to dust, the cannon being remarkably well 
 directed under the supervision of the brave Lieutenant-colonel Ludo- 
 vico Calendrelli. The French were defeated at every point, the Ma- 
 nara Bersaglieri and the Italian Legion again and again charging them 
 breast to breast. The first company of Manara Bersaglieri threw 
 itself into the Villa Girand and made many French prisoners. The 
 Italian Legion several times advanced up to Villa Valentini. At 
 evening the Medici Legion vigorously charged the enemy among the 
 
554 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 vineyards on the left. ''The night came, " says General Garibaldi, 
 * ' leaving to us the field of battle, the enemy admiring our valor, and 
 our troops desirous of renewing the battle which had been so cour- 
 ageously fought the first day. This they did on the following morn- 
 ing. All the officers, and especially the superior and subaltern 
 officers, whom I wish to distinguish, are these here recorded, because 
 martyrs and dying as brave men : Colonels Massina, Daverio, and 
 Ramorino ; Adjutant-major Peralta ; Lieutenants Bonnet, Cavalleri, 
 and Grassi ; Captains Dandolo and David, Lieutenant Scarani, Colonel 
 Poline, Lieutenants Larete and Gazzaniga. " 
 
 On the night of the 25th of June the French made an attack to 
 dislodge the Roman troops from the Casino, outside the Gate San 
 Pancrazio, but were repulsed with great loss. The following official 
 report of that action, from General Garibaldi to Roselli, the general- 
 in-chief, appeared in the Monitore Romano of June 26th: 
 
 ''Citizen General-in-Chief, — One hour after midnight the enemy 
 tried a second attack and assaulted our right flank, breaking in 
 towards the Vascello, which is under the command of Lieutenant- 
 colonel Medici, and on the left side of the Casetta, which is under 
 the command of Major Cenni. With lively pleasure I communicate 
 to you how heroically our troops sustained themselves and powerfully 
 repulsed them. The very deep mist which involved every thing ren- 
 dered the conflict the more interesting. Our soldiers gave proofs of 
 their diligence and love for the cause. Many dead, who still lie 
 unburied on the enemy's ground, bear them witness. And the high- 
 est encomium is due in general to the detachments Medici and Melara, 
 and to the Manara Bersaglieri on the right wing, and on the left to 
 Major Cenni, of the staff of the division ; and, of the Arcioni Le- 
 gion, to Captains Joanny, Baily, and Romagnori ; First Lieutenant 
 Carlotti ; Second Lieutenant Belloughi, and to all the soldiers of that 
 corps. Of the Regiment of the Union, Captain Colombani and 
 Lieutenant Dezzi distinguished themselves. The soldiers are the 
 same as those who so lately defended the Casetta, near the Vascello. 
 And the detachment of the line should not be forgotten, commanded 
 by Sub-Lieutenant Ferrandi of the third regiment, who showed 
 themselves openly and intrepid under fire. When the firing had 
 ceased, in consequence of the repulse of the enemy, there was an 
 almost perfect silence, interrupted only by a few exchanges of shot, 
 chiefly harmless. Nothing important occurred before daybreak, and 
 things still remain as yesterday. Salutation and brotherhood ! 
 
 "General Headquarters, Morning of June 26, \84gy 
 
THE FALL OF R OME. 5 5 5 
 
 The same number of the Moiiitore Romano contains the following 
 extract from the Paris Constitutionel, stating the reason why General 
 Oudinot had not entered Rome : * ' It is wrong to believe that Rome 
 can be, in a few days, rescued from the state of defense in which it 
 has been placed by the foreigners who occupy it. Even if the possi- 
 bility of success in an attack by main force were demonstrated with 
 the use of all the means authorized by war, other considerations 
 should prescribe the greatest circumspection to our general-in-chief. 
 In reality, the order to attack, which was sent to General Oudinot, 
 contains an express recommendation to adopt the most complete 
 measures to avoid the exposure of the monuments of the city, which 
 are now placed under the safeguard of France. Considerations of 
 humanity are no less in the plans of our generals who, in no case, 
 will confound the Roman population with the bands of adventurers 
 who ruin and oppress it. For all these reasons the besieging forces 
 will confine themselves to the attack of exterior works, and of 
 positions from which the city and the monuments can not receive 
 any injury." 
 
 The editors of the Monitore Romano, after stating that other jour- 
 nals of the French government contained a similar explanation, pub- 
 lished this reply: "This, it can not be denied, is an ingenious expe- 
 dient to justify the slowness of the brilliant successes of Oudinot under 
 the walls of Rome. It is not a posthumous expedient, but a witty 
 one invented after the act. The general had first to think how to let 
 his bomb-shells by hundreds fall, not upon the foreigners who defend 
 Rome, but upon the heads of the harmless population whom he has 
 come to protect. He must think first how to ruin the edifices of Raf- 
 faelle, the Aurora of Guido, the temple of Fortuna Virilis, and, only 
 yesterday, the most beautiful fresco of Poussin in the palace Cos- 
 taguli, now irreparably lost, because it has never been copied or 
 engraved. But this does not prevent the Roman monuments from 
 being placed imder the safeguard of the French arms ! This did not 
 prevent them from having within their scope the defense of the 
 liberty of the people, oppressed by foreigners ! Hypocrites and 
 wretches! you do not possess even the brutal frankness of Austria!" 
 
 On the 30th of June Rome was captured by the French, and, 
 according to the testimony of eye-witnesses, terrible scenes were 
 enacted. The bombardment, which continued three hours, was so 
 incessant and destructive that it seemed' about to bury the whole city 
 in ruins. The inhabitants were all in the streets. Here was seen a 
 tender mother, with her little ones in her arms, running first in one 
 
556 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 direction and then in another, to find a safe retreat ; and there another 
 making her own breast a shield for her children ; while boys were 
 "often seen trying to carry on their shoulders the corpses of their 
 beloved fathers. Every-where could be heard the voices of sorrow- 
 ing women lamenting, not for themselves, but for the loss of those 
 more dear. A few aged and gray-headed persons kneeled on the 
 steps of churches, praying to the Lord to give the heartless pontiff a 
 different mind ; while the more resolute ran to where the danger was 
 greatest, among the falling bomb-shells. Shepherds drove away 
 their flocks to find some secure place ; and, as if the animals them- 
 selves shared the feelings of men, the air was filled with their mourn- 
 ful cries. An eye-witness of these thrilling incidents says: **In 
 one spot in the Piazza di Venezia (the square of Venice) a shell burst, 
 and killed three persons. A woman was crossing the bridge of Six- 
 tus, when a large cannon shot took off her head. While standing 
 within a few steps of the Colonna Square I saw, in a short time, two 
 convoys pass, carrying a great number of wounded persons to the 
 hospital of San Giacomo ; and immediately afterwards several others 
 arrived with biers and litters, on the same melancholy errand. Wher- 
 ever I went within, I heard long and painful lamentations from unfor- 
 tunate sufferers, whose limbs had been cut or torn by the swords or 
 balls of the enemy. But amidst all I heard not a single exclamation 
 against the new government, though a thousand against the unbri- 
 dled vengeance of the pontiff, who had condemned his children to 
 such cruel torments." 
 
 Fires broke out in different parts of the city, and the courageous 
 Roman firemen ran to extinguish them as soon as possible. ' ' Has- 
 ten," said a bystander to an old man of the common people, who 
 seemed resolved to remain in the Piazza Navona ; "hasten, I pray 
 you, in the name of God!" "Let me stay," he replied; "what is 
 there for me to do in this world ? Yesterday the French hung my 
 son, Avho was in the battalion of the university ; and this night my 
 daughter, the only creature left to me, went to get water to quench 
 my thirst, when she was struck to the ground by a shot." The dis- 
 consolate father sobbed while he spoke, but, in a moment, became 
 silent and motionless. The man who had been conversing with him, 
 thinking that he might restore him, took him by the hand ; but he 
 breathed only a few seconds, and then died. The young student 
 was found -in a villa outside the city walls, hung to a beam, and 
 the old man's statement was confirmed. A few days before the 
 French had thrown out of the windows of the house occupied by 
 
GARIBALDTS LAST REPORT. 557 
 
 them several other young men of the university who had fallen into 
 their hands. 
 
 As the further defense of the city was impossible, without expos- 
 ing it to destruction, .the Romans resolved to abandon the struggle. 
 The French were within the walls, and could not be dislodged. 
 They were, indeed, so strong that the Romans were compelled at 
 least to leave their line, and retire to the other side of the Tiber, 
 which General Avezzana and Garibaldi proposed to defend obsti- 
 nately. But the inhabitants feared that this movement would result 
 in the speedy ruin of their houses by the French cannon and shells, 
 and, after consulting with the assembly, the decision was reached, 
 that all resistance should cease. Garibaldi now perceived that his 
 work was done in the capital ; and, with feelings which we may in 
 some degree realize, he was determined not to witness the disgrace 
 brought upon his noble cause, nor to leave his gallant companions to 
 be disarmed and remain useless to the country. He felt confident 
 that many of them would follow wherever he would lead, and at that 
 time, more than at any other, he was moved by an impulse to lead 
 where only courageous men would follow. He thought of the city of 
 Venice, then besieged by the Austrians, by sea and land, and in- 
 dulged the flattering hope of being able to reach her and assist her 
 brave defenders. Although a wide extent of country intervened, and 
 the enemy could send a far superior force to oppose him, yet he was 
 not discouraged, and resolved to go. 
 
 The following official report of General Garibaldi was the last that 
 he issued in Rome, and therefore is of historic interest: 
 
 " General Headquarters, San Pletro in Montorio, > 
 
 July I, i84g. ) 
 
 ** Yesterday was a day fruitful in deeds of arms: losses and ad- 
 vantages. Yesterday Italy counted new martyrs. Colonel Manara 
 leaves a void in the republican files difficult to be supplied. Young, 
 of surprising merit and valor, he was struck by an enemy's ball, 
 while courageously defending the Villa Spada against an enemy very 
 superior. America yesterday gave, with the blood of a valiant son, 
 Andrea Aghiar, a pledge of the love of liberal men of all countries 
 for our fair and unfortunate Italy. Lieutenant-colonel Medici distin- 
 guished himself by skill and courage, in the defense of the first bastion 
 on the right of the gate of San Pancrazio, and of the position Savo- 
 relli. He was distinguished in the company of the brave Colonel 
 Ghilardi, commandant of that line. The Medici legion and the first 
 of the line fought like lions. They several times repelled assaults 
 
558 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 in the breach, and paid with the precious h'fe of many young men, 
 the hope of the country, the sacred debt of all. Part of the Manara 
 legion fought at the point of the bayonet with their accustomed cour- 
 age, in union with the companies of the regiment Massi. The Ital- 
 ian legion, under the command of Colonel Manara, showed itself 
 worthy of its fame in the defense of the Villa Spada. The Third of 
 the Line, in defending the positions which were confided to it, cov- 
 ered itself with glory." 
 
 The Constituent Roman Assembly, in their session of July ist, 
 adopted, with unanimity, and viva voce, the Constitution of the Re- 
 public. By this act it fulfilled the essential part of its high mission ; 
 and it also decreed, on motion of the Deputy Agostini, that the law 
 be engraved on two marble tables and placed in the capitol, as an 
 eternal monument of the unanimous will of the people, legitimately 
 represented by their deputies. The Monitore Romano of July 2d, in its 
 comments, said : ' ' Woe to him who shall touch those tables of the 
 new civil and political compact which the Roman people form with 
 themselves before God, in the view of all civilized nations ! This com- 
 pact has been sealed with the blood of martyrs, with the blood of all 
 those who, following the voice of their hearts, hastened to Rome, as 
 to the ancient mother, to defend the honor and liberty of Italy, and to 
 lay the first stone of her future and inevitable independence. What- 
 ever may be the present results of measures which foreign supremacy 
 is preparing, the assembly, the people, the national guard, and the 
 Roman army have the consciousness of having fulfilled their duty." 
 
 Before dissolving the solemn session, the assembly decreed a 
 funeral in the basilica of St. Peter, to all the heroes who sacrificed 
 their lives for the country, and for the republic, under the walls of 
 Rome. As to the wounded, as no less worthy of honor, and in need 
 of care, the assembly voted a hospital, and appropriated for the pur- 
 pose one of the national palaces. Finally, that nothing might be 
 wanting to complete the harmony which always prevailed among the 
 people in that conflict, and also reigned in the Constituent Assembly, 
 the latter passed the following resolution of thanks to those citizens 
 who, in the last moments of the republic, bravely fought to save it : 
 "The Constituent Assembly, in the name of God and the people, 
 decrees: The triumvirs Armellini, Mazzini, and Safifi have deserved 
 well of the country." This was signed by Allocaletti, President, and 
 also by Santarges, Cocchi, Zambianchi, and Pinnacchi, on the ist 
 of July. 
 
 On the same day the triumvirs, Giuseppe Mazzini, Carlo Armel- 
 
TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 559 
 
 lini, and Aurelio Saffi, issued the following proclamation: "Romans! 
 The triumvirate is voluntarily dissolved. The Constituent Assembly 
 will communicate to you the names of our successors. The assembly, 
 deeply affected, after the act of yesterday performed by the enemy, 
 with a desire to deliver Rome from extreme dangers, and to prevent 
 the fruitless sacrifice of any more lives for the defense, have decreed 
 the cessation of hostihties. The men who were in the right during 
 the contest could not well continue to govern in the new times which 
 are preparing. The mandate sent to them has ceased de facto, and 
 they hasten to resign it to the hands of the assembly. 
 
 "Romans! Brothers! you have written a page which will remain 
 in history a proof of the power and energy which slept in you, and 
 of your future deeds, of Avhich no force can deprive you. . . . As- 
 sembled under the republican banner, you have redeemed the honor 
 of the common country, elsewhere contaminated by deeds of evil 
 men and overthrown by monarchical impotency. Your triumvirs, 
 becoming simple citizens among you, carry with them the highest 
 comfort in their consciousness of pure intentions, and the honor of 
 having their names associated with your bravest deeds. 
 
 "A cloud is rising to-day over your prospects and you. It is the 
 cloud of an hour. Remain firm in the consciousness of your recti- 
 tude and with the faith in which many armed apostles among you 
 have died. God, who has treasured up their blood, is surely for 
 you. God wills that Rome shall be great ; and she will be. Yours 
 is not a defeat ; it is a victory of the martyrs to whom the tomb is 
 the passage to heaven. . . . Viva la Republica Romana!'' 
 
 Another tribute to the bravery of the republican troops was paid 
 by General Avezzana: " Romans! The last word of the minister of 
 war is a mark of admiration of your valor, and an urgent request to 
 you to persevere in the sacred enterprise of the redemption of Italy. 
 Your martyrs died with this name upon their lips. Difficulties of 
 your condition — adversity of destiny, diplomatic snares, deceitful 
 words — let them never arrest you. The legacy of the valiant who 
 have fallen for you on the walls of the Eternal City is holy and 
 inviolate. They have reopened Roman history. Do you continue 
 its fame." 
 
 While the republican government was in possession of Rome the 
 edifice of the Inquisition, called " Sant ' Ufizio," (the Holy Office) 
 was opened to public view, and unexpected secrets and horrors re- 
 vealed to the world. It had been closed for three hundred years ; 
 but now was freely entered and examined by thousands of the peo- 
 
56o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 pie. De BonI has written the most complete account of it, and the 
 perusal of it should convince those intelligent Americans who profess 
 to believe that such an abominable institution never existed in Rome 
 or elsewhere. The Roman republicans not only exposed the secrets 
 of this infamous den, but they decreed its abolishment and the erec- 
 tion of a monument to its bloody deeds, after they had established 
 on the ruins of popery a system of freedom, on the principles of 
 Christianity, for which they deserve the high honor which history 
 must inevitably award to them. 
 
 The sentiment of the Roman people in that crisis was reflected 
 by the newspapers, which possess, and must ever retain, a peculiar 
 interest. The following striking passage is from the Monitore Romano: 
 "We have said it, and we repeat it, and we will repeat it always: 
 The republic arose in Rome by universal suffrage ; rose on the ruins 
 of the throne of the popes, which the cry of all Europe, the male- 
 dictions of all civilized nations, and the spirit of the Gospel had 
 crumbled into dust. To-day, when on that throne, stigmatized by 
 civilization, flows the blood of so many victims, who will dare to raise 
 it again? A mountain of corpses shuts up to the pontiff the way 
 to that throne; and to ascend it again, the white stole of the priest 
 must be dyed with human blood ! Can the pope, like the tyrant, sit 
 upon a seat of bayonets ? But it is not in the power of France, it is 
 not in the power of Europe conspiring, to restore the pope to the 
 minds of citizens, after the enormous events which have occurred. 
 The scepter of the pope is morally broken forever." 
 
 Before his departure from Rome Garibaldi collected his troops, 
 and addressed them in his Spartan speech, which has been so much 
 admired ; then, proceeding out of the gates, followed by a consider- 
 able portion of his soldiers, he took his course across the Campagna, 
 his wife accompanying him on horseback, notwithstanding all his 
 affectionate remonstrances. He had resolved to make a desperate 
 effort rather than submit to the enemy; and his retreat from Rome 
 to the little port of Cesenatico, on the Adriatic, while pursued by an 
 Austrian and a French army, was characterized by wonderful bold- 
 ness, skill, and judgment. His route lay through Forli and Canta- 
 lupo to Terni ; then declined to the left to Todi, Capretto, and Orvi- 
 eto, where the French troops showed themselves ; then on to the 
 frontier of Tuscany — after which they passed Arezzo, and, crossing a 
 mountain, reached Cisterna ; then, passing on to Borgo, Santangelo 
 in Vado, and Montefeltro, he arrived at San Marino near the close 
 of July, and left there on the night of the 31st for Cesenatico, 
 
GARIBALDI AND ANNA. 561 
 
 where they embarked in several boats and sailed for Venice. Sev- 
 eral of these were captured or sunk, and others driven to the shore, 
 among which last was that which contained Garibaldi, his wife, Bassi, 
 Cicerouacchio, and his two sons. 
 
 Garibaldi, in a noble tribute to his wife, refers to their perilous 
 retreat. "I determined to try my fortune out of Rome," he says, 
 **when the venerated city was forced to succumb to the arms of 
 Louis Napoleon, who had become its conqueror. Anna wished to 
 share the dangers of the enterprise. I objected ; but vain were all 
 remonstrances ! Her feeble health she treated as nothing. Had I, 
 then, no longer any desire to have her with me, and endeavored to 
 leave her behind me under various pretexts? She asked me whether 
 I doubted her courage. Had I not had proofs enough ? Oh, that 
 delightful life in camp! The magnificent cavalcade! And the com- 
 bats — they were delightful to her. And as for fatigue, privations, 
 and mishaps, what are they to one whose happiness is in the heart? 
 Anna ! You were identified in feeling with Italy, and happy in the 
 hope of the redemption of the people. She did not go armed ; she 
 was not spotted with blood; but her intrepid countenance would an- 
 imate and put to blush even a coward. And truly, under the walls 
 of Rome, and beyond them, brave men had fallen, and many lay 
 mutilated on the bed of grief and despair in the hospitals, or weeping 
 at home over the failure of our exertions. 
 
 **The right of the noble column of Velletri was degraded by in- 
 truders ; and the few good men were discouraged by the vandalism 
 of dissension and the cowardice of some. The imposing presence of 
 the American amazon did not avail at San Angelo in Vado and San 
 Marino to stop the fugitives. The word "cowards," uttered by her 
 in contempt, was borne away by the wind, and no longer wounded 
 the ears of men who had lost their spirit. Ah! I must recall the 
 glorious fields of San Antonio, to forget the disgrace of San Marino. 
 Yet we happened to have in our front an enemy more timid than 
 ourselves. 
 
 **But, Anna! a land of slavery contains your precious remains. 
 Italy will make your grave free ; but what can restore to 3'our chil- 
 dren their incomparable mother? At San Marino she had symptoms 
 of a dangerous disease, and I insisted that she should remain there. 
 But all in vain! The increasing dangers did not diminish her resolu- 
 tion to go. At Cisnatico, where we labored all night to effect the 
 departure of the boats designed to transport the troops to Venice, 
 Anna, seated on a rock, sadly contemplated our wearisome toil. She 
 
5 52 ITAL V STJ^ UG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 embarked ; and the time spent on board was one of continual suffer- 
 ing. She landed, exhausted, on the beach of Mesola, and was 
 hardly able to walk. In vain she flattered herself that the land 
 would restore her to health. The land ! It had nothing to give 
 her but a grave. 
 
 "But, Italy, thou hast the ashes of Dante, the most celebrated 
 of Italians. Receive the bones of the American amazon, the martyr 
 of Italian liberty, and place them near the ashes of your great men, 
 and under their protection. And you will take part in the pious 
 deed, all you Italians who ever knew her. Every friend of our 
 country will bless her and the orphan children. And they and I will 
 implore the benediction of God upon you, and the remembrance, not 
 only of Italy, but of the New World, their birthplace and her ow^n. 
 Soil of generous men, press lightly on the grave of the brave daughter 
 of America. And, O God, Protector of the Innocent, preserve the 
 children of the martyr and the proscript ! And my sons, when you 
 are asked, Where are your parents? say, We are orphans for Italy. 
 Yet ever love Italy; for she is unhappy indeed." 
 
 After the death of his beloved wife, who was buried in a secret 
 grave, known only to himself, Garibaldi alone remained alive of the 
 brave individuals who had been driven ashore by the Austrian squad- 
 ron near the mouth of the River Po. The Roman tribune, with his 
 two sons, retreated to the neighboring marshes, and all of them were 
 probably murdered by the Austrians. The escape of Garibaldi him- 
 self- seems almost miraculous. He succeeded in crossing Italy in the 
 midst of watchful enemies, and reached Genoa in safety, but was 
 soon compelled to leave Piedmont. The king of Sardinia offered 
 him the choice between prison and exile ; and, preferring the latter, 
 Garibaldi sailed for Tunis, but through the intrigues of the French 
 consul that Algerian city refused to receive him. He then proceeded 
 to America, and spent several months in New York and vicinity, 
 recruiting his health, which his long and extraordinary series of labors, 
 privations, and sufferings had rendered feeble. He also engaged in 
 humble daily labor for his subsistence, working for the most of the 
 time in the candle manufactory of his countryman and friend, Signor 
 Meucci, on Staten Island. He declined the honors of a public 
 reception in New York, and earnestly advised his fellow-exiles to 
 reject all offers of pecuniary aid from others while they were able to 
 earn their own living by any kind of labor, however severe or humble. 
 Garibaldi subsequently made several voyages in the Pacific Ocean as 
 commander of merchant-vessels ; and, desiring to be near his native 
 
HUGH BASSL 563 
 
 land, he departed from America and returned to the island of Mad- 
 dalina, which lies off the coast of Italy and adjacent to the islet 
 of Caprera. 
 
 Among the martyrs of Italy who sacrificed their lives in behalf 
 of the republic of Rome, in 1849, Garibaldi mentions in the highest 
 terms of praise the names of Luigi Carniglia, Antonio Elio, and. 
 Hugh or Ugo Bassi. The latter was born in the same town, was 
 of the same age, and of the same monastic order as Gavazzi. He 
 was a poet, a painter, and a musician, and excelled in each of these 
 departments of genius ; but his greatest merit was as a preacher. 
 As a devoted religious counselor he was found in the republican 
 army, exposing himself to danger, and twice receiving wounds. On 
 one occasion ,he was taken prisoner by the French, who afterwardss 
 released him. This patriotic priest accompanied Garibaldi in his 
 battles and on his celebrated retreat after the fall of Rome. He left 
 San Marino in company with his leader, embarked in the same boat 
 with him on the Adriatic, and was one of the few of those who 
 escaped the Austrian squadron by landing on the Italian shore ; but 
 he was soon after captured by the Austrian troops, taken to Bologna, 
 and sentenced by a military tribunal to be shot, on a false accusation 
 of having borne arms against the emperor. The canon law prohib- 
 ited the execution of a priest, and in order to avoid the infringement 
 of this statute the Inquisition deprived him of the dignity of the 
 priesthood, in accordance with one of their rules, by skinning the 
 palms, forefingers, and thumbs of both hands. Pretending to have 
 thus divested him of his sacred character, his enemies delivered him 
 him over as a layman to the ferocious hordes of Corzkowski, who 
 made short work with him. **The scene," says Nicolini, ''was most 
 touching and affecting. He walked composedly to the side of his 
 grave. He raised his beautiful black eyes to heaven and exclaimed : 
 * I die without remorse ; I die for my God and my country. Viva 
 Gesu ! viva 1 * It — ' Six homicidal bullets prevented his uttering 
 the whole name of his beloved Italy, and he went to finish it in the 
 bosom of Christ." 
 
 While Rome had surrendered to the French, and Austria had the 
 control of the northern part of Italy, the brave Venetians remained 
 independent. General Haynau, who operated against their city, in 
 vain summoned the president, Daniel Manin, to surrender; he also 
 scorned to entertain the overtures for negotiation made by Radetsky 
 in the beginning of May, 1849, notwithstanding the critical condition 
 of the city. After a severe bombardment Fort Malagkera, one of 
 
 37 
 
564 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the forts outside of Venice, fell into the hands of the Austrians on 
 the 26th of May; but Manin, encouraged by the victories of the 
 Hungarians over their common enemies, still held out, though the 
 inhabitants were exposed to the incessant fire of the Austrians and 
 to the pangs of famine and distress, while the cholera raged in the 
 city. It was not until Venice was completely surrounded by the 
 enemy, its provisions entirely exhausted, and the news of Gorgey's 
 surrender had arrived, that Manin consented to negotiate. On the 
 23d of August he agreed to a capitulation, after having secured favor- 
 able terms, which granted an amnesty to all that had taken part in 
 the conflict except forty of the most conspicuous defenders of the 
 city, including, of course, himself, who were compelled to withdraw 
 before the entrance of Radetsky, on the 30th of August. Manin 
 thus had the honor of continuing the contest long after it had ceased 
 in other parts of Italy, while his administrative genius and unselfish 
 Avisdom received universal admiration. 
 
 After the arrival of Pius IX, at Gaeta, on the southern frontiers, 
 in the latter part of November, 1848, he inaugurated a rival govern- 
 ment. His secretary of state, Giacomo Antonelli, was the controll- 
 ing power in the papal administration. This distinguished leader 
 was born on the 2d of April, 1806, and began his brilliant career 
 under Pope Gregory XVI, who observed his extraordinary admin- 
 istrative talents, and successively promoted him to the prelacy, the 
 magistracy, the office of delegate to Ovieto, Viterbo, and Macerato, 
 and that of Minister of Finance. Upon the elevation of Pius IX, in 
 1846, Antonelli was promoted to a still higher position. He was a 
 layman, having "distinguished himself so well," said the witty M. 
 About, ''that he escaped by divine aid, the sacrament of orders. 
 He has never said mass; he has confessed to no one; I Avill not affirm 
 he has confessed himself" It is not necessary to receive priestly 
 tonsure in order to become a Roman cardinal. This is required of 
 the representatives of the fifty principal churches in the "Eternal 
 City" called "Cardinal Priests." Besides these nominal chief eccle- 
 siastics there are six "Cardinal Bishops" who derive their titles from 
 the six inferior bishops of the former States of the Church. The 
 remaining fourteen seats can be occupied, if need be, by laymen or 
 by persons who have received only the first stages of priestly ordi- 
 nation. They are called "Cardinal Deacons," deriving their titles 
 from the .fourteen rioni, or wards of the city. Antonelli belonged to 
 this last class. He might have sought and obtained holy orders, but 
 he possessed no abilities of a theological or religious kind. Hence 
 
GIACOMO ANTONELLI. 
 
 56s 
 
 the sacerdotal office was not desirable to him. After being assigned 
 a place in the consistory on the 12th of June, 1847, barely a year 
 after the elevation of Pius IX to the papal throne, Antonelli, from 
 conviction or from policy, adapted himself to the liberal sentiments 
 then prevailing in the Vatican and throughout the country. 
 
 ANTONELLI. 
 
 Shrewd, affable, energetic, it was not long before Antonelli had 
 made himself almost absolute. In another year he had become 
 prime minister, and no one took a more important part than he in 
 the stirring events of 1848-9. This .crisis, tried his diplomatic skill. 
 Yielding to the popular will the papal government made a progress- 
 ive step and then halted. It seemed as if the position of the papacy 
 would hasten the downfall of monarchy every-where. Antonelli was 
 alarmed at the situation, and the court of Rome felt the uneasiness 
 
$66 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that pervaded the royal courts of the Continent. The assassination 
 of Count Rossi, the demand of the Hberals and the flight of the 
 pope to Gaeta made the situation still more precarious, but Antonelli 
 began to prepare for the restoration of Pius IX, not by the free 
 suffrages of his former subjects, but by the bayonets of foreign troops. 
 The Austrians, against whose occupation of Ferrara a few brief 
 months before he had protested, were now invited to become instru- 
 ments in the work with the French, Spaniards, and Neapolitans. 
 Louis Napoleon heard and answered the summons, and at his com- 
 mand the Frerlch Republic sent its army to suppress its sister Roman 
 Republic. He established a regime which consecrated tyranny as 
 a fundamental principle. **A11 classes of society," said About, in 
 1859, **hate him equally. Concini was not more detested. He is 
 the only man about whom all the people are agreed." 
 
 SIXTH DECADE, 1850-1860. 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CAVOUR. 
 
 THE ministry of D'Azeglio and his policy of national renovation 
 were earnestly supported by Cavour, who became the leader of 
 the Right Center while Rattazzi was acknowledged to be the champion 
 of the Left. These two parliamentary chiefs who, together with 
 D'Azegho, occupied such a prominent position in Italian politics 
 when constitutional government was on its trial, were dissimilar in 
 their personal characteristics, but they were subsequently attracted 
 toward each other, as it were, by the ''affinity of contraries," though 
 at first differing in their political principles. Rattazzi was an accom- 
 plished orator, richly endowed with all those qualities which constitute 
 an able advocate. Cavour was a ready debater of great skill, and 
 possessing those rarer abilities which proclaim the profound states- 
 man. Rattazzi, whether as the strong ally of the administration or 
 the able exponent of the opposition, seldom exhibited the construc- 
 tive genius of Cavour in originating a policy, while the latter was 
 never contented unless he was at the head of affairs, devising plans 
 for a campaign or organizing a victory. Indeed, he was too self- 
 
TWO STATESMEN, 567 
 
 reliant and independent to occupy a subordinate place in the cabinet, 
 and disliked to share power and responsibility with others. ''Self- 
 conscious and imperious, he demanded instruments, not advisers; 
 machinery, not motive power; subalterns, not peers." While both 
 were equally bold and resolute in the face of difficulties or danger, 
 Cavour displayed the greater tact and sagacity in avoiding the latter 
 and overcoming the former. The many aspects of a question were 
 seen as quickly and as clearly by Rattazzi as they were by Cavour, 
 but the latter examined it more closely, and, challenging it at every 
 point, studied its various relations, calculated its bearings, estimated 
 its disturbing forces, and projected its orbit. 
 
 Possessing a mathematical mind, Cavour naturally submitted every 
 question, whether political or moral, to the severest test, as he would 
 if considering the arc of a circle or the segment of a sphere. Rattazzi 
 was gifted with forensic powers, and, after selecting his position, 
 endeavored to fortify it with the strongest arguments. With judicial 
 precision Cavour canvassed the whole range of possibilities surround- 
 ing a question, and then, by an act of induction, arrived at a conclu- 
 sion. ''The intellectual process of the one involved an analysis which 
 only contemplated a subordinate synthesis ; that of the other a broad 
 and comprehensive synthesis, which implied every possible analysis." 
 Rattazzi was probably a better judge of men as individuals, but no^ 
 one could excel Cavour in the art of utilizing them as forces. He- 
 regarded them, however, as something more than mere instruments,, 
 and, after finding in each man's individuality Avhat he could use tO' 
 make his specialty a success, he appropriated it without seeming tO' 
 interfere with the man's independence. In fine, Rattazzi ruled his 
 party by the power of his eloquence, as his style was flowing and his. 
 diction elegant to a remarkable degree. Cavour, though his utterance 
 was difficult and his elocution painful, controlled the chambers by 
 "the simple force of his genius." 
 
 In the reaction which followed the revolution of 1848, when 
 Europe was passing into the shadow of a liberal eclipse, Cavour was^ 
 more resolute than ever in accomplishing his work of reform. In 
 times of revolution he was a conservative ; but, in the days of reac- 
 tion, he became a radical. After separating himself from the Right 
 he inclined more and more to the Left, though the party of which he- 
 was now the chief was small and apparently without any hope of" 
 success. Yet by skillful management he made that "little phalanx" 
 influential, and became, in fact, the leader of the parliamentary major- 
 ity. He was the same frank and simple defender of the constitution 
 
568 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 before the crisis as after it. The boasting of impotent revolutionists 
 excited his contempt and antipathy, and, unmoved by their threats, 
 he earnestly supported the government more especially in the critical 
 days, which immediately succeeded the overthrow at Novara until 
 peace was definitely settled, which was only in January, 1850. In 
 the mean time Cavour still remained a bold and active liberal, indors- 
 ing and accepting the "statuto" with all its conditions, guarantees, 
 and consequences. In sustaining the ministry he often stimulated 
 and advanced beyond it, and, by degrees, became the chief — the 
 leader, if not of the conservative majority, with which he kept pace — 
 at least of the liberal fraction of that majority. He did not favor a 
 conservative policy, because he was naturally a partisan of immobil- 
 ity; but he wished to show that, when exigencies demanded power 
 and action, the moderate parliamentary leader, like himself, possessed 
 the statesmanship to meet the crisis. In order that he might demon- 
 strate this, opportunities were afforded him, as t"hey naturally presented 
 themselves in connection Avith a policy and a constitutional system 
 which constantly bring parties into collision. 
 
 The abolition of ''privileged jurisdictions and ecclesiastical immu- 
 nities in the administration of justice" was evidently one of the sim- 
 plest results of this system. It was natural that Count Balbo and 
 Count Revel, who were friends of the ministry, and the most con- 
 servative and the most religious of the men on the Right, should not 
 doubt tlie principle, but they did ask that negotiations should be 
 made first with the pope. Such negotiations had been carried on in 
 vain for two years, and any further delay would only weaken the new 
 institutions, and create the impression that in a liberal state there 
 could be two laws, two jurisdictions, and two powers. While there 
 were many other questions of civil reforms and ecclesiastical organ- 
 izations which infallibly arise from a constitutional regime, yet the min- 
 istry, under the circumstances, hesitated to advance so far, and in its 
 modesty only proposed the abolition of ecclesiastical privileges, of that 
 which was called the foro. Count Siccardi, the minister of justice, 
 introduced such a bill, which was advocated by all the sincere Lib- 
 erals, contested by some of the ministerial Right, and bitterly opposed 
 by the members of the reaction. 
 
 Cavour, among others, had urged the ministry to present the bill, 
 and therefore embraced the opportunity of indorsing it. In discuss- 
 ing the matter he boldly favored the resumption of a "true constitu- 
 tional policy," by claiming the civil rights of society in the face 
 of the privileges of the Church. He combated those who were 
 
CAVOURS POLICY. ' 569 
 
 always opposed to reforms — sometimes because the national mind 
 was agitated, at others because it was tranquil. After directing the 
 attention of his hearers to English statesmen, who understood how 
 to change the tide of every revolution by the use of opportune meas- 
 ures, Cavour added: ''When reforms are effected in good time, far 
 from ■ weakening authority, they strengthen it, rendering the revo- 
 lutionary spirit powerless. I would say, therefore, to statesmen : 
 Frankly follow the examples of the duke of Wellington, Earl Grey, 
 and Sir Robert Peel, . . . follow broadly the road of reforms, 
 without fear of their being inopportune. Do not think that it will 
 weaken the cause of the constitutional throne, for it will, on the con- 
 trary, strengthen it and will strike such deep roots into our soil that, 
 should revolution spring up around us, not only will it have power to 
 dominate revolution, but it will gather about it all the live forces of 
 Italy, and conduct the nation to the destinies awaiting her.'' 
 
 This speech in favor of ecclesiastical reform was delivered in 
 March, 1850, and marks the turning-point in Cavour's political his- 
 tory, so far, at least, as it regards his popularity. Henceforth his 
 name was to become a tower of strength. Reform became his watch- 
 word — Church reform, financial reform, postal reform, reform in the 
 revenue service, in the civil service. He favored ''administrative 
 decentralization, so far as consistent with political unity, the abolition 
 of the military commandants, and the complete emancipation of the 
 state from the trammels of the Church." In this speech Cavour 
 revealed his innermost thought, manifestly proceeding beyond the 
 limits of a special question, and profoundly impressing the public 
 mind Avith the fact that he was not only the author of a policy, but 
 the very man created to conduct it. 
 
 The cruelly embarrassed condition of Piedmontese finance afforded 
 Cavour another opportunity of showing his ability as a statesman. 
 It was not one of those questions which excite every passion of the 
 soul and appeal to the most tender emotions, but the stern, prac- 
 tical fact of a deficit of six miUions per annum. He faithfully sup- 
 ported the government, and exposed the puerile charges and chimer- 
 ical schemes that were brought against it, and yet, in criticising its 
 financial policy, he caused it to feel "the prick of the spur." First, 
 reviewing the economical position, like a man who was perfectly famil- 
 iar with the facts, then considering them with clearness and confidence, 
 he said, at the end of the list : " Be careful ; if, in the next session, the 
 ministry does not bring forward a financial scheme by which to restore 
 the balance with a reformed custom-house tariff, and the system of tax- 
 
570 ' ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 atlon which the country needs, I shall deeply regret it; we shall, my 
 friends and I, be compelled to abandon it. . . . Although the 
 condition of our country is serious, it is by no means desperate ; we 
 only need a little strength of will and courage to make it accede to 
 the necessary taxation. . . . Let us hear no more of party 
 agitations ; the union between the king and the nation is sufficiently 
 close and well established, there is nothing to fear from extreme revo- 
 lutionary or reactionary parties. I do not fear the spread of either 
 one or the other. . . . Proceed, therefore, banish alarms ; you 
 will have the support of, parliament and of the country, even in the 
 most distressing portion of our task — the re-establishment of the 
 balance of expenditure and income." 
 
 The great ability, decision of mind, and prompt activity exhib- 
 ited by Cavour in political and financial matters were now fully recog- 
 nized, and people discerned in him the earnest man and the wise 
 minister, who is ripe for work and anxious to restore lost time. 
 Hence, when Santa Rosa, the minister of commerce, died unexpect- 
 edly in October, 1850, the name of Cavour instantly suggested itself. 
 Indeed, every thing seemed to concur in designating hirti as the 
 proper successor of the deceased official at a time when surrounding 
 circumstances were somewhat unpleasant. By order of the arch- 
 bishop of Turin, Mgr. Fransoni harshly refused the last sacraments 
 of the Church to the unfortunate Santa Rosa, who, though a pro- 
 foundly religious man, incurred the displeasure of the Jesuits, be- 
 cause he had taken part in the introduction, as Avell as the vote, of the 
 law of the foro. How sad the spectacle of a man, on his deathbed, 
 begging for the prayers of the priest, and, at the same time, refusing 
 to utter a recantation which he considered would dishonor his name. 
 
 Public opinion was profoundly moved at Turin, and naturally turned 
 toward Cavour, who -had been the intimate friend of Santa Rosa, and 
 who, more than any other, had contributed to the success of the law 
 of \\\^ fo7V. D'Azeglio himself was delighted with the proposition to 
 introduce into his cabinet such an "able and vigorous athlete," and 
 when he went to Victor Emmanuel to suggest his appointment, the 
 king, without exhibiting any more surprise than the rest, replied with 
 his usual sagacity, * ' I will accept 'him ; but wait a little, and he will 
 rob you of all your portfolios." Cavour had made no conditions, 
 neither concerning men nor things, but simply repeated his old say- 
 ing of the Villa Bolongaro : ''We will do something." He recog- 
 nized the fact that a cabinet minister would have what power he is 
 capable of exercising. His acceptance of the portfolio marked a 
 
VARIO US REFORMS. ' 571 
 
 new era in Italian affairs. It was truly a fortunate circumstance that 
 a country so completely conquered and humiliated should find, in the 
 moment of its greatest need, a noble prince, inspired with patriotism, 
 who, aided by devoted men, resolved to perpetuate constitutional lib- 
 erty. In view of the almost irreparable disaster that had recently 
 prostrated the nation, its restoration was a complicated and difficult 
 work, that could not be performed in a single day or by a single 
 blow, but was destined to be accomplished after peculiar and severe 
 struggles. It had two prominent phases, the first of which was the 
 ministry of D'Azeglio, which Cavour entered in October, 1850. Oc- 
 curring soon after the defeat of Novara, this event truly terminated 
 the period of national disgrace and ruin, and inaugurated that of 
 reform. The new ministry, accepting peace as a necessity, devoted 
 its energies to the task of strengthening liberal institutions. 
 
 D'Azeglio was a man of great moderation, affable disposition, and 
 commanding dignity, and these qualities were of advantage to him in 
 his efforts to conciliate the European powers. While he was labor- 
 ing to remove external distrust, and re-establish the diplomatic posi- 
 tion of Piedmont, Count Siccardi endeavored to secure ecclesiastical 
 reforms. General Alfonso La Marmora, minister of war, having 
 restored peace at Genoa, proceeded to reconstruct an army which 
 had been demoralized by defeat. He inaugurated a new system of 
 military instruction, and changed military institutions, especially 
 reconstructing officers' corps, by opening the ranks of the regular 
 army to most of the other Italian provinces who had fought with the 
 Piedmontese during the Avar. He inspired all with the same patriotic 
 spirit, saying, ''I trust that from whatever province they may come, 
 the officers are fully penetrated with the national sentiment, which 
 makes all Italians equally devoted sons of the same great country — 
 Italy!" La Marmora did not hesitate to make himself responsible 
 before the Chambers by pushing on the fortifications of Casale, 
 which ten years later (in 1859) were to arrest the Austrian invasion. 
 
 In 185 1, on the retirement of Nigra, Cavour assumed the port- 
 folio of finance, in addition to that of agriculture and commerce. 
 He was admirably fitted for both these positions, having a profound 
 knowledge of political economy, which rendered him an authority in 
 financial questions. He immediately commenced the difficult task 
 of ameliorating the condition of the treasury, favored the abolition of 
 discriminating duties, and concluded commercial treaties with Swit- 
 zerland, Belgium, Denmark, France, and England, on the basis of 
 free trade, which, as Bianchi remarks, ''were so many decisive bat- 
 
572 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ties against Austria, gained on the field of diplomacy." In this gen- 
 eral work of national renovation, Cavour, as minister of commerce 
 and finance, rendered important assistance by emancipating com- 
 merce, and establishing combinations of imposts. In securing these 
 economic reforms, he displayed an inexhaustible fertility of resource 
 and untiring activity, which soon gave him a great influence in 
 parliament. 
 
 Piedmont entered afresh upon the path of national progress ; but, 
 in advancing, it met with two obstacles, which D' Mazade calls ''one 
 matter of general policy, and another of parliamentary conduct." It 
 would seem that the question of ''general policy" had been decided; 
 but it continued to present itself at every step and in every form, 
 under conditions in which every thing had been modified. At the 
 formation of D 'Azeglio's new ministry Cavour, as we have stated 
 previously, was striving to uphold, despite the repulse at Novara, 
 the flag of the "statuto," and the liberal cause of the nation; but, 
 knowing that a warlike and revolutionary opposition was dangerous, 
 he was compelled to dissolve a chamber. A second dissolution of 
 the parliament, however, was necessary, through the intervention of 
 the king, before he could obtain from the country a parliamentary 
 assembly with which he might harmoniously work. There was in 
 this new ministry a very large majority, composed of all shades of 
 conservatism^ while the Left represented a minority too small to be 
 feared. This conservative chamber gave Piedmont peace and good 
 order, and saved her from ruin. 
 
 An entirely new condition of affairs followed the acceptance and 
 conclusion of peace. The internal state of the country was again 
 considered a question of primary importance, and there was a visible 
 modification and transformation of parties. Such men as Pinelli, 
 Boncompagni, and Castelli, representing a fraction of the majority, 
 and constituting a liberal conservative center, did not hesitate to sus- 
 tain the ministry in its efforts to secure a wise reform. Balbo, Count 
 Revel, and Colonel Menabrea, of the extreme Right, and a few depu- 
 ties from Savoy, manifested some opposition. This party, though 
 strongly and sincerely constitutional, and not desirous to separate 
 itself from the government, was, nevertheless, in fact, stationary or 
 reactionary, favoring the "statuto," but not its results, and often em- 
 barrassed the government while supporting it. 
 
 When the law of the foro was presented by the ministry. Count 
 Balbo and his friends opposed it. When reforms in political econ- 
 omy were being accomplished by Cavour, and he was negotiating 
 
PAR TIES IN PARLIAMENT. 573 
 
 with France, England, and Belgium for a treaty of commerce, Count 
 Revel and the conservative protectionists arrayed themselves against 
 his measures. While Colonel Menabrea, at that time a young and 
 brilliant officer of engineers, and an eloquent speaker, did not exactly 
 assume a hostile attitude, he occupied a position somewhat similar to 
 that of a clerical and conservative dissenter. He had abandoned the 
 post of first secretary of foreign affairs when the question of ecclesi- 
 astical privileges was first introduced. Mean time, in the opposite 
 camp, a movement in the opposite direction was transpiring. The 
 extreme Left — composed of such men as the Tecchios, the Sineos, and 
 the Brofferios — was deeply excited, and as usual, passionate declama- 
 tions resounded there. But already a small party was detaching 
 itself from this democratic combination, constituting, as it were, a Left 
 Center, with Rattazzi, Lauza, Cadorna, and Buffa. This Left Center 
 gradually approached nearer to the government, and even sometimes 
 supported ministerial reforms by its votes, though often its tactics 
 seemed to be hostile. 
 
 The condition of parliament presented a singular aspect. On the 
 one hand the ministry, having a majority, secured peace; but a part 
 of it either resisted or became indifferent whenever the government 
 adopted a national and liberal policy ; on the other, the cabinet en- 
 countered opposition, which originated chiefly in 1848 and 1849; t)ut 
 even this was yielding to ''the sobering influence of events." Yet 
 these former adversaries might either become useful allies or danger- 
 ous opponents. Hence the situation was exciting, uncertain, critical. 
 It was evident that some positive step must be taken. If the Right 
 should dictate the policy of the government, there was danger of its 
 drifting toward reaction, which would one day affect the system of 
 religious reforms, and probably also the liberty of the press, and 
 electoral law. A persistent adherence to the policy that had been 
 inaugurated involved the necessity of obtaining, by other alliances 
 and other support, enough strength to make up for defections in the 
 right. The ministry appreciated the situation; but the question be- 
 came complicated by the differences of the temperament in D 'Aze- 
 glio and Cavour, who were both at the same time friends and com- 
 petitors in the government. 
 
 These two men held exactly the same opinions relative to the 
 adoption of a liberal policy by Piedmont ; but D 'Azeglio, for diplo- 
 matic reasons, as well as from personal characteristics, hesitated before 
 precipitating an avowed conflict with the right. He had been ele- 
 vated to the ministry because of devotion to the services of his coun- 
 
5 74 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 try rather than from taste or ambition on his part, and while in 
 power he remained the same generous and poHte gentleman, saga- 
 cious and amiable ; brave in the midst of dangers ; somewhat deficient 
 in energy in overcoming the difficulties of daily life, and easily 
 fatigued by business. Cavour had the activity and perseverance of 
 a public man who had a passion for business matters, and not only 
 foresaw coming troubles, but immediately commenced to counteract 
 or to overcome them. He deeply and painfully felt reluctant to sep- 
 arate from the ''friends of childhood," as he called them. On one 
 occasion, in an animated discussion, he was opposed by some old 
 friends, and, though manifesting considerable emotion, resolutely ex- 
 claimed, ''Yes, gentlemen, I know that in entering on pohtical life, 
 in time of such difficulties as these, one must be prepared for the 
 greatest deceptions. I am prepared for it. Should I be compelled 
 to give up all the friends of my childhood; if I should have to see my 
 most intimate acquaintances transformed into my bitterest enemies, I 
 would not fail in my duty. I will never abandon the principles of 
 liberty, to which I have avowed allegiance." If the cause of national 
 reform could only succeed by arraying his best friends against him, 
 Cavour was wilHng to endure even that. "I have been accused," he 
 says later, "of having separated from old friends; the accusation is 
 unfounded. I have not left them, but they have left me. I did every 
 thing to retain them and to persuade them; it is they who have 
 refused to follow me. Ought I, then, to have stood alone, rejecting 
 the co-operation of those who were disposed to follow me?" 
 
 Those who exhibited any disposition to follow him belonged to 
 the Left Center, chiefly represented by Rattazzi. Cavour well remem- 
 bered the course pursued by the Left Center in the parliamentary 
 affairs of 1848 and 1849; ^^w he fought them then, and still more 
 recently, and he resolved to do so, when necessary, to the end. He 
 would not, however, permit the recollections of former conflicts 
 to prevent an aUiance by which the government might be emanci- 
 pated and the condition of parliament strengthened. He proposed, 
 therefore, the formation of a party composed of men of extreme 
 opinions, and representing all shades of liberalism. Although these 
 new allies were not harmonious, yet he was confident that he could 
 control them. "It was all deducible," says D'Mazade, " to a ques- 
 tion of apropos ; and Cavour, by a marvel of dexterity, chose for the 
 more decisive affirmation of that evolution of liberal policy meditated 
 by him exactly the moment when Piedmont was compelled to ' reef 
 sail,' and pay an apparent tribute to the reactionary spirit." 
 
CAVOUR ABANDONS THE CONSERVATIVES. 575 
 
 While D ' Azeglio presided over the cabinet Cavour, by his pecul- 
 iar tact and abihty, was already in reality prime minister. A crisis 
 suddenly arose which demanded the exercise of great prudence. It 
 was when the coup d'etat of December 2, 185 1, burst upon France, 
 and whose echo resounded like the death knell of liberty in Piedmont. 
 A new Napoleon seemed to confront Europe, and the smaller coun- 
 tries, like Piedmont and Belgium, were uneasy, because they sheltered 
 the refugees from Paris, and tolerated the freedom and independence 
 of the press. Indeed, the repressive policy of Louis Napoleon in 
 France was a menace to constitutional liberty wherever it existed, 
 and also an encouragement to the absolutist and reactionary parties. 
 Piedmont especially occupied an embarrassing position, the situation 
 in France being full of peril, and Austria waiting to take every advan- 
 tage of her, and besides, her trouble and vexation were likely to be 
 increased by the imprudence of the press or refugees. 
 
 The cabinet at Turin appreciated the difficulties and delicacies of 
 the situation, and as early as January 7, 1852, it hastened to justify 
 itself to the French government by proposing a law on the press, by 
 which offenses against foreign princes were to be transferred to the 
 ordinary tribunals, and not to be tried by jury. The Piedmontese 
 cabinet was compelled to accept what it could not avoid, and 
 D' Azeglio thus ingeniously stated the case: "Suppose we had to 
 traverse one of those regions where wild beasts abound, and pass 
 close to a den where a lion was sleeping, and that one of our guides 
 told us, * Do not speak — make no noise, lest you should awaken 
 him ;' and if one of us were to begin to sing I imagine we should 
 all combine to shut his mouth. ... Or again, if notwithstand- 
 ing all possible precaution and prudence the lion awakes and springs 
 upon us, then, if we are men we must fight." By this striking 
 apologue D'Azegho expressed the necessity of prudence; but the 
 great work of adjusting the difficulties of the situation devolved upon 
 Cavour, who boldly opposed the reactionists, labored to establish the 
 integrity of Piedmontese policy, and preserve inviolate the institu- 
 tions of the country. He proposed to accomplish this by uniting the 
 liberal elements in parliament. 
 
 The conservative party, with a view of inaugurating the oppressive 
 policy which Napoleon had adopted in France, urged the absolute 
 necessity of modifying the electoral laws and greatly restricting the 
 liberty of the press. The discussion concerning the latter, which 
 occurred in the early part of 1852, will be memorable in the political 
 career of Cavour, as marking his complete separation from the con- 
 
5 'je , ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 servative party and his coalition with the Left Center, or hberal pro- 
 gressives. In his celebrated speech on the liberty of the press he 
 declared that, though it was one of the most difficult problems of 
 modern legislation, still there was no other effectual remedy for its 
 abuse than public opinion or the press itself. Cavour was criticised 
 and censured for his course on this occasion, being stigmatized as a 
 renegade, who had falsified his past record and become the champion 
 of a policy not his own. 
 
 Colonel Menabrea, the representative of conservatism, was alarmed, 
 and more earnestly advocated a greater restriction of the liberty of 
 the press. Ratazzi, on the other hand, defended liberalism, and 
 promised to support the ministry, provided it maintained a law which 
 he regarded as tempoi;^rily needful. Cavour was prominent in this 
 parliamentary combat, speaking in favor of the law, exposing the 
 whole policy of the government with remarkable precision and ability, 
 accepting offers of aid from the chiefs of the Left Center, and consid- 
 ering Colonel Menabrea's speech as the declaration of a rupture. 
 The struggle between these leaders was sharp, and in the melee the 
 strongest passions were exhibited. The efforts of peace-makers to 
 render the contest less bitter were not entirely successful. The Right 
 proposed a divorce, followed by a new marriage — a coimubio, as Revel 
 called it, in referring to the events of 1848 for an argument against 
 the new alliance. This sudden change surprised all ; and even 
 Colonel Menabrea was astonished at the excitement he had pro- 
 duced, remarking, with some sadness: **The minister of finance 
 wants to set sail in the direction of a new parliamentary coast, and 
 land on another shore. He has a right to act as he pleases, but I 
 shall not go with him." Cavour's reply was: ''It is not true that 
 the ministry has directed its helm towards other shores. It has made 
 no movement of the sort ; but wishes to go in the direction of the 
 prow, instead of in the direction of the stern." These explanations 
 resulted in greater divisions, and the question of the law of the 
 press, though to some extent insignificant, became the pretext for a 
 decisive battle, that had had been skillfully planned, and was bravely 
 fought out in parliament. 
 
 A few members of the cabinet complained of Cavour's daring 
 maneuver because he was pledging the ministry to do more than it 
 was inclined to perform ; and D'Azeglio himself did his utmost to 
 moderate the conflict, and explain the words of his impetuous col- 
 league. But the blow had been struck, and was resounding through 
 parliament and through the country. Cavour was now the recog- 
 
RESIGNATION OF CAVOUR, 577 
 
 nized leader of liberal opinions, having been compelled, as we have 
 seen, to abandon the conservative party, with its reactionary tenden- 
 cies, because it either could not or would not advance in the path of 
 reform which he had marked out for himself. When his former friends 
 and allies refused to support his measures, he turned to the liberals, 
 believing that a multiphcity of expedients is not inconsistent with 
 unity of purpose. His course, therefore, was not a surrender of 
 principles, but simply a change of political base. He became the 
 representative, not of a new policy, but of a new and more active 
 and decisive phase of Piedmontese policy that rendered the coitnuhio 
 more pronounced. The president of the Chamber of Deputies having 
 suddenly died, the minister of finance immediately supported the 
 candidature of Rattazzi for that position, and he Avas elected. This 
 event, however, produced a ministerial crisis in May, 1852, which 
 seemed to delay the hour of Cavour's complete supremacy, but 
 which, after all, hastened the inevitable result. These sudden changes 
 alarmed D'Azeglio, and he thought his formidable colleague, the 
 **dear inventor of the connubio\" as he loved to call him, was rather 
 too fast, and might by his extreme course prejudice the outside 
 world against the government. 
 
 Cavour, by this ''constitutional cotip d'etat,'' became master of the 
 political situation, and, having the prestige of an ever -increasing 
 authority, he retired for a time, leaving the reigns in the hands of 
 D'Azeglio. After the resignation of the ministry a reconstruction 
 of it occurred, concerning which Cavour wrote to his friend Salvag- 
 noh, in Florence : "It was in my opinion not only useful but indis- 
 pensable that a liberal party should be firmly constituted. 
 After having at first been convinced of such a necessity D'Azeglio 
 has not accepted all the consequences, and he provoked a crisis, 
 which could only result in my retirement or his removal from power. 
 External policy required that I should be the sacrifice. I think 
 D'Azeglio would wiUingly have abdicated, but I did my utmost to 
 dissuade him ; he stayed, and we have not ceased to be friends, pri- 
 vately and politically. It will next be his turn to retire, and then 
 we can constitute an openly liberal cabinet. In the mean time, I 
 take advantage of my new Hberty for a journey to France and 
 England." 
 
 Cavour did not visit these countries simply for recreation, but to 
 interview their statesmen, and prepare the way for his own combina- 
 tions by removing the prejudices existing there against liberal Pied- 
 mont. In France, England, and Scotland he was received with flat- 
 
578 ' ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 tering marks of consideration, not only at court, but by the most 
 distinguished men of the time. Well might they honor a statesman 
 who **had achieved," says Dr. Spencer, ''a bloodless revolution in 
 favor of constitutional liberty, which the tiers Hat and the guillotine 
 have never been able to acquire permanently for France, or Magna 
 Charta and the block for England, and which was secured only after 
 centuries of bloody conflict between royal prerogative and popular 
 rights." At the time of Cavour's visit to England Lord Malmesbury 
 was at the head of the foreign office, and he openly expressed his 
 hope that an amicable settlement would soon be made between 
 Cavour and the party he had labored so hard to unite. The most 
 cordial reception, however, was extended to him in Paris, where he 
 had arranged to meet Rattazzi. By his air of easy superiority he 
 won the esteem of the prince-president. Napoleon, and also renewed 
 acquaintance among some old friends of the parliamentary world, 
 one of whom, M. Thiers, said to him, ''Be patient; if after they 
 have given you snakes for breakfast they give you snakes again for 
 dinner do not be disgusted." During this visit Cavour made many 
 new friends, and had an excellent opportunity of observing the posi- 
 tion of affairs which he might one day have to manipulate. 
 
 While in London and in Paris he closely watched the progress of 
 e\fents in Piedmont, and when informed of the unsettled condition 
 of the ministry there he wrote to his friends : ' * Instead of combating 
 D'Azeglio we should lend him a frank support; but we can not sac- 
 rifice our good name to him. . . . As soon as I return we Avill con- 
 sult together ; we will see La Marmora, and speak bluntly to him. 
 It is time for all this to be settled. If D'Azeglio wishes to remain 
 in power let him say so, and he will have in us sincere allies. Should 
 he be tired of it let him no longer render the problem of government 
 insoluble by his continual vacillations." The fact is, that D'AzegHo 
 was oppressed by the weight of government; while abroad, as at 
 home, Cavour was weighing upon the ministry. If his presence in 
 the government had been a disturbing element his absence was a 
 still greater embarrassment. If the ministry could not live with him 
 neither could it do without him. 
 
 On his return to Turin in September, 1852, Cavour was called by 
 the king to form a new ministry that would come to terms with the 
 **Holy See." He frankly declared that he could not and would not 
 become the interpreter of a policy of subserviency to the pope, but 
 subsequently accepted the charge without conditions. Thus, after 
 having passed through a severe conflict, he was crowned conqueror. 
 
CA VOUR AS PRESIDENT. 5 79 
 
 Sixth Decade Continued, 1850-1860. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 THE POLICY OF C A VOUR. 
 
 CAVOUR became president of the council and minister of finance 
 November 4, 1852, and his victorious return to pubHc hfe after 
 a retirement of a few months marked an important epoch in the 
 history of Italy. D'Azeglio yielded his position to his brilliant rival 
 without exhibiting any resentment, and wrote: ''I had accepted the 
 helm at a time when it was pointed out to me that better than any 
 other man I could direct it for the country's best advantage. . . . 
 Now, that the ship has refitted, let the winds fill her sails. I surren- 
 der my quarter-deck to another. He, whom you know, is possessed 
 of a diabolical activity, fitted for the work, both in mind and body, 
 and it gives him so much pleasure !" Cavour accepted the responsi- 
 ble trust ; but he understood the ship of state because he had helped 
 to construct it. As a liberal conservative he had been creating, 
 through a series of changes, and by means of alliances with the 
 ''moderates of all parties," a parliamentary position which directed 
 Piedmont and Italy into the track of new destinies. 
 
 When D'Azeglio's ministry, which had so patriotically managed 
 public affairs immediately after Novara, was passing away, a final 
 effort, which Victor Emmanuel did not discountenance, was made by 
 Count Balbo to reconstitute a purely conservative cabinet, or, in other 
 words, a ministry of reconciliation with Rome. Victor Emmanuel 
 had consulted Cavour concerning the matter, and both resolved that 
 Balbo should make the experiment. He exhausted all forms of ne- 
 gotiations and overtures, but completely failed, having been refused 
 by his own friends, beginning with Revel, who did not consider him- 
 self able to overcome the current of opinion. Cavour's resumption 
 of office, after Balbo's failure, was all the more significant ; it settled 
 the way between the two systems Avhich for about three years had 
 been perpetually at conflict in Turin. 
 
 The new president of the council having entered parliament un- 
 der conditions arranged by himself, he proceeded to broaden and 
 
 38 
 
58o 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 strengthen them. He resolved not to be checked by resistance from 
 the Right, or the clerical party, and at the same time he had no inten- 
 tion of suddenly disturbing political equilibrium, and separating himself 
 from his friends, the moderate liberals. He was careful not to ''break 
 the chain," as he called it; and, above all, he was determined to 
 secure the support of the principal members of D'Azeglio's cabinet, 
 whose colleague he had been. "Without La Marmora," he would 
 often repeat, **I could not be minister." According to his view, La 
 Marmora represented military reorganization, just as Paleocapa (an 
 engineer of the greatest eminence) represented that of progress in 
 material works, and Boncompagnl that of wise reforms In religious 
 matters. The new ministers of foreign affairs and of the Interior, 
 General Dabormlda and Count Ponza di San Martino, firmly held to 
 the same traditions. The government was still controlledby the Right 
 Center, and was now directed by a leader who retained simply the 
 
 financial department for him- 
 self, but was competent to 
 manage any ministry. 
 
 After the consolidation 
 of the cabinet at the end of 
 several months a final alli- 
 ance was made with the Left 
 Center by the elevation of 
 RattazzI to the ministry of 
 justice. Instead of being 
 at the mercy of the Left 
 Center Cavour absorbed or 
 annexed it, and it showed 
 wisdom in permitting itself 
 to be annexed, since it was 
 promoting the success of a 
 new idea by uniting the 
 whole liberal party under 
 the ablest of leaders. Before 
 the expiration of one year 
 the country strikingly sanctioned this idea by the immense ministerial 
 majority returned to the Chamber in the elections. From this time 
 Cavour might truly say that he had ''raised a barrier sufficiently 
 hlo^h for the reaction to be unable to reach above it." Besides the 
 confidence of the king, he had a ministry and a majority, in fact, an 
 entire parliamentary platform constructed by himself, and upon which 
 
 RATTAZZI. 
 
PIEDMONT'S FINANCIAL CONDITION 581 
 
 he could securely stand in the realization of his plans, and in the 
 development of his policy. The latter was truly the creation of 
 Cavour's genius — his original work, but was not probably the pro- 
 duct of his own imagination. It came to him as the gift of circum- 
 stances. Others no doubt had thought of it, but it was he Avho had 
 shaped it and brought it within practical limits. He breathed into it 
 his bold yet prudent spirit, converting into a reality that saying of 
 a conquered but not despairing nation: "We will begin again!" 
 
 Cavour was one of the first to perceive the results of this great 
 truth, which he summed up on one occasion by saying: *'It is impos- 
 sible for the government to have an Italian or national policy out- 
 wardly without being inwardly reforming and liberal; just as it would 
 be impossible for us to be inwardly liberal without being national 
 and Italian in our external relations," He knew that Piedmont occu- 
 pied an embarrassing position after her overthrow, and was constantly 
 and jealously watched by Austria. It was evident to him that she 
 must, within her small limits, exhibit all the activity, energy, and 
 wisdom of a great country if she desired to accomplish her designs. 
 ''Piedmont," he continued, ''must begin by raising herself, by re- 
 establishing in Europe as well as in Italy a position and a credit 
 equal to her ambition. Hence there must be a policy unswerving 
 in its aim, but flexible and various as to the means employed 
 embracing the exchequer, military reorganization, diplomacy, and 
 religious affairs." 
 
 In prosecuting the work of national reform Cavour caused matured 
 plans to gradually unfold and become results. A vigorous impulse 
 was imparted to every thing, but economic and financial matters first 
 claimed attention. Like all conquered countries. Piedmont had to 
 pay for defeat. It was oppressed with the burden of two disastrous 
 campaigns which, with the Austrian indemnity, cost it very nearly 
 three hundred millions of francs. Thus the public debt, which before 
 1848 amounted to no more that five mllHons per annum (;^200,ooo), 
 was rapidly increased to more than thirty millions. The budget of 
 its expenses, only eighty millions before the war, was above one 
 hundred and seventy-eight mlUIons in 1848, two hundred and sixteen 
 in 1849, ^^"^^ hundred and eighty-nine in 1850, and finally it remained 
 fixed at between one hundred and thirty and one hundred and forty 
 millions. From the very beginning, then, the expenses of the country 
 had doubled, and Cavour was now confronted by a public debt six 
 times as large as before. When we remember that this was the 
 financial condition of Piedmont twenty-seven years ago, when its 
 
582 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 population was less than five millions of souls and its resources still 
 undeveloped, these figures represent a weight almost as heavy as 
 that which has been laid upon France under still more tragic cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 There were two systems that could be tried, and how often do 
 they present themselves as rivals. One scheme was to practice the 
 strictest and most scrupulous economy, reserving a modest balance 
 by reducing expenses, diminishing the deficit, and increasing only 
 the most necessary taxes. But by adopting this method the army 
 would be made smaller, the most useful public improvements would 
 be abandoned, or, at least, indefinitely postponed, and the country 
 would lose its influence. This plan was prudent in its general pro- 
 visions, but it was not far-reaching. The most rigid economy Avould 
 not remove the burden unless the nation could receive some compen- 
 sation or be assisted in the development of its vitality. It must have 
 help to support a weight which would inevitably become heavier. 
 While Cavour had other plans, he finally settled upon one which 
 inaugurated a new financial system in constitutional and liberal Pied- 
 mont, two hundred millions for the railways of Genoa and the Lago 
 Maggiore, Novara, Susa, and Savoy, in works of every description. 
 He favored the spirit of enterprise and association, and accordingly 
 labored to develop interior communications. He was ambitious to 
 realize in "little Piedmont" the great idea of commercial freedom, 
 and, after inaugurating it by a custom-house reform, he further estab- 
 lished it by treaties of commerce with France, England, Belgium, 
 and Switzerland. Indeed, Cavour, instead of adopting the methods 
 of a prejudiced, dogmatical free trader, carried out a gradual and 
 practical reform which circumstances required, and Avhich would be 
 profitable to consumers through the diminution of tariffs. To further 
 promote the national welfare he encouraged maritime commerce, 
 stimulated the internal industry of the country by foreign competition, 
 and supported it by the decrease of taxes on raw material, while it 
 opened the way for the exportation of national productions. 
 
 To increase expenses instead of retrenching, and to contract new 
 debts by levying new taxes, was assuredly a bold and perhaps rash 
 step, especially in view of the fact that this proposed tariff reform 
 was to immediately follow the postal reform. A reduction of the 
 salt-tax and a deficit in the budget rendered the situation still more 
 precarious. But this complicated and difficult work did not intim- 
 idate Cavour, who exhibited undiminished confidence in "liberalism 
 and the marvels it can work," to use his own expression. He was 
 
PIEDMONT ' S IS OLA TION. 583 
 
 fully persuaded that these particular expenditures would exert an 
 invigorating influence, and consequently he was willing to be crit- 
 icized, but did not hesitate to defend his poHcy against all attacks. 
 By a clear demonstration he plainly showed that an appropriation of 
 one or two millions of francs for the improvement of the ports would 
 bring in not less than five hundred thousand francs per annum, and 
 also that the expenditure of ten millions of francs in piercing the 
 Luckmanier would increase the commerce of Genoa by a third, per- 
 haps by one-half. He urged the importance of taking shares and 
 securing an interest in the railway of Savoy, because thereby fifty 
 miUions of francs would be circulated in a province that was in 
 pressing need of capital. *'In order to realize our programme," said 
 Cavour, *'and profitably cultivate the country's resources, it was 
 necessary to give a powerful impulse to works of public utility, to 
 work our railways with all possible circumspection, while we gave 
 encouragement to other enterprises. ... In order that the posi- 
 tion which for so many centuries the monarchy of Savoy has main- 
 tained should not be suffered to decline, it was necessary to reorganize 
 and fortify our army. . . . This scheme made it necessary for 
 us to raise new loans, or rather to contract larger loans than they 
 would need to have been if we acted on the system of modesty and 
 economy. It consequently became necessary to increase the tax- 
 ation; but that could not be done, nor could the resources of the 
 country be developed without undertaking the reform of our economic 
 system on a large scale." 
 
 The introduction of this commercial and financial reform as a 
 matter of diplomacy indicated that Cavour designed to accomplish 
 something more than the development of the country's resources. 
 Piedmont had remained in isolation since its misfortunes, and its 
 great statesman desired therefore to bring it into closer contact with 
 the prominent western nations, with England and with France. Com- 
 merce and finance, according to his plan, constituted a bond of united 
 interests which might grow into one of policy and of ideas. Austria 
 was not deceived in regard to the programme. Before his death 
 Prince Schwartzenberg, the Austrian prime minister, ''with faintly 
 masked ill-humor," remarked, "Piedmont intends with its commer- 
 cial pohcy to purchase the support of England for Italy!" While 
 this statement was not absolutely true, yet Cavour no doubt felt 
 confident that, by remaining constitutional and by combining com- 
 mercial with the other liberties, Piedmont would rapidly gain public 
 sympathy in England, which would give it additional strength. 
 
5 84 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 "England," he said to an intimate friend, *'is no longer the cham- 
 pion of absolutism on the Continent, and an English minister would 
 find it difficult to talce part with Austria in the oppression of Italy." 
 
 Cavour denied that he was influenced by a ''hidden policy" in 
 advocating commercial intercourse with England, declared that he sac- 
 rificed no principle, and was simply actuated by a desire to benefit the 
 country. He did not, however, conceal his intention of contracting a 
 friendship with France under the veil of a commercial treaty. While 
 that treaty was not satisfactory in every point, he resolved to accept it, 
 even though he should be compelled to make some concessions to 
 the French system of protection, as he believed that Piedmont would 
 gain a political rather than an economical advantage by that course. 
 "The horizon is still dark around us," he said, "and our institutions 
 are not as yet protected from all danger. Something, perhaps, may 
 chance to make us desire at least the moral support of France. 
 Let me say, frankly, in the face of impending possibilities, I think 
 it prudent, conformable Avith the interests of the country, to be on 
 good terms with France. We have not neglected matters of economy, 
 but merely left them in the background. Views of policy have 
 caused us to accept a treaty which Avill strengthen a good and 
 cordial understanding between us and France." And Cavour, in 
 still more striking words, that, spoken in 185 1, seem almost pro- 
 phetic, further said: "Is it not possible that compHcations may arise 
 in which all surrounding nations may be concerned in two great 
 questions, the Eastern and Western? Were this to happen, should 
 we not do well to be on good terms with France?" Thus every 
 thing concurred under the Avise and liberal management of one 
 who understood how to use commerce, finance, and diplomacy in 
 placing Piedmont on her feet again. 
 
 What Cavour accomplished by his financial and commercial sys- 
 tem he not only attempted but effected in a higher moral sphere by 
 his religious policy. The problem to be solved by him was intricate 
 and difficult. The ecclesiastical situation had to be reconciled with 
 the principles of the '' statuto,'" and the liberal and national policy 
 of Piedmont maintained in its civil relations Avith the Church and the 
 court of Rome. The discussion of every new feature of this prob- 
 lem naturally and almost constantly kept it before the country. 
 The decrees of the laws for the abolition of ecclesiastical privi- 
 leges, that of civil marriages, the law for the reorganization of 
 Church property, and the suppression of certaiif monastic orders, 
 were each the occasion of strife, Avhich became more bitter Avith every 
 
PAPAL ROME HOSTILE. 585 
 
 new project. The remonstrances of Rome increased the clerical 
 agitation, against which was arrayed the anti-clerical agitation. In par- 
 liament the left accused the government of not advancing with suf- 
 ficient determination and energy in religious matters; while the right 
 complained that no negotiations were entered into with the "Holy See," 
 and that the good pleasure of Rome was not consulted. 
 
 Cavour handled these delicate and difficult questions in a manner 
 which indicated that his mind was full of decision, and, at the same 
 time, entirely free from prejudice. His elevation to power was the 
 signal for an unrelenting and uncompromising war on the part of 
 Rome. The clerical party, as we have already stated, was exasper- 
 ated by the recent legislation regarding civil marriage, and still more 
 embittered by the subsequent suppression of the convents and the 
 taxation of the Church property. Papal Rome employed all its 
 supernatural machinery — absolution, excommunication, purgatory, 
 and plenary indulgence — "to Avhich end its spiritual brokers had 
 obtained an unlimited credit upon the heavenly exchequer, with 
 a view of operating more successfully upon the political stock 
 exchange." A war of deadly hostility was waged against the gov- 
 ernment, and the contest raged not only upon the floor of parliament 
 but in salon and cafe, at the court and on the public square, around 
 the confessionals and in front of the very altars. It invaded the royal 
 household and cast a deeper shadow over the sacred precincts of 
 domestic sorrow. The recent bereavements of the king were inter- 
 preted as providential warnings should he still continue to sanction 
 this ungodly crusade against the " Holy Church." Victor Emmanuel, 
 still desiring to avoid an open rupture with Pope Pius IX, was over- 
 come with grief, and, wishing to obey the dying injunction of a ven- 
 erated, mother, determined to make one more effort for a reconciliation 
 with the ' ' Holy See;" but the inevitable non possimms would not permit 
 it. Shortly after he subordinated the affection of a son and the loy- 
 alty of a Roman Catholic to the sterner duties of a sovereign by 
 recalling Cavour, who in the meantime had resigned, and by granting 
 him full liberty to enforce the policy and consummate the reforms 
 which the clerical party so strenuously resisted. 
 
 At first Cavour no doubt believed that he could make an amica- 
 ble arrangement with the Vatican; but he very soon discovered that 
 it was impossible, especially since the religious reaction which was 
 spreading in Italy as well as in Europe generally, only hardened the 
 court of Rome in its demands and its refusals. Besides, in a short 
 time, he saw the pontificate involved in dangerous fellowship with the 
 
586 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 enemy beyond the Alps by the Austrian Concordat. Indeed, he had 
 not any faith in securing favorable terms from Rome for the realiza- 
 tion of such reforms as Piedmont earnestly desired, and, as for him- 
 self, he had ceased making any effort in that direction. **If we put 
 ourselves in direct relations with Rome," he said, writing to an inti- 
 mate friend, "we completely ruin the political edifice we have so 
 laboriously erected. If we enter into an arrangement with the pope 
 it will be impossible for us to retain our influence in Italy. Let us 
 not go too far, but neither let us suffer ourselves to retreat even one 
 step. You k^ow that I am not a priest-hater, that I am disposed 
 towards conciliation, and would willingly give the Church greater 
 liberty than she now enjoys ; you know that I should be disposed to 
 give up the exequaturs, the exclusive management of the universi- 
 ties, etc.; but under present circumstances I am persuaded that all 
 attempts at concord would be to our disadvantage." In the heat of 
 action he uttered a similar sentiment: *'We have to fight Austria 
 at Venice and at Milan, and also at Bologna and at Rome." 
 
 Cavour regarded the question of ecclesiastical reforms — the rela- 
 tions of Piedmont with the Church and with Rome — not only one of 
 interior order, but of national importance, constituting, in fact, one 
 element of the Italian situation. Any effort to solve that problem by 
 stratagem or compromise Avould only result in endless weariness, 
 waste of time, and disappointment. Cavour proposed but one 
 solution, liberty and complete independence of civil and religious 
 authority; a grand yet simple idea, which was soon to resolve itself 
 into these few emphatic words: '*A Liberal Church in a Liberal 
 State!" He who elevated that standard in a small corner of Italy 
 ''was neither a theorist," says D'Mazade, ''nor a revolutionist yield- 
 ing, at the risk of overthrowing interests, beliefs, and traditions, to a 
 fanciful love of novelty ; neither was it the Avork of a puzzled tacti- 
 cian, trying to conceal a parliamentary campaign against clericalism 
 under the cloak of an epigram. Cavour neither had the passion of a 
 leader of a faction, the subtlety of a casuist, nor the flippancy of a 
 thoughtless innovator." He believed that the political freedom of 
 Piedmont, and, indeed, of all Italy, could be secured by the accept- 
 ance of a liberty without subterfuges, and which recognized the com- 
 plete spiritual independence of the Church. 
 
 "Oh, that man," said Archbishop Darboy — the same who later fell 
 a victim to the Commune — when at Rome, "that man indeed was of a 
 rare sort; he had not the slightest sentiment of hatred in his heart." 
 This was a true statement. Neither hatred nor vulgar animosity 
 
CHURCH AND STATE. 587 
 
 actuated him in advocating liberalism. The great Piedmontese as- 
 serted that he was not a ''priest hater," and it was this which gave 
 to his religious policy its originality and superiority. He defended 
 the Church when she remained in her legitimate sphere, and he did 
 not refuse her liberty when she claimed social independence. He 
 acknowledged her to be the entire mistress of her own ground, but 
 at the same time he was determined to carry out the reforms that he 
 had inaugurated, and in which he saw the development of the 
 '' statuto.'' 
 
 To the request of some members of the Left, Brofferio and As- 
 proni, that the state should supervise the education in the seminaries, 
 he em.phatically replied: ''If I had to give an opinion as a citizen, 
 and not as a minister, I should say that the government ought not to 
 interfere in the teaching of theology, which is solely the province of 
 the bishops to watch over. Bishops should not have to do the work 
 of members of parliament, nor deputies that of bishops. We are at 
 liberty to believe or not to believe, and to select whom we choose 
 for our spiritual advisers. If we are dissatisfied with the moral teach- 
 ing of the seminaries, we will choose our confessors from among 
 theologians who have attended the school of Asproni." And he 
 added, more seriously: "How can the clergy become converted to 
 our institutions, and how will they love them if, after having, not 
 unreasonably, withdrawn some of the privileges which they enjoyed 
 under the old regime, and just as we are about to deprive them of 
 the few that remain, we should say to them : ' We reform, according 
 to the principles of liberty and equality, all those points of legislation 
 which formerly were favorable to you ; but as to your independence 
 and your liberty, we wish to preserve those traditions of the past 
 which we call, so far as they are opposed to you, the glorious heri- 
 tage of our fathers !' . . . The best way of increasing the polit- 
 ical influence of the clergy is to give them an exceptional position, 
 persecute and even subject them to petty vexations." 
 
 Cavour was not ignorant of the nature of clericalism when united 
 with politics, because, having been compelled to combat it frequently, 
 he had a good opportunity of observing its theocratic and dangerous 
 tendency. He avoided, however, any thing like retaliation in meeting 
 these aggressions, and continued moderate even in the reforms for 
 which he was so bitterly denounced. This is evident from the policy 
 he inaugurated. The law for the suppression of certain monastic 
 orders caused the greatest excitement, and was by many considered 
 proscriptive; but, while depriving the mendicant and a few other 
 
588 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 orders of civil status, it did not affect the rights of reh'gious associa- 
 tions. It sanctioned the teaching and nursing orders, especially 
 that of the Sisters of Charity, which Cavour earnestly defended 
 against the attacks of the left, declaring that nothing should induce 
 him to favor a law suppressing charitable orders. * ' I would quit the 
 ministry ten times," he said, "rather than bind myself to an act that 
 would in my opinion be immensely prejudicial to our country in the 
 eyes of civilized Europe." Concerning the possessions of the Church, 
 the law simply proposed to create a special ftjnd, which was to be 
 endowed with the revenues of the suppressed orders, and dedicated 
 entirely to the clergy. 
 
 This measure relative to Church property was one of the funda- 
 mental ideas of Cavour's policy. He had always been opposed to 
 what was called "the incamemtion of ecclesiastical property," or the 
 transformation of the Church into a corps which received salary from 
 the state, and the reason he gave for this opposition was that the 
 measure would create the worst form of despotism — the administrative 
 despotism. "I have," said he, "the misfortune or the good luck — 
 which you Avill — to be minister where a certain degree of centraliza- 
 tion reigns, and where the government has quite enough in its hands, 
 I declare to you, that if you add this one of which you speak to the 
 powers of government you will give what will be threatening to lib- 
 erty." Such a reason was a strange one to come from a minister; 
 but the chief motive that influenced him was one of "high policy." 
 
 The real ground of Cavour's opposition was that the spirit of 
 caste would be extended and intensified by the expropriation of the 
 clergy. " It has been," he said, "carried out on a very large scale 
 in some European countries. In France, before the Revolution, the 
 clergy was, if I am not mistaken, as rich as that of Spain. It was 
 totally stripped, and was not allowed to retain a vestige of its old 
 possessions. What ensued ? I have great respect for the French 
 clergy, and I admit that it is more moral and also more zealous than 
 it used to be ; but no one can deny that it is also less national and 
 less liberal than was the clergy of the old regime. For that was ani- 
 mated by a spirit of independence with regard to Rome, and a certain 
 degree of attachment to national views ; it had the instincts of liberty. 
 Now things are different ; all facts go to prove that the modern 
 French clergy is infinitely more Ultramontane than our national 
 clergy. It will be said : * But there is another course that could be 
 pursued: let us leave the followers of the faith to remunerate their 
 own clergy.' Do you know what would be the consequence of this? 
 
CAVOUR'S LIBERALISM. 589 
 
 A double amount of zeal, fanaticism, and Ultramontanism. Such a 
 system exists in Ireland. There the clergy is unsalaried ; its means 
 of existence consist of charity and the voluntary contributions of the 
 faithful. That clergy is both more fanatical and less liberal than the 
 clergy of France." 
 
 On this question Cavour's views coincided with those of De 
 Tocqueville. He refused to sanction ecclesiastical expropriations, br to 
 employ any such means for the balancing of his budget. He believed 
 that the secularization of civil society by legitimate and progressive 
 methods would produce religious reform sooner than by hostile legis- 
 lation. Indeed, Cavour was both a great liberal and a great politi- 
 cian. He resolved that revolutionary passions should not influence 
 these important religious questions, and he was anxious to preserve 
 the Hberal movement from the suspicion of interested motives. On 
 one occasion he frankly declared to Sig. Depretis, who had conversed 
 with him on the subject, why he did not wish to cause divisions in 
 the public mind. '' It is," said he, "in order that the nation may be 
 unanimous, if an opportunity should present itself, of regaining our 
 lost position by an energetic effort." He was desirous neither to 
 divide public opinion nor to compromise the good name "of the coun- 
 try by unnecessary acts of persecution, and consequently he firmly 
 opposed the proposition to subject all students, including those at 
 the seminaries, to military service. ''Your proposition," he de- 
 clared, ''will be regarded throughout the country as a revolutionary 
 act. ... In the present state of things I should consider as a 
 great evil any act that could, even externally, present the appear- 
 ance of a revolutionary measure." It was not difficult for him to 
 despise party excitement and remain moderate, because he was one 
 of those rare politicians who, without yielding to trifling prejudices, 
 followed out the realization of a lofty scheme. Cavour possessed a 
 genius both practical and tolerant, and instead of wounding the feel- 
 ings of the clergy by unnecessary words, he endeavored to captivate 
 them by persuading them to accept the reforms which he required 
 of them. He was successful in securing the good will of these 
 ecclesiastics. The head of a religious order from Rome visited him, 
 and expressed his astonishment at the cordial reception he met with. 
 Cavour afterwards remarked with a smile: "On leaving my house 
 that brother has gone to the bishop's palace, where he will certainly 
 not have had such a reception as I gave him. He will compare the 
 two, return to Rome, tell his story, and, if he is honest, he will say 
 that I am not the persecuting minister and diabolical person which at 
 
590 . ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Rome they imagine me to be." His kindness was genuine, and not 
 assumed for the sake of poHcy, and he distributed alms sponta- 
 neously, and without display or ostentation, to any of the poorer 
 clergy who asked them of him. Often in the morning, when some 
 priests were Avaiting for their slender pittance, which he and one of 
 his fellow-workers were preparing, Cavour would almost empty his 
 own private purse rather than take anything from the impoverished 
 treasury of the state, at the same time rubbing his hands, and 
 cheerfully remarking : ' * Ah, if the gentlemen of the Left could see 
 us at what we are doing!" 
 
 Cavour's mind, in its very basis, was broad and liberal, yet not 
 skeptical. He never became a scoffing freethinker and ridiculed the 
 faith in which he had been educated. A curious illustration of this 
 occurred seven years before his death, but remained unknown for a 
 long time. When the contest about conventual laws was raging, and 
 a fatal epidemic was prevailing in Turin, he had taken precautions, 
 should he too be stricken, against the painful scenes which had trans- 
 pired at the death of Count Santa Rosa. He desired to obtain the 
 assurance of his religious instructor that he should receive the minis- 
 trations of the Church in his dying hour; and, accordingly, one 
 morning he quietly ordered and prearranged every thing with Fra 
 Giacomo, the parish priest of the Madonna dei Angeli, whom he 
 made the confidant of his charities. At the conclusion of their inter- 
 view Ratazzi, the recently instituted minister of the interior, chanced 
 to come in, and Cavour, after having courteously accompanied the 
 priest to the door, turned to his colleague and simply remarked, 
 ''We have arranged every thing together in case any misfortune 
 should befall me." It is a significant fact that seven years afterwards, 
 faithful to his promise in 1854, Fra Giacomo hastened to the death- 
 bed of the Piedmontese minister, then prime minister of Italy. In 
 conducting the religious campaign, which with the exchequer and 
 diplomacy expressed his policy, Cavour exhibited boldness, shrewd- 
 ness, simplicity, and activity. Difficulties, internal and external, 
 confronted him daily ; but he carried out his policy in the face of 
 the most bitter opposition. 
 
 In the early part of 1853, almost immediately after he had become 
 president of the council, the relations of Piedmont with Austria sus- 
 tained the first shock. The latter country concluded to take advan- 
 tage of a recent Mazzinian uprising at Milan, and accordingly struck 
 a blow at the Lombard emigres at Turin, sequestrating the property 
 of the Casati, the Arese, the Arconati, the Torelli, and many others. 
 
MAL CONTENTS DENO UNCE CA VO UR. 591 
 
 Piedmont promptly suppressed the Milanese outburst; and then pro- 
 tested against Austria's measure of spoliation, which oppressed men 
 who not only were manifestly innocent of any offense, but who had 
 become naturalized Piedmontese, and of whom some were members 
 of parliament. The only effect produced by this protest was a cold- 
 ness which resulted in a reciprocal recall of embassadors. Thus an 
 incident occurring in less than four years after the conclusion of 
 peace revived the national question. Cavour did not regret that 
 Austria had to bear the responsibility of this bitter provocation, and 
 in his heart he rejoiced that she was condemned alike by France 
 and England. "Austria," he said, ''has managed to set public 
 opinion and all the governments of Europe against her. In trying to 
 damage us she has done us service; we will take advantage of it." 
 Although the rupture between Piedmont and Austria was not com- 
 plete, yet the situation was delicate, and even precarious, causing 
 general anxiety. The reactionists in Piedmont and in Europe did 
 not hesitate to use this opportunity to denounce the cabinet, and to 
 ascribe the difficulties of the hour to the impatient and improvident 
 policy of Cavour, which inspired revolutionary agitation. But 
 greater trials were at hand in the interior, and affairs there were 
 every moment becoming more serious and painful. 
 
 In adopting the new system of taxation, securing the financial 
 reforms, and establishing the commercial treaties, there were naturally 
 a clashing of various interests, and even temporary panics. To in- 
 crease the Avide-spread uneasiness there were also bad harvests, and 
 diseases smiting the silk-worms and the vines. If bread advanced 
 in price Cavour and his reforms were blamed. Every unfavorable 
 circumstance was magnified by certain parties or factions, who 
 harangued the crowd, accusing the ministry of starving the people 
 and depriving them of their rights. On the evening of October 18, 
 1853, in the peaceful city of Turin, an excited crowd or mob, con- 
 sisting for the most part of laborers and mechanics, and crying, 
 *' Death to him !" assailed his residence with a shower of stones, demol- 
 ishing the windows, and threatening its inmates with personal violence. 
 This skirmish, however, was not a true index of the sentiments of 
 the substantial class in Turin, who repudiated this act of the populace 
 in a most emphatic manner, while letters and addresses of sympathy 
 and confidence poured in from every quarter. The following day 
 Cavour, accompanied by La Marmora, walked through the streets 
 on his usual way to the ministry of finance, and was every -where 
 kindly greeted. 
 
592 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The reactionary papers in Savoy, by comparing the old and new 
 rate of taxes, endeavored to excite the prejudices of the populace 
 and produce discontent. Cavour was publicly accused of crushing 
 the laborer and the artisan with imposts, that he might "prosecute 
 his Utopias about Italy." The municipal council of Chambery, 
 which was entirely controlled by the reactionary party, almost 
 reached the point of refusal to pay the levy. The national guard 
 declined to be present at the rejoicings in honor of the "statuto." 
 A Savoyard wrote to Cavour : "If you are obstinate, we are doubly 
 so; it is not in Savoy that heads are weather-cocks." The excitement 
 Avas rendered still greater by the attack that was made upon Cavour's 
 religious policy. While parliament was agitated by warm discussions 
 the country at large was equally convulsed. Threats were made 
 against the government because it was leading Piedmont "to schism, 
 anarchy, and destruction." The enforcement of the law for the 
 suppression of certain convents provoked painful scenes of resistance. 
 Famines and epidemics were declared to be messengers of wrath 
 from Heaven to punish the nation for the enactment of sacrilegious 
 laws. This statement was rendered more significant by the myste- 
 rious providence which in the space of a few days removed by death 
 three members of the royal family — the queen's mother, the queen, 
 and the duke of Genoa. Even those who were immediately about 
 the person of the king at the court seemed to regard these sudden 
 occasions for mourning as warnings from Heaven. 
 
 While Cavour remained firm in this dark hour, yet he was often 
 anxious. "Policy is becoming more and more perplexing," he 
 wrote to his friends at Geneva; "we have to contend against famine, 
 new taxes, priests, and reactionists. . . . Nevertheless, I do not 
 relinquish hope." Another day he wrote thus from Leri, where he 
 had gone to enjoy a few moments needful rest: "After a desperate 
 struggle, in parliament, in the salons, at the court, as well as in the 
 streets, to which are added a number of lamentable circumstances, I 
 found I had reached the end of my intellectual resources, and I have 
 come here to restore them by a few days' rest. Thauks to my nat- 
 ural elasticity of fiber, I shall shortly be able to resume the weight 
 of affairs. Before the week is out I hope to be back to my post, 
 where difficulties await me, giving rise to a pohtical situation likely 
 to become more and more strained." Any other prime minister, 
 of less "elasticity of fiber," would have succumbed in a struggle 
 like this one, whose intricacies and vicissitudes made it laborious 
 and unceasing. 
 
PUBLIC WORKS. 593 
 
 This policy, though stoutly resisted by Its enemies, continued to 
 receive strength, manifesting its power In primary result, and In a 
 few years yielding fruit. On every side progress was discernible. La 
 Marmora, by his energy, perseverance, and method, and by the aid 
 of a minister of finance who willingly furnished the necessary money, 
 had already succeeded In reorganizing the military Institutions, and 
 gathering an army which, though small, was nevertheless able to 
 sustain, with dignity the standard of Italy. This new management In 
 economic matters was not sterile, but produced good results. The 
 spirit of liberty had infused new life into the nation, and activity was 
 apparent In every form of industry and commercial enterprise. The 
 works of public usefulness, when completed, were a source of wealth. 
 At the beginning of 1854 the Genoese railroad was finished and 
 opened, cutting its way through the Apennines to that gulf of the 
 Mediterranean where Cavour was proud to have arrived on the first 
 locomotive. Thus Piedmont gradually acquired an honorable name 
 in Europe, exhibiting remarkable progress for a small country, being 
 full of life, and quick to resist her enemies. In France and England 
 she attracted attention, and won sympathy by her right use of con- 
 stitutional freedom. 
 
 It was also evident that Cavour himself was rising In public es- 
 teem. He displayed such great ability In the management of strug- 
 gles, out of which he always came the stronger, that those around 
 him felt a growing Interest and confidence in him. While engaged 
 in all these affairs, he never lost sight of the momentous enterprise 
 before him, but appreciated Its serious character, as the following 
 extract from a private letter, which he wrote to Madame de Clr- 
 court, in 1854, will indicate: 
 
 "Circumstances have led Piedmont to take a clear and positive 
 position in Italy, I know that it is not without danger, and I feel 
 all the responsibility that it imposes on me ; but honor and duty have 
 laid the burden on us. Since Providence has so willed it that Pied- 
 mont should alone be free and independent In Italy, it is the duty of 
 Piedmont to use that liberty and independence In pleading the cause 
 of our unfortunate Peninsula before Europe. We will not shrink 
 from that perilous task ; the king and the country are determined to 
 accomplish it to the uttermost. May be your friends, the doctrinaires 
 and the liberals, who deplore the loss of liberty In France after they 
 have helped to stifle it In Italy, will consider our policy absurd and 
 romantic. I am resigned to their censures, feeling certain that gener- 
 ous hearts like yours will sympathize with our efforts to recall to life 
 
594 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 a nation for centuries buried in a frightful tomb. If I should fail, 
 you will not refuse to give me a corner among the eminent van- 
 quished who fly to group themselves about you. . . . Take this 
 confession as the avowal that my whole Hfe is consecrated to one 
 object — that of the emancipation of my country." 
 
 Sixth Decade, Continued, 1850-1860. 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 OPENING OF THE NATIONAL DRAMA IN ITALY. 
 
 WHEN Cavour, as early as 185 1, advocated a treaty of com- 
 merce, as a diplomatic advantage, he was ridiculed by some ; 
 but time vindicated his position. The Russian war with England and 
 France was now at hand, and might involve the interests of all coun- 
 tries, and divide "into two camps the East and the West." From 
 the first Cavour watched the great conflict with an attentive eye, 
 and was confident that it >yould be extended. In the Spring of 1854, 
 when the armies of France and England were advancing toward 
 the Black Sea, he, in the company of Count Lisio, was spending an 
 evening at the house of his favorite niece, the Countess Alfieri, in 
 whose society he loved to seek repose. He stood silent and thought- 
 ful in the salon, when she rallied him by inquiring, ' * Well, uncle, 
 are we going to the Crimea?" He simply smiled, and said, "Who 
 knows?" Then again, as if reading his thoughts, she would suddenly 
 ask such a question as this, "Why should you not send ten thou- 
 sand men?" to which he eagerly replied, "Ah, if every one thought 
 that, it would already be done." This intelligent woman, who well 
 understood her uncle, finally asked him: "Well, are we ready to 
 start?" and he replied, with his usual smile, "Who knows? England 
 is solicitous to conclude a treaty which would give our soldiers an 
 opportunity of wiping out the defeat of Novara. But what would 
 you? All my cabinet is hostile to this expedition. Rattazzi himself, 
 and my best friend, La Marmora, speak of relinquishing the enter- 
 prise ; but the king is for me, and we two will prevail." 
 
 Cavour was heartily in favor of uniting with the Western alliance, 
 which was thrown open by the Anglo-French treaty of alliance of 
 
OPPOSITION AT TURIN. 595 
 
 April 10, 1854, and had the decision rested only with him, he would 
 have been among the first to take the step. Piedmont had not been 
 in direct relations with Russia since 1848, and therefore felt free to 
 consult her own interests. The Emperor Nicholas desired to please 
 Austria, and no doubt entertained hostile feelings toward the liberal 
 ofovernment of Turin. He even returned no answer to the first offi- 
 cial notifications of King Victor Emmanuel. There was nothing, 
 therefore, to restrain Piedmont's liberty of action and sympathy for 
 the Western cause ; but Cavour was not alone. After first persuad- 
 ing the king to sanction the scheme, he proceeded to win over his 
 colleagues, nearly all stubborn men ; next the minister of foreign 
 affairs, Dabormida, then Rattazzi, then parliament, and, finally, pub- 
 he opinion. 
 
 The first announcement of this project in Turin produced con- 
 siderable excitement, and was condemned on every side. It was 
 asserted that the country would not derive any benefit from such a 
 far-off enterprise ; that little Piedmont could not occupy an honorable 
 place beside the two greatest powers of Europe, and that the modest 
 Sardinian contingent would appear contemptible among the armies of 
 France and of England. The question was asked, whether it was wise 
 to impose new sacrifices on the country for a ruinous piece of folly 
 at a time when it was so difficult to meet the deficit of the budget? 
 While Cavour was aware of this strong opposition, and could not be 
 entirely independent of it, yet he had no idea of abandoning his pur- 
 pose. When an opportunity of obliterating the disgrace of Novarai. 
 presented itself, he was determined to avail himself of it, especially- 
 when Piedmont could exhibit the skill of the new Sardinian army, 
 and also obtain both moral and diplomatic credit by securing the sup- 
 port of England and France. He concentrated all his energies in« 
 the effort to make his scheme popular and in gaining alHes. At one- 
 time he felt that another might be more successful in the work than^ 
 he could be, and accordingly proposed to Massimo d'Azeglio, that 
 he should take his place as president of the council, while he served, 
 under his orders, or even, if necessary, abandoned the ministry.. 
 "Do what you think best," he wrote; *'I will support you through? 
 and through, provided you make the alliance." This offer was. 
 promptly declined by D ' Azeglio, who promised the fullest aid to a. 
 policy whose greatness he appreciated, but which he could not carry- 
 out as successfully as he who had conceived it. 
 
 Although perplexed on every side, Cavour Avas watching Austria- 
 at the time when the news reached Turin that the Viennese cabinet 
 
 39 
 
 . _J. 
 
596 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 had signed the treaty of December 2, 1854, with England and France. 
 He perceived that the position of Austria was equivocal, and that 
 Piedmont must take a bold stand. If Austria's scheme was to have 
 her assistance purchased at Paris and in London, by pledgipg her 
 Italian possessions, it would be necessary for Piedmont to counteract 
 it by an immediate alliance with the West ; but if Austria intended 
 to be neutral — and this the penetrating eye of Cavour foresaw — the 
 cabinet of Turin would obviously gain a great advantage by a 
 prompt and resolute movement. Or, if some unexpected event 
 should cause Austria to espouse the claims of Russia, then Piedmont 
 would have every thing in her own hands, and the Italian question 
 would be speedily solved. In any case, hesitation was impossible, 
 and in the critical moment Cavour received encouragement from one 
 who ever remained his warm, devoted friend. Sir James Hudson, the 
 English representative at Turin, to whom an order had just been sent, 
 by his government, proposing, in conjunction with the minister of 
 France, a treaty of alliance with Piedmont. 
 
 There were difficulties, however, to contend with in fixing the 
 conditions of the treaty. The cabinet of London seem to have taken 
 it for granted that the Sardinian government would be satisfied by 
 sending a contingent for an auxiliary corps in the pay of England; 
 but neither Cavour, who was determined to maintain the independ- 
 ence of his policy, nor La Marmora, who felt a commendable pride 
 in the small expeditionary corps, of which he was to be the leader, 
 would ever consent to sanction such an arrangement. They refused 
 to allow Piedmont to occupy any other position than that of one ally 
 negotiating with another, desiring to defray its own expenses, and to 
 preserve the ''dignity and disinterestedness of its co-operation," thus 
 maintaining equal rights. Nothing was asked of the British cabinet 
 but the facilitation of a loan. It was evident that some kind of 
 guarantee, or at least some visible expression of sympathy, would 
 have been very acceptable to the ministry of Turin. If England and 
 France would have pledged themselves to secure at Vienna the abol- 
 ition of the decree sequestrating the Lombard estates, Piedmont 
 could have entered into the alliance with more confidence ; but neither 
 of these contracting parties would agree to this proposition of the 
 Sardinian government. This question might have become serious had 
 it not been fortunately removed out of the way by prominent Lombard 
 emigres^ who, desiring the success of the negotiation, implored Ca- 
 vour not to trouble himself about them. General Dabormida refused 
 at the eleventh hour to yield the point of the guarantee, and hence 
 
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. 597 
 
 Cavour was compelled himself to assume control of the foreign affairs, 
 in order to sign without conditions. In this treaty, concluded Janu- 
 ary 10, 1855, it was stipulated that the Sardinian government should 
 dispatch and maintain a corps of fifteen thousand men in the Crimea 
 during the continuation of the war. Cavour saw it was not beyond 
 the range of probabilities that, if Italian soldiers should discount 
 French and Enghsh blood before the fortifications of Sebastopol, the 
 solemn obligation at no distant day would be canceled in similar coin 
 upon the fertile plains of Lombardy. In fact, he adroitly introduced 
 into the treaty a secret stipulation to this effect. It was, indeed, a 
 bold, almost desperate, stroke of policy. ^^C'est un coup de pistolet,'" 
 exclaimed an Austrian diplomat, ' ' tire "a bout poHant aux oreilles de 
 r Autriche.''' 
 
 This treaty, uniting Piedmont to France and England, was not 
 only "a pistol fired in the ear of Austria," as Count von Usedom 
 significantly called it, but also the occasion of another parliamentary 
 battle. The Piedmontese intervention was regarded by the right as 
 "a totally unnecessary adventure," which would lead to ruinous results 
 by wasting the public money and by placing the army in a subordi- 
 nate position. Besides, that which Cavour had labored so hard to 
 accomplish was termed ' ' an act of weakness, the enforced pen- 
 alty of the ^evolutionary policy of the cabinet." These opponents 
 claimed that his change to liberahsm and his alliance with the left 
 center, or party of action, had led him into extremes. They 
 declared that France and England, in sending their armies to check 
 Muscovite ambition in the East, were not willing to incur the risk 
 of complications in Italy, and had, therefore, insisted on binding 
 Piedmont as a precautionary measure. 
 
 The situation in the camp of the left was still more extraordi- 
 nary and critical. Some of the speakers sneeringly referred to the 
 entry of Piedmont into that "European concert," in which Austria 
 was to be one of the principal ''performers," and denounced a treaty 
 with the Western powers as a base desertion of the national cause. 
 ''The alliance," said Brofferio, "is economically chargeable with rash- 
 ness ; militarily, it is a piece of folly ; and, politically, it is a wicked 
 act." Again he exclaimed, with more than his usual fervor: " If I 
 should allow free scope to the impulse of my feelings, my voice 
 would sound out a grand lament. The sacrifice of liberty, be 
 assured, will be the consequence of victory, whichever side it may 
 favor. May God forefend the fatal augury ! But if you consent to 
 this treaty the prostration of Piedmont and the ruin of Italy will be 
 
598 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 an accomplished fact." The most determined opposition came from 
 the ranks of the democratic party, who imagined they saw in this 
 ill-starred expedition the overthrow of constitutional government in 
 Piedmont, and an insurmountable barrier to Italian unity and inde- 
 pendence. Some of the extreme liberals went so far as to induce 
 a few misled subaltern officers to prepare a protest, in which it was 
 stated that * ' no government had a right to dispose of Italian soldiers 
 to fight in anti-national war;" and it went on to say: ''Let us rise 
 and swear that we will only consent to fight for the unity of Italy 
 and for those people who aspire to defend their nationality." The 
 more moderate complained that no provision had been made under 
 certain contingencies for an armed neutrality, which could seize its 
 favorable opportunity in the midst of the complications with which 
 Europe was threatened. The general feeling in parliament was, no 
 doubt, expressed by Deviry, who, in an address, said: "Gentlemen, 
 the responsibility which we are going to incur at the moment when 
 we shall cast our ballots into the urn is immense, is terrible; for 
 upon that vote will depend, it may be, the future of our country." 
 
 These political prophets predicted that Cavour's policy would 
 involve Piedmont in danger and ruin, but in it he foresaw the only 
 hope of his country's safety and salvation. It seemed that neither 
 side in parliament perceived that Italy might be advanced by still 
 another means. Cavour permitted them to ventilate their opinions, 
 and, after listening to them patiently, he presented to them his policy 
 in a speech which was animated with .the breath of a new life. He 
 explained to them how that neutrality would be a dangerous retreat 
 into the background, and that Piedmont was more interested than 
 any other nation in checking the progress of Russia toward the 
 Mediterranean. Coming directly to the difficult point of the matter, 
 he asked whether the alliance would be favorable or injurious to 
 Italy. This was the real question. 
 
 "We have joined the alliance," said he, "without relinquishing 
 our exterior sympathies any more than our interior principles. We 
 have not hidden our anxiety for the future of Italy, or our desire to 
 see its condition ameliorated. But how, I shall be asked, can the 
 treaty serve the cause of Italy? It will serve it in the only way pos- 
 sible, in the actual situation of Europe. The experience of these 
 last years, as well as that of centuries, shows how little Italy has 
 benefited by conspiracies, plots, revolutions, and futile excitements. 
 Far from bettering her condition, they have been among the greatest 
 evils which have befallen this beautiful portion of Europe, and that 
 
A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. 599 
 
 not only on account of the innumerable misfortunes to individuals 
 resulting from them, but because these perpetual schemings, these 
 insurrections and uprisings have resulted in a diminution of the 
 esteem and sympathy which other nations might have entertained for 
 Italy. . . . And now the first of conditions for the good of the 
 Peninsula is the restitution of her good name. ... To effect 
 this two things are necessary: First, we must prove to Europe that 
 Italy has sufficient civil sagacity to govern herself -liberally, and that 
 she is in a position to give herself the most perfect form of govern- 
 ment ; secondly, we must show that our military valor is still what it 
 v/as in the time of our ancestors. In the last seven years you have 
 done much for Italy. You have proved to Europe that the ItaHans 
 can govern themselves sagaciously. . . . But you must do more. 
 Our country must give evidence that her children can fight cour- 
 ageously on the field. Believe this, that the glory our soldiers will 
 know how to achieve on the Eastern coasts will do more for the future 
 of Italy than all the noisy talking in the world." 
 
 While speaking thus, and fascinating the Chambers with the 
 patriotism of his ideas, Cavour realized that he was playing a formi- 
 dable game. After signing the treaty he wrote immediately to a 
 friend, saying: "I have undertaken a terrible responsibility, but 
 come what may, my conscience tells me that I have fulfilled a 
 sacred duty!" From that day of April, 1855, when La Marmora 
 and his fifteen thousand Piedmontese soldiers were advancing toward 
 the Crimea, Cavour was burdened with anxiety, resulting from a 
 consciousness that he was personally responsible. He was deeply 
 moved when the news came that the Piedmontese army, on its arrival, 
 had been attacked by cholera — an enemy more to be dreaded than 
 the Russians. The epidemic produced the most fatal effects in the 
 Piedmontese camp. During the Summer deaths occurred in rapid 
 succession, and the record in Turin embraced Major Cassinis, Victor 
 de Saint-Marsan, and a Casati — all falling victims in the flower of their 
 youth. General Alexander La Marmora, brother to the commander- 
 in-chief, also surrendered his life to the great enemy. 
 
 Those prophets of evil who had endeavored to prevent the send- 
 ing of the expedition more than ever denounced what they called a 
 **mad enterprise," and the real situation of affairs was exaggerated 
 by public rumors. Cavour anxiously watched the progress of events, 
 and writing to La Marmora, said: "We often meet together, and 
 we always speak of you. Our thoughts and our best wishes are with 
 you in that glorious, but hazardous, campaign to which your devotion 
 
600 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 to your country has led you." While he never had any doubt con- 
 cerning the result, yet he was troubled with anxious apprehensions, 
 and the hours to him passed slowly. When sitting one Sunday under 
 the trees at Santena, whither he had gone with Sir James Hudson, 
 Rattazzi, Minghetti, and Massari, he thus expressed his feelings: *'I 
 knew it when I advised the king and the country to venture upon this 
 great enterprise ; I was sure that we should meet with many heavy 
 obstacles, and be sorely tried ; but this battle with disease fills me 
 with alarm ; it is an evil complication. Let us not be discouraged, 
 however; now that we have thrown ourselves headlong into the 
 fight, it is useless to look back. I know that, when dying, Rosmini 
 expressed a presentiment that the Western powers would conquer. 
 I hope so ; and I, too, believe it. Never mind, we are but under 
 a cloud." 
 
 It was evident to those who were around Cavour and heard him 
 that a conflict, both patriotic and dramatic, was raging within him. 
 He had the anxiety of a serious man, but his confidence in the suc- 
 cess of his policy was unshaken. The decisive moment in his career 
 had arrived when every thing depended on the success or failure 
 of one event. He had played with fortune, and the result would be 
 either humiliation and disgrace or exaltation and honor. If he had 
 failed, many would have ^lled him an adventurer, but he did not 
 manifest such a spirit in his efforts. He succeeded because he de- 
 served success, and knew how to combine judgment with boldness in 
 his schemes. At the time when victory seemed the most remote to 
 him he was on the eve of triumph, and would soon be permitted 
 to behold his policy coming out of the fiery ordeal and ready to be 
 crowned with success. 
 
 On the day following the battle of August i6, 1855, he received 
 this simple message: ''This morning the Russians, with fifty thou- 
 sand men, attacked the lines of the Tchernaya. Our pass-word was, 
 'King and country.' This evening you will know by telegram 
 whether the Piedmontese were worthy to fight beside the French and 
 the English. We have two hundred dead. The French dispatches 
 will tell you the rest.*^. This good report relieved Piedmont of its 
 heavy burden of fears, and filled the heart of Cavour with zealous, 
 patriotic pride. He gladly welcomed the news of La Marmora's 
 success and rejoiced as if it were his own. The brilliant conduct of 
 that brave leader and of his troops not only justified the treaty, but 
 it also justified the president of the council in the eyes of all those 
 who had accused him of neglecting to settle the position of the Pied- 
 
GENERAL LA MARMORA. 6oi 
 
 montese general in the midst of the alHed forces. Cavour had 
 employed all the means within his power, and had exhibited great 
 judgment in the most delicate situation. He was confident that if 
 the army proved true to itself and worthy of its country, its com- 
 mander would naturally be elevated to the position which he had 
 won, and which no one would think of refusing him. If, on the 
 contrary, defeat or disgrace had befallen the Piedmontese troops, all 
 diplomatic stipulations would be in vain. Cavour had reposed confi- 
 dence in La Marmora and his army, and was now delighted to find 
 that he was not mistaken. The Piedmontese troops presented a fine 
 appearance and made a noble record in the great conflict. They 
 showed themselves worthy to fight side by side with the allies before 
 Sevastopol, and they seemed to instinctively feel that they were there 
 as the representatives of a great idea. On one occasion a poor sol- 
 dier was struggling with deep mud in the trenches, and a young 
 officer, desiring to encourage him, cheerfully remarked: "Never 
 mind, it is with this mud that Italy is to be made." Besides his 
 military qualifications, La Marmora had a spirit of command which 
 gave him rank with the generals of the allied armies in the Crimea, 
 just as a little later he took a prominent place in a council of war 
 assembled in Paris. Lord Clarendon declared that he possessed the 
 quahties "of a soldier, a gentleman, and a statesman." His skill as 
 a leader, and the bravery of his men on the Tchernaya, secured the 
 military result which formed a part of the scheme of Piedmontese 
 intervention. 
 
 As some of the fruits of the Italian campaign in the Crimea the 
 Sardinian troops under La Marmora added new luster to laurels 
 already won upon many a bloody field, the cabinet of Turin gained 
 political consideration among the other cabinets of Europe, Austria 
 was effectually checkmated, and England and France became the 
 assured aUies of Piedmont. Meanwhile, to draw still closer the ties 
 of amity and friendship with the courts of St. James and the Tuiler- 
 ies, Victor Emmanuel, accompanied by Cavour, yjsited Paris and 
 London in the latter part of 1855. The cordial welcome extended 
 to them indicated how far Piedmont had advanced in a short time. 
 Once it was regarded as an obscure and insignificant state, concealed 
 at the foot of the Alps from public attention and almost forgotten; 
 but now it was coming into notice, and other nations were talking 
 about it. Victor Emmanuel was every-where honored as the sover- 
 eign of a small kingdom which had boldly taken a great and impor- 
 tant step, and was gaining a firm footing on the European platform. 
 
602 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 He soon became very popular in Paris, and in London the highest 
 respect was paid to him not only because he was a Crimean ally, 
 but also because he was a constitutional king — the legal prince who 
 had made Piedmont into **a small England in Italy." 
 
 Victor Emmanuel was also accompanied in his travels by D'Azeg- 
 Ho, to whom Cavour had assigned a special mission. *'His presence 
 
 is necessary," he said cheer- 
 fully, * ' to prove to Europe 
 that we are not infected 
 with revolutionary leprosy." 
 D'Azeglio carried out his 
 part of the programme with 
 a delicacy and affability that 
 made him a host of friends. 
 Cavour himself, who was 
 naturally one of the party, 
 had his share in the rejoic- 
 ings and ovations of the 
 occasion. He was once 
 more in Paris, which he had 
 not visited since 1852; but 
 he now entered it as a ne- 
 gotiator for the French alli- 
 ance. After consulting with 
 the chief men of the day at 
 the Tuileries he went to the 
 house of Madame de Circourt, where he often met the representatives 
 of the defeated parties. 
 
 *'From six o'clock in the morning until two hours after midnight," 
 he wrote, '*I am always about; I have never led so unquiet a life 
 or one so useless; patience, however. . . . The king is in good 
 health and in the best of tempers. To-day there is a grand review, 
 to-morrow a ball at the H6tel de Ville, and Thursday we leave. I 
 send Cibrario the programme of our stay in England; it is not an 
 amusing one. When I shall reckon up my various rights to a retiring 
 pension I hope that the present trip will be counted as a cam- 
 paign. ... I have seen Thiers; he approves of the war, but he 
 would now desire peace. He despairs of his party, and almost des- 
 pairs of parliamentary rule. Cousin has become a fusionist. . . . 
 I chanced to meet with Montelambert, and, notwithstanding the 
 small amount of sympathy existing between us, we shook hands. I 
 
 D'AZEGLIO. 
 
THE SITUA riON IN FMR OPE. 603 
 
 have also seen the Nuncio, and told him that we should wish for an 
 agreement on the same basis as the French system; he pretended 
 not to understand me." 
 
 Cavour became acquainted with every branch of Parisian society, 
 and he often expressed regret that he could not escape the confusion 
 and anxiety of official visits and attend places of amusement. In all 
 these diversions, however, he embraced every opportunity of discuss- 
 ing Italian affairs and proposing some practicable remedies for amel- 
 iorating the unhappy condition of Italy. This one essential point 
 engrossed his thoughts. After a lengthy interview between him and 
 Napoleon III at the Tuileries, the latter closed the conversation by 
 asking a question that was pregnant with interest for Cavour, '^Que 
 pent on f aire pour V ItalieV It was the first time that he had ever 
 heard those words, **What can be done for Italy?" and though per- 
 haps only lightly spoken as a mere formal expression of courtesy and 
 sympathy, they made a deep impression upon his mind on that day 
 in December, 1855. If the visit of Victor Emmanuel to London and 
 Paris should produce no immediate results, Cavour felt that it was 
 the sign of a new era for Piedmont, and a prologue or preparation 
 for the more important moral victory that he was about to secure at 
 the approaching congress of Paris, by means of the general negoti- 
 ations which were for a time to restore peace to Europe. 
 
 After the fall of Sevastopol on the 8th of September, 1855, which 
 was in reality the termination of the Crimean campaign, the situation 
 of affairs was serious. Previous to that time the war had been cir- 
 cumscribed in the East, but now it was difficult to determine whether 
 it would be rekindled in a still more violent form, where it would 
 begin and what new direction it would take. There was a conflict of 
 interests, and whether warlike or pacific measures would be adopted 
 was a question not easily determined. To pay for her defeat Russia 
 seemed willing to make concessions in the East. England was the 
 least anxious to lay down her arms, but she could not do any thing 
 without France, and France, disposed to favor peace, appeared to 
 be the mediator. As Austria had not engaged her army she felt 
 herself compelled to take some decisive step, and therefore, like 
 France, advocated a settlement. The final result was an armistice 
 with the preliminaries of peace. 
 
 Believing that intervention and diplomacy were only a delusion, 
 Cavour was at heart opposed to an armistice, and, beside, the Italian 
 cause would be greatly promoted by a continuation of the war. He 
 resolved, however, to make the best use of the situation, whatever it 
 
604 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 might be ; and when the European congress was appointed at Paris 
 he prepared himself for the work of negotiation which was about to 
 commence. At Turin there was considerable perplexity concerning 
 the selection of a suitable agent, and D'Azeglio was mentioned as 
 the probable plenipotentiary. Indeed, the public mind was some- 
 what alarmed by the difficulties that must certainly arise from this 
 \\^\N diplomatic crisis. It soon became evident that Cavour was the 
 only man who could successfully manage a matter which he had been 
 chiefly instrumental in promoting and directing. He was accordingly 
 appointed chief Sardinian plenipotentiary to Paris, and, after hesitat- 
 ing, concluded to accept the trust. From the moment of his arrival 
 there he had to settle important questions. ''What part was Pied- 
 mont to play?" "What was to be her position in the congress?" 
 Nothing had as yet been decided. Cavour resolved to do for 
 diplomacy what he had done for La Marmora in the Crimean war, 
 and accordingly said : ' ' When the king's government signed a treaty 
 of alliance with England and France it did not think fit positively, or 
 particularly to state the position to be assigned to Sardinia in the 
 congress. The government was convinced that with nations, as with 
 individuals, influence and public esteem depend on conduct and rep- 
 utation more than on diplomatic stipulations." 
 
 In Paris Cavour depended upon his natural resources, as he had 
 relied on the Piedmontese general in the Crimea, and he was not 
 deceived. In the opening session of the Congress he insisted that 
 Piedmont should be placed upon an equal footing with the great 
 powers in the deliberations, while Austria vainly endeavored to per- 
 suade France and England that Piedmont could take part in the war, 
 and not have a right to be represented in the congress, because she 
 was only a state of the second order, and an intruder in European 
 affairs. The objection of Austria was overruled, and neither France, 
 England, nor Russia would co?»sent to the humiliating exclusion of 
 Sardinia. The "acquired status" of the latter was acknowledged;, 
 and thus Cavour achieved a victory in the very beginning. Although 
 entering the congress on the same level as the representatives of the 
 greatest powers, he occupied a delicate and difficult position, because 
 his right to a place there was contested, and he soon expected to 
 introduce something more objectionable than himself — the Italian 
 question. The admission of Piedmont caused Count Buol, the Aus- 
 trian plenipotentiary, to say that he would now have "a web to 
 unravel." Cavour was elevated for the first time to the highest 
 political position in Europe, and brought face to face with the grav- 
 
AUSTRIA IN THE CONGRESS. 605 
 
 est questions ; yet he was able to mount with the occasion. Whether 
 as arbitrator of war or of peace, he proved himself equal, without any 
 apparent effort, to every thing required of him. He was courteous 
 to all, possessed great shrewdness, displayed remarkable patience, 
 and was perfect master of himself. At the first few meetings of the 
 congress he preferred to keep in the background, speaking only oc- 
 casionally. When it became necessary for him to express an opinion 
 on the matters under discussion — the free navigation of the Danube, 
 or the neutralization of the Black Sea — he stated his views concisely 
 and clearly, always advocating the liberal side. He very soon won 
 golden opinions from his colleagues, who were astonished at the 
 variety, justice, and depth of his mind. Finding himself in an 
 assembly where conflicting interests, antagonistic policies, and bitter 
 jealousies met, Cavour had no difficulty in marking out a clear course, 
 and in taking advantage of the affinities and antipathies in different 
 natures, always avoiding any thing that might have a tendency to 
 separate himself from France and England. 
 
 As conditions had already been imposed upon Russia, and peace 
 seemed almost inevitable, Cavour was unwilling to wound her pride 
 and feelings by making additional demands; and the more Austria 
 was tenacious in insisting the more lenient he became. Austria had 
 not sacrificed a man, and yet she assumed in the congress a rigid and 
 inflexible position against Russia, while Piedmont, which had bravely 
 sent her soldiers to the Crimea, maintained a perfect moderation in 
 the common victory of the allies. This singular contrast, together 
 with the striking difference in the attitude of the representatives of 
 these two countries, was observed by the Russian plenipotentiaries. 
 Count Orloff felt grateful to Cavour, with whom he had a friendly 
 understanding. One day the question of the neutralization of the 
 Black Sea was introduced, and during the discussion Count Orloff 
 turned to Cavour and said, loud enough to be heard, ''Count Buol 
 speaks as though Austria had taken Sevastopol!" On another occa- 
 sion, when Count Buol was insisting on the subject of a small cession 
 of territory — which by a "diplomatic euphemism" would be termed 
 a ** rectification of frontiers" — in Bessarabia, Count Orloff said to 
 Cavour, in a significj^nt tone, "Austria's plenipotentiary does not 
 know how much blood or how many tears this rectification of fron- 
 tiers will cost his country." Of course, the Piedmontese diplomate 
 made no effort to soften the resentment of Russia towards Austria. 
 
 While the congress was considering the question of the East and 
 the Black Sea Cavour, by his frank and affable manners, had established 
 
6o6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 his position and acquired real authority, and before the expiration 
 of a month his superior abihties were acknowledged by all. He per- 
 formed his part in the official negotiations which culminated in the 
 treaty of peace of March 30, 1856; but besides this he had a special 
 work to accomplish. He had interviews with the emperor at the 
 Tuileries, with Lord Clarendon, Lord Cowley, and the representa- 
 tives of Russia. Some promised him support and others co-opera- 
 tion, or at least a "benevolent neutrality." Indeed, Cavour was 
 anxious to have the Italian question brought before the congress ; 
 but as it had no official existence it could not be presented under a 
 regular diplomatic form. There was no one authorized to represent 
 the ''principle of nationahties," and therefore the Italian question 
 was not discussed. If the plenipotentiary of Victor Emmanuel had 
 complained that the ''yoke of the foreigner" rested heavily upon his 
 country Austria would have had the right at once of protesting against 
 the discussion of such a matter in a congress assembled to consider 
 the Eastern question. There, indeed, was the difficulty ; but it was 
 not insurmountable. The situation in Italy was a permanent viola- 
 tion of the treaties established by diplomacy as the basis of European 
 tranquillity. The fact that a French army occupied Rome indicated 
 that the papal government was not able to support itself. The le- 
 gations had been held by the Austrians ever since 1849, and Bologna 
 still remained in their hands. While the Austrian dominion existed 
 in Lombardy as a legal government it was extended by an abuse of 
 treaties to the duchies of Modena and of Parma, as well as to 
 Tuscany. The king of Naples could only maintain his position by 
 acts of extreme arbitrary power. This condition of affairs produced 
 confusion and violence, which resulted in revolutionary intrigues, and 
 even menaced Piedmont. At this point the Italian question was 
 vulnerable, and might be brought under the notice of diplomacy. 
 Cavour recognized this, and from the moment of his arrival in Paris 
 he labored indefatigably to have the matter discussed in the congress. 
 To the question which Napoleon III had asked him, "What can 
 be done for Italy?" the Piedmontese minister replied by preparing^ 
 at the suggestion of Lord Clarendon and Count Walewski, the En- 
 glish and French plenipotentiaries, a memorandum similar to the one 
 addressed to Napoleon III two months before. In addition to this 
 statement, which was remarkably vigorous and lucid, he sent, on the 
 27th of March — a few days before the signing of peace — a note to 
 his allies, France and England, presenting Italy in a new aspect. 
 Desiring to make a start, he submitted plans for the Roman states— ^ 
 
A MEMORABLE SESSION. 607 
 
 at least for the legations — and, though impracticable, they were a 
 step in the right direction. The farther the congress advanced on 
 the road to peace the more earnest Cavour became, fearing that the 
 opportunity which had cost him so much might escape him. But he 
 succeeded in arousing Napoleon III and fascinating Lord Clarendon, 
 and, to strengthen his position, obtained from Count Orloff assurances 
 of at least a '^favorable neutrality" on the part of Russia. On the 
 8th of April the emperor, convinced by Cavour that the time had 
 arrived for introducing the Italian question into the conference, com- 
 missioned Count Walewski to take the initiative, which he accord- 
 ingly did. Thus, eight days after the signing of the treaty the 
 powder which Cavour had gathered was ignited, and a sudden explo- 
 sion occurred which startled Austria, and compelled her to hear for 
 the first time the announcement that after Russia she might have -to 
 pay the expenses of the next war. 
 
 The session of that day had its curious features, and was memo- 
 rable from the results which flowed from it. Count Walewski, the 
 French plenipotentiary, invoked the aid of every ** diplomatic euphe- 
 mism," taking advantage also of the congress to provoke "an inter- 
 change of ideas on different subjects which were waiting to be settled, 
 and which it would be well to take into consideration in order to 
 prevent fresh complications." He mixed all the questions together — 
 the occupation of the legations by the Austrians, the occupation of 
 Rome by the French troops, the situation of the kingdom of Naples, 
 the excesses of the Belgian journals, and the anarchy of Greece. It 
 was not difficult to perceive the real question, but Austria was tWe 
 last to appreciate it. Count Buol immediately denied the compe- 
 tency of the congress, and declined all discussion on Italian affairs. 
 He protested, temporized, and, as a final expedient, declared that in 
 the absence of instructions he had no power to consider so delicate 
 a question. He made no explanation and gave no opinion what- 
 ever, resolving to maintain an attitude that would prevent the possi- 
 bility of a practical solution. Perceiving Avhence the blow came, he 
 could, to a certain extent, officially evade it, but he could not any 
 longer restrain an outburst in the congress. In the height of the 
 stormy discussion of that memorable session, of which the protocol, 
 subsequently issued, furnishes a very imperfect and emasculated 
 account, Lord Clarendon, thoroughly aroused by the defiant attitude 
 of the Austrian envoys, exclaimed with great vehemence and warmth : 
 **If your intention is really to make no promises, to give no pledges, 
 to enter into no engagements with regard to Italy, it will be to throw 
 
6o8 ' ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 down the gauntlet to liberal Europe, that at no distant day may- 
 take it up. This question will then be decided by the most energetic 
 and vigorous measures. It is a great mistake to suppose that our 
 forces are exhausted." 
 
 Count Walewski spoke in severe terms concerning the interior 
 government of the king of Naples, and he admitted that the situation 
 of Rome and the Roman states being under foreign rule, was ''ab- 
 normal." Lord Clarendon was still more caustic in his remarks rela- 
 tive to the king of Naples, and boldly declared that the pontifical gov- 
 ernment was the worst of all governments. He also referred to the 
 frightful condition of the Romagna, which was between a stage of 
 siege and one of brigandage, and added, that the only remedy for 
 these evils was ** secularization, liberal reforms, and an administration 
 conformable to the spirit of the age." Cavour could afford to 
 remain silent while others were ably playing his game, but when his 
 time to speak came he corroborated all that had been said and 
 claimed that still more must be done. He demonstrated that the 
 ''abnormal" was not only the situation of the pontifical states and 
 of Naples, but of the whole Peninsula; and that Austria, by extending 
 her dominion from the Ticino to Venice, by encamping at Ferrara and 
 Bologna, and by her control of Piacenza and her garrison at Parma, 
 destroyed the political equilibrium of Italy, and was a source of per- 
 manent danger to Sardinia. "The Sardinian plenipotentiaries," he 
 said, as he faced Count Buol, "therefore think it their duty to call 
 the attention of Europe to a state of things so abnormal ; that which 
 results from the indefinite occupation of a great portion of Italy by 
 Austrian troops." 
 
 A few days later, on the i6th of April, Cavour addressed a com- 
 munication to France and England, in which he reiterated the senti- 
 ments that he had uttered in the congress, declaring that Piedmont 
 would not submit much longer to foreign oppression, and that unless 
 something was done she, like the other Italian states, would be com- 
 pelled to choose either the despotic rule of Austria or war. "Inter- 
 nally troubled," he proceeded to say, "by th^ action of revolutionary 
 passions instigated around her by a system of violent compression 
 and by foreign occupation, menaced with a still greater extension of 
 Austrian power, the king of Sardinia may from one moment to 
 another be compelled by an inevitable necessity to adopt extreme 
 measures, of which it is impossible to foresee the consequences." In 
 these words the real situation was described by an earnest man, who 
 was burning to champion his policy before all Europe. It seemed 
 
 \ 
 
CAVOUR AND CLARENDON. 609 
 
 that only an "empty protocol" would be the result of his efforts, but 
 even this momentary triumph indicated the gravity of the Italian 
 question. Cavour, no doubt, expected something better than a pro- 
 tocol, and the disappointment disturbed his mental balance. He 
 manifested considerable impatience, and sometimes during these **hot 
 moods" acted strangely, but he could quickly control himself. Con- 
 scious of these peculiar tides of feeling, he refers to them in a hur- 
 ried letter written to Turin, explaining all that he was doing or 
 attempting. *'I trust," he says, "that after reading this you will not 
 imagine that I have brain fever, or that I have fallen into a state of 
 delirium ; on the contrary, the condition of my Intellectual health is 
 excellent. I have never felt more calm ; I have even obtained a 
 great reputation for moderation. Clarendon has often told me that 
 Prince Napoleon accused me of being wanting In energy, and even 
 WalewskI praises my behavior ; I am really persuaded, however, that 
 boldness might not be unattended with success." Cavour had accom- 
 plished all that was possible at that time, but thought he had not 
 done enough. Hence his mental agitation. 
 
 During a part of April, 1856, he revolved in his mind various 
 plans, not even hesitating to favor an Immediate war with Austria, 
 because he believed that he would be supported by France and 
 England. The character of his secret diplomacy Is revealed chiefly 
 in two letters written immediately after the congress. "Yesterday 
 morning," he says In one of his letters, " I had the following conver- 
 sation with Lord Clarendon : * My lord, that which took place at the 
 congress proves two things: i. That Austria Is determined to persist 
 in Its system of oppression and violence towards Italy. 2. That 
 diplomatic efforts are quite inefficient to modify that system. The 
 results to Piedmont are extremely injurious. What with party irri- 
 tation on the one hand, and the arrogance of Austria on the other, 
 there are but two courses open to us, either to become reconciled 
 with Austria and the pope, or to make preparations for the declara- 
 tion of war with Austria at no distant period. If the first alterna- 
 tive is the better, I ought, on my return to Turin, to advise the king 
 to call to power the friends of Austria and the pope. If the second 
 is preferable, we shall not fear, our friends and I, to prepare ourselves 
 for a terrible war — for war to the death !' Here I stopped, and 
 Lord Clarendon, without expressing either surprise or disappro- 
 bation, then said : ' I think you are right ; your position is grow- 
 ing critical. I can Imagine that an outburst may become inevitable; 
 only the time to speak it openly has not yet come. ' I replied : * I 
 
6lO ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 have given you evidence of my moderation and prudence : I think 
 that in policy one should be excessively reserved as to speech and 
 exceedingly decided as to deeds. There are positions in which less 
 danger will be found in an excess of audacity than in one of pru- 
 hence. With La Marmora for our commander-in-chief, I am per- 
 suaded that we are fit to begin a war, and if it should last long, you 
 will be forced to come to our assistance.' Lord Clarendon eagerly 
 replied : ' Oh, certainly, if you should be in trouble you can rely on 
 us ; you will see how energetically we shall hurry to your aid.' " As 
 Lord Clarendon was naturally a reserved man, Cavour believed that 
 his words indicated the willingness of England to assist in a war for 
 the freedom of Italy ; but their real meaning, as the sequel showed, 
 was exaggerated by the Piedmontese minister. 
 
 In another letter, written about the same time, Cavour describes a 
 visit he made to the emperor, and also refers to the relations existing 
 between the Sardinian and the Austrian plenipotentiaries. ''I have 
 seen the emperor," he says, "and I said much the same thing to 
 him as I had said to Clarendon, only putting it a little more mildly. 
 He listened courteously, and added, that he hoped to bring Austria 
 to a better view of things. He told me that, on the occasion of last 
 Saturday's dinner, he had said to Count Buol that he deeply regretted 
 to find himself in positive contradiction to the emperor of Austria on 
 the Italian question ; upon which Count Buol immediately went to 
 Walewski to tell him that Austria's greatest wish was to comply with 
 the emperor's Avishes in every respect ; that France was her only ally; 
 and that it was, therefore, imperative that she should follow the same 
 policy. The emperor appeared pleased with this mark of friendship, 
 and he reiterated that he would take advantage of it to obtain con- 
 cessions from Austria. I showed myself incredulous. I insisted on 
 the necessity for adopting a decided attitude, and I told him that to 
 begin with I had prepared a protest which I would hand to Walewski 
 the following day. The emperor hesitated long and finally said : 
 'Go to London, come to a clear understanding with Palmerston, 
 then come and see me.' The emperor must have spoken to Buol, 
 for he came to me with a thousand protestations about Austria's 
 good feeling toward us, her desire to live peaceably with us, and to 
 respect our institutions, etc., etc., and more humbug of the sort. I 
 replied that he had not given much evidence of such a wish when at 
 Paris, and that I was leaving with a conviction that the understand- 
 ing between us was worse instead of better. The conversation was a 
 long and animated one, but always in a tone of urbanity and court- 
 
GAINS OF PIEDMONT. 6ll. 
 
 esy. ... At parting he shook my hand, saying : * Allow me 
 to hope that even politically we shall not always be adversaries.' I 
 conclude from these words that Buol is somewhat uneasy at the exhi- 
 bition of opinions in our favor, and possibly, also, at what the em- 
 peror may have said to him. . . . Orloff made a thousand prot- 
 estations of friendship ; he agreed with me that the condition of 
 Italy was insupportable. . . . Even the Prussian speaks ill of 
 Austria. After all, if we have not gained any thing practically in 
 the eyes of the world, our victory is complete." 
 
 Cavour soon realized that his favorite idea of a coming war was 
 not popular in Paris, and he did not anticipate any encouragement 
 from that visit to London, which the emperor advised him to make. 
 He was warmly received by the queen and the prince consort, 
 accepted an invitation to be present at a naval review, and heard 
 protestations of sympathy from Tories as well as Whigs for the Pied- 
 montese constitutional government; but, beyond a manifestation of 
 general interest, the English were somewhat indifferent concerning 
 the national question. He saw but little of Palmerston, and did not 
 have in London a renewal of such an interview as he had in Paris 
 with Lord Clarendon. The steady, penetrating mind of Cavour soon 
 appreciated the situation, and though he had been prematurely 
 dreaming of kindling the flames of war, immediately after a recent 
 peace, the illusion was only momentary. While he could not obtain 
 all that he desired, he felt nevertheless that something real and prac- 
 tical had been gained. The arms of Piedmont had been united with 
 those of the greatest nations on earth, and she obliterated the painful 
 record of her defeat at Novara by the bravery of her soldiers on 
 hotly contested battle-fields, presenting the spectacle of what one of 
 the French generals. Bosquet, called ''a jewel of an army." She 
 had been permitted to take her seat round the green table of a con- 
 gress beside France, England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia. She 
 had made herself one of the European powers, and demonstrated 
 that the importance of a country is measured rather by its ability 
 and valor than by extent of territory. She had acquired the right to 
 discuss questions previously forbidden, to speak in behalf of all Italy, 
 and, indeed, to make herself the plenipotentiary of the entire country. 
 What more could Cavour wish? 
 
 When he returned to Turin after the congress, he met with the 
 same opposition which had assailed him before the Crimean campaign ; 
 but, while his enemies endeavored again to annoy him by asking 
 what he had gained, he pointed to the results of his bold, consec- 
 
 40 
 
6 1 2 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 iitive policy and quietly replied: *'We have not reached any very 
 definite object, it is true; but we have secured two things: In the 
 first place, the anomalous and unhappy situation of Italy has been 
 laid before Europe, not by demagogues or hot-headed revolutionists, 
 nor again by excited journalists, but by the representatives of the 
 highest powers of Europe; by statesmen who govern the greatest 
 nations, and who are accustomed to take council of reason rather 
 than emotion. In the second place, these very powers have declared 
 that it was not only in the interest of Italy, but in that of Europe, 
 that the ills of Italy should be remedied. I can not believe that a 
 judgment passed and a counsel given by such powers as those of 
 France and England can be barren of good results. The principles 
 which have guided us in these last years have enabled us to make a 
 great advance. For the first time in the whole course of our history 
 the Italian question has been broached and discussed in a European 
 congress; not as formerly at Laybach and Verona, Avith a view to 
 aggravate the evils Italy had to bear, and put new chains about her 
 neck ; but, on the contrary, with the openly avowed object of finding 
 some remedy for her oppressed condition, and to exhibit the sym- 
 pathies of great nations towards her. The congress is ended, and 
 now the cause of Italy is brought before the tribunal of public opin- 
 ion. The action may be long and the shiftings many. 
 We await the issue of it with an entire confidence." Thus spoke 
 Cavour before the Chamber at Turin; and parliament almost unani- 
 mously approved the course pursued by the Sadinian envoys through- 
 out the conference. All the Italian provinces sent in congratulatory 
 addresses, and statues, busts, and medals were raised by public 
 subscription in honor of the man whose name was henceforth to 
 become synonymous with Italian unity and independence. He was 
 every-where recognized as the representative of a revived and 
 strengthened Piedmont, and Italians hailed him as the hope of Italy. 
 But Cavour's work was not yet completed. During the two or 
 three years following the congress of 1856 he labored to destroy 
 Austria's influence, to maintain the liberal ascendancy of Piedmont, 
 to rally Italian patriotic sentiment around the banner of Victor Em- 
 manuel without committing himself with the different governments, 
 to obtain allies by any means, to create sympathy, and to prepare 
 for war under cover of peace. It was difficult to pursue all these 
 objects in the midst of conflicting parties, but Cavour was equal to 
 the task, being, as Manzoni once said of him, "every inch a states- 
 man, with all a statesman's prudence and even imprudence." He 
 
DEA TH OF MANIN. 6 1 3 
 
 was deeply interested in the material advancement of Piedmont, and 
 resolved to improve its fortifications. Notwithstanding the heavy 
 drain upon the national exchequer, he created a great marine hospital 
 at Spezzia, fortified Alessandria, and urged on the boring of the Mont 
 Cenis tunnel. He believed that the latter enterprise would be of incal- 
 culable commercial advantage to Piedmont. One day, on the Piazza 
 d'Armi, of Turin, pointing in the direction of the Alps, he observed 
 to his friends: **If Louis XIV said the Pyrenees would be no more, 
 I hope some day to say with more truth that the Alps are no more." 
 
 While promoting the material interests of the country, Cavour, 
 at the same time, continued to strengthen his policy. He received 
 some moral support from the national society formed at this period 
 by Giuseppe La Farina, a Sicilian emigrant, who proposed to liberate 
 Italy by less violent means than those adopted by Mazzini. The 
 latter was at Genoa in 1857, superintending the popular outbreak 
 there. The insurrection also extended to Leghorn and Naples, but 
 there was a division in the republican ranks. Manin and other 
 leaders were opposed to the movement and the result was failure. 
 Cavour was not in sympathy with Mazzini's methods, and hence his 
 indorsement of La Farina's society. When in Paris, at the congress 
 of 1856, the Piedmontese minister had an interview with Manin, who, 
 during an exile of seven years, had been supporting his family by 
 giving lessons in Italian. He still advocated independence and 
 national unity for Italy, and occasionally expressed his views in the 
 Presse Si^cle and Estafette, newspapers of Paris, in the Times and 
 Daily News, of London, and in the Diritto, of Turin. He was broken 
 by family affliction, having lost by death his wife, and then an 
 accomplished daughter, who Avas in his eyes the pathetic image of 
 his beloved Venice. These bereavements, together with a malady 
 which had long impaired his health, hastened him on to the close of 
 life. Cavour found him no less devoted to Italian independence than 
 in the past, but he accepted the Paris negotiations and expressed his 
 willingness to favor any policy that would lead to national freedom 
 and unity, and especially to a republic. The great statesman of 
 Venice died on the 22d of September, 1857, and was buried at 
 Montmartre. The French government did not interfere with the 
 publicity of the funeral, which was attended by a vast concourse of 
 people, including many strangers from Paris. 
 
 The pubHc mind was deeply moved by the attempts of misguided 
 individuals to assassinate crowned heads. A powder magazine and 
 vessels of war were exploded at Naples, and a soldier named Agesilas 
 
6l4 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Milano sought to take the Hfe of the king. It is true that the des- 
 potic acts of that monarch had been so rigorous that France and 
 England, in 1856, engaged in a diplomatic intervention to restrain 
 him, yet few of his subjects favored violent means to secure relief. 
 The national policy of Cavour was seriously embarrassed by the effort 
 of Felice Orsini, an Italian, to assassinate the emperor and empress 
 of France as they entered the Opera House in Paris on the evening 
 of January 14, 1858. The papal nuncio had not hesitated to tell 
 Napoleon that ''these were the fruits of the revolutionary passions 
 fostered by Count Cavour." The embassador of the Emperor Francis 
 Joseph had immediately asked whether the time had not yet come 
 in which to "establish between France a mutual understanding, in 
 order to constrain Piedmont to leave off protecting the machinations 
 of the refugees and the license of the press." Soon after Orsini's 
 rash attempt Victor Emmanuel sent General della Rocca to congrat- 
 ulate the emperor on his escape, and also, perhaps, to appease him. 
 Soon afterwards the king wrote a confidential letter to Napoleon, and 
 the latter in reply expressed his satisfaction with the attitude of Pied- 
 mont. The emperor's anger was gradually disappearing, and he even 
 admitted that if there were any conspirators it was not Piedmont, 
 but the hazardous situation of Italy, to blame. At the Tuileries it 
 had come to be repeated that, ''So long as there should be Austrians 
 in Italy there would be attempts of assassination in Paris; that Count 
 Cavour was in the right and ought to be seconded." 
 
 Napoleon desired that the Italians should understand his views of 
 the situation, and he actually sent the letters which Orsini had writ- 
 ten to him from his prison to Count Villamarina, with orders to send 
 them to Turin. They were published in the Monitettr at Paris, and 
 the following extract indicates their contents: "Let your majesty call 
 to mind that the Italians, among whom was my father, shed their 
 blood freely and joyfully for Napoleon the Great, that they continued 
 faithful to him until his downfall. Let it not be forgotten that the 
 peace of Europe and that of your majesty will remain a mere chimera 
 as long as Italy is not free. If your majesty will but deliver my 
 country the benedictions of twenty-five millions of men will resound 
 from generation to generation." Orsini was executed, and his letters 
 appeared in the official gazette of Turin. Then followed a strange 
 diplomatic scene — the meeting of Napoleon and Cavour at Plombi^res 
 on the 20th of July, 1858. An alliance was agreed upon, embracing 
 a war with Austria, the formation of an Italian kingdom of eleven 
 millions of souls, and the cession of Savoy and Nice to France. 
 
THE EVENTS OF A DECADE. 615 
 
 Sixth Decade, Continued, 1850-1860. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 ITALY BEFORE AND AFTER THE PEACE OF VILLAFRANCA. 
 
 WITH the beginning of the year 1859 ^^^ national drama of 
 Italy was hastening to its crisis. In the early part of 1849, 
 on the 23d of March, Piedmont, conquered and humiliated, fell on 
 the battle-field of Novara, holding in her hand only a torn flag and 
 a broken sword. She was destitute of allies, and the comparatively 
 few friends she had were more incHned to blame her rashness than to 
 sympathize with her in her misfortune or to render her assistance. 
 Austria had been successful through her powerful armies ; and the 
 triumph of the reactionary party in the Sardinian parliament was 
 secured by magnifying the dangers of disorderly revolutions. For a 
 considerable length of time the prospect on the other side of the Alps 
 was gloomy; but in the first days of 1859 '^^ Italian situation had 
 changed. The attention of Europe was again directed towards Pied- 
 mont, and the Italian question was the absorbing topic both in dip- 
 lomatic and popular circles. 
 
 The policy inaugurated at Turin ten years previous, and vigor- 
 ously pursued, had guided Piedmont from Novara to the Crimean 
 War; from the Congress at Paris to the negotiations of Plombieres. 
 Austria had been isolated within her contested dominions ; a united 
 Italian sentiment rallied around a national monarchy ; the question 
 of independence had been separated from that of revolution ; and the 
 foreign ministers had been awakened to a realization of Italy's situa- 
 tion. These were some of the results of this ten years' policy, which 
 a remarkable combination of circumstances made successful. There 
 were displayed wisdom in its inception and courage in its prosecu- 
 tion, and when the proper time arrived friends came forward to be 
 the supporters of one of the most difficult enterprises. Napoleon and 
 Cavour, though different in position, character, and mind, supple- 
 mented each the other. The resemblance between them was slight, 
 and they stand before us on the historic page in vivid and strange 
 contrast with each other. They came into collision more than once, 
 and yet they mutually attracted each other, because each felt that the 
 other was necessary to him. 
 
6l6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Cavour regarded Napoleon III as a powerful and perhaps danger- 
 ous ally, the ruler of one of the most prominent European countries, 
 and the head of an army still considered invincible. Napoleon III 
 found in Cavour the model foreign minister, and the instrument of his 
 peculiar views concerning Italy; "the man best calculated," says De 
 Mazade, *'to sweep him on, to oppose him, if necessary, and ease 
 him of the burden of his irresoluteness by putting pressure upon him, 
 in offering him, in a variety of ways, the occasion of deciding, and 
 acting upon his decision." It is said that during the interview at 
 Plombieres the emperor, then believing that he had unlimited power, 
 remarked to Cavour: "Do you know that there are but three men 
 in Europe: we two, and a third I will not name?" No one knew 
 Avhat person was meant by the "third;" but the other two met in the 
 little town of Vosges, and the result was a coincidence in the begin- 
 ning of 1859 — t^^ scene at the Tuileries on the ist of January, and 
 the thrilling speech of Victor Emmanuel in the parliament at Turin, 
 on the loth of the same month. The king, at the opening of the 
 chambers, said: "Our horizon is not at all clear. Our country, small 
 indeed territorially, has yet become influential in Europe, through the 
 greatness of the ideas it represents and the sympathies it inspires. 
 This situation is by no means without its dangers ; for while we 
 would respect treaties, we can not remain insensible to the cry of 
 anguish which reaches us from so many parts of Italy." Victor 
 Emmanuel would not have spoken with such boldness unless he had 
 received definite promises from Napoleon III, and the latter no doubt 
 had known and approved of it beforehand. It was a part of his tac- 
 tics that his ally should say what he would not, or could not, as yet 
 say himself. Cavour understood the meaning of the words carelessly 
 spoken by the emperor to M. de Hubner, and on hearing them he 
 remarked with a smile: "The emperor means to go ahead, it appears." 
 
 In a few days subsequently the public mind was startled by 
 another incident of great political significance. It was known almost 
 simultaneously that Prince Napoleon, accompanied by General Niel, 
 had left Paris for Turin, and that the marriage of a Bonaparte with 
 the Princess Clotilde of Savoy was accomplished. Before the 30th 
 of January all was settled at Turin, where the excited populace dis- 
 cussed this union of the dynasties and interpreted it as the promise 
 of events at hand. The personal and imphed understanding which 
 had previously existed between the emperor and the king assumed a 
 more distinct form, diplomatically, after the 1 8th of January, and 
 became a regular alliance in anticipation of an attack on the part of 
 
THE AR CHD UKE MAXIMILIAN. 6 1 7 
 
 Austria. On the morrow of the marriage of Prince Napoleon and 
 the Princess Clotilde there appeared suddenly in Paris a startling 
 pamphlet, "Napoleon III and Italy," known to be inspired by the 
 emperor. It contained a whole programme of Italian reorganization, 
 by national federation, without foreign interference. 
 
 How rapidly consecutive events crowded each other, and how 
 marked the changes within a short period! The speech of Victor 
 Emmanuel was a supplement to the words spoken by Napoleon III 
 to Baron Hubner, and these two public acts were crowned by the 
 family alliance, and by the imperial manifesto, which brought the 
 problem of the destinies of Italy before Europe, as though the 
 treaties of 181 5 were not in existence. The crisis reached its culmi- 
 nation in a few days; but nothing was decided, and it was uncertain 
 whether the knot would have to be finally cut by the sword or untied 
 by diplomacy. Indeed, all Europe was deeply agitated during the 
 Winter of 1859, ^^ "^^ result of the struggle between the pacific 
 and warlike elements. The situation was truly singular; a conflict 
 seemed inevitable, and yet the real question of the hour remained 
 obscure. Diplomacy did not know how to take hold of this Italian 
 problem, and it was evident that, from various considerations, the 
 difficulties could be adjusted only by an appeal to force. Even Ca- 
 vour, who alone of all the actors in the great drama fully realized 
 how much Italy had at stake, spent nearly four months of this 
 curious phase in Italian history without apparently accomplishing any 
 thing for the national movement. At one time he would pursue a 
 course that promised satisfactory results ; at another, he seemed to 
 yield to the projects of negotiations coming from every direction ; and 
 these perplexities caused him to advance more slowly than usual. 
 
 If Austria had taken the initiative and manifested a conciliatory 
 spirit she might easily have divested the question of its difficulties 
 and confused her enemies. She seemed once disposed to adopt a 
 policy of reconciliation, and, accordingly, in the year 1858, the Arch- 
 duke Maximilian was sent by the cabinet at Vienna as viceroy to 
 Lombardy on a mission of peace. This ill-fated prince, doomed to 
 the sad Mexican tragedy, arrived at Venice and Milan full of liberal 
 views and designs. He had much in his favor — youth, amiability, 
 and dignity. For his support he had Austria, and for wise counsel 
 he ha'd the prudent Leopold, of Belgium, whose daughter he had just 
 married — thus securing, also, through this king the best wishes of 
 England. Maximilian entered upon his work earnestly, and perhaps 
 hopefully. During an excursion on the Lago Maggiore, and in a con- 
 
6 1 8 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 versation with the Prussian minister at Turin, Count Brassier de 
 Saint Simon, he spoke of Cavour in the warmest terms. ** I greatly 
 admire Count Cavour," he said, "but as the business in contempla- 
 tion is a policy of progress, I shall not let him outstrip me." Cavour, 
 always vigilant and profiting by every circumstance, watched this 
 movement of the Archduke Maximilian, and subsequently he ac- 
 knowledged that it might have defeated all his plans. 
 
 Austria could have been magnanimous, because her territorial 
 possessions and military power were so great that she could make 
 concessions without being considered dishonorable. By conforming 
 to a liberal policy she might have weakened the national Italian senti- 
 ment, and by an administration less rigid she would have convinced 
 Europe of her generosity toward Italy. Maximilian himself might 
 have ruled the disputed territory with mildness. How different then 
 might events have been from the war of 1859 to the war of 1866, 
 and all that since occurred — not forgetting Mexico! If Austria had 
 not succeeded in this policy, it was at least worth an experiment; but 
 she became alarmed too soon, and discovering certain indications of a 
 public crisis, she fell back on her ** traditions of immobility and repres- 
 sion." This was not the first time that she had taken the wrong step, 
 which in every case led to heavy losses. She not only canceled the 
 mission of the Archduke Maximilian, but also exaggerated her mili- 
 tary rule in all her Italian possessions. Before January i, 1859, she 
 had already commenced her preparations for war, and on the morrow 
 of this date she sent army corps after army corps into Italy, organiz- 
 ing her forces as on the eve of a campaign, and even taking a posi- 
 tion on the Ticino, in the face of Piedmont. Some of her officers 
 permitted their belligerent dispositions to lead them into imprudent 
 actions of a serious character, and at their banquet tables in Milan 
 they talked confidently of a speedy departure for Turin, which they 
 declared was to be the first stage of a march on Paris. 
 
 Austria seemed blind to the fact that her haste and feverish man- 
 ner exposed her from day to day to a fit of rashness by the excess 
 of her military display and of her expenditure. Those who were 
 endeavoring to secure peace were disarmed in advance by her posi- 
 tion, and she was unconsciously playing the game of her enemies. 
 At any rate she had given Piedmont a pretext for war, and the latter 
 country resolved to profit by it. The fortresses of Alessandria and 
 Casale were made ready, and the regiments scattered on both sides 
 of the Alps were brought together. The parliament voted a loan 
 of two millions sterling because it was rendered necessary by the 
 
ENGLISH NEG TIA TIONS, 619 
 
 *' provocation of Austria;" and thus the two powers were aheady 
 face to face, opposing armament to armament, 'and demonstration to 
 demonstration. The vexed question of peace or war was about to 
 be solved. The wish was strongly for peace, and diplomacy endeav- 
 ored to preserve it; but what could be done in such a state of affairs? 
 All these incidents had inflamed public sentiment, which was on the 
 verge of explosion. 
 
 England, represented by the Tory ministry of Lord Derby and 
 Lord Malmesbury, was more anxious for peace than the other 
 powers. All Europe was divided, and England herself, who was- 
 expected to take the lead in the discussion and- negotiations, was 
 deeply perplexed. She was unhappily in an embarrassing position, 
 desiring to maintain her traditional Continental policy, which held 
 her to the treaties of 181 5 and Austria, and yet sympathizing with 
 the cause of freedom in Piedmont and Italy. The growing intimacy 
 of France with Turin made England uneasy, and she was anxious 
 about her commercial interests. In order to secure peace she wished 
 to remove that which menaced it, and therefore endeavored to con- 
 ciliate all the parties concerned — Austria, France, and Piedmont; but 
 she failed to observe that her urgent requests of each imperiled her 
 chances of success with them all. 
 
 When England appealed to Vienna Count Buol Schauenstein, 
 ipinister of the Emperor Francis Joseph, replied, impatiently: ''You 
 are mistaken. It is not here that you should come with your en- 
 treaties and your counsels : go to Paris and Turin, and speak your 
 mind out plainly there. Let the Emperor Napoleon learn that if his 
 army crosses the Alps England will not look on quietly; let the 
 king of Piedmont know that England sanctions no plundering of the 
 Austrian possessions in Italy. If the queen's ministers hold a reso- 
 lute language we shall have no war. Italy is not in want of recon- 
 struction ; let them cease to stir her up, and we shall hear no more of it. " 
 
 The English cabinet then consulted the authorities at Turin, and 
 was advised if it desired peace to apply to Vienna, whose dominion 
 in Italy was the source of existing difficulties because it menaced 
 constitutional liberty in Piedmont, and constantly excited revolution- 
 ary passions. Besides, it was claimed that, even admitting Austria 
 to be on the legal ground of 18 15 in her control of Milan, she was 
 not so in her occupation of Bologna and Ancona for a perid of ten 
 years, reducing the central duchies to a condition of vassalage, and 
 converting Piacenza into an imperial fortress on the frontier of 
 Piedmont. 
 
620 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 England, in her peaceful mission, was encouraged by the emperor 
 of France, who disavowed the very idea of an aggressive policy, and 
 assumed the position of a judicious adviser and friend, declaring that 
 she endeavored to interest Russia and Germany in her cause by ex- 
 tending the war and opening the conflict on the Rhine as well as on 
 the Po ; but she was not successful. A warlike feeling had made her 
 reckless, and, wishing to bring the matter to a definite point, she 
 resolved without further delay to send an ultimatum direct to Turin, 
 summoning Piedmont to disarm, and allowing her three days to con- 
 sider the question. This step delighted Cavour, and his only regret 
 was that Austria did not proceed further. 
 
 On the 19th of April the ultimatum was ready to be launched at 
 him from Vienna, but Cavour could not know it. On the 20th, 
 however, the first indications of the coming coup de theatre were 
 apparent to him. He was in the Chamber of deputies, at the Carig- 
 nano Palace, on the 23d of April, when a word hastily written by 
 one of his intimate friends informed him of the arrival of Baron 
 Kellersperg, bearer of a communication from Count Buol. At half- 
 past five o'clock on the same afternoon, while at the ministry of for- 
 eign affairs, Cavour received from the hands of the Austrian/ envoy 
 this communication, which commanded Piedmont to disarm. Three 
 days later, at the same hour, he delivered the reply of the Piedmon- 
 tese government to Baron Kellersperg, whose hand he courteously 
 pressed when he assured him of the happiness he would have to 
 meet him again "under more favorable auspices." He immedi- 
 ately gave his final orders to Colonel Govone, who was appointed 
 to accompany the Austrian officer to the frontier, and then, address- 
 ing himself to some friends who witnessed the scene, he exclaimed, 
 with a friendly familiarity, and in a natural tone peculiar to him, 
 "It's done; Alea facta est! we have made some history — and now 
 to dinner." 
 
 Austria, no doubt, felt that she had been compelled to adopt ex- 
 treme measures by the pressure of circumstances. This vexed Italian 
 question annoyed and threatened her on every side, and she desired 
 to defend herself by having it decided vi et armis. It was her mis- 
 fortune, however, to provoke actual war, alienating Europe, chilling 
 England, and strengthening Piedmont, whose cabinet instantly re- 
 ceived this message from Paris, "The fullest aid from France." 
 
 On the morning of the 30th of April the first French columns 
 descended from the Alps and debouched in the Piazza Castello of 
 Turin, in the midst of an excited population. Cavour was standing 
 
MILITAR V OPERA TIONS. 62 1 
 
 on the balcony of the ministry of foreign affairs with other distin- 
 guished persons, French and Italian, and also Sir James Hudson, the 
 English minister. The brave Italian statesman, who had worked ten 
 years and had gone to the Crimea and to Plombieres to hasten this 
 ''crucial hour," beheld in this thrilling spectacle the triumphant 
 march of his policy. A few days later Napoleon III, who personally 
 commanded the main body of the French army, which had sailed 
 from Marseilles, disembarked at Genoa, and when he met Cavour 
 said to him, ''You ought to be satisfied; your aims are being real- 
 ized." In one sense war was a blessing to Cavour, because he was 
 delivered from the anxieties and uncertainties of a long diplomatic 
 imbroglio ; but another aspect now presented itself Instead of talking 
 about it, he must engage in the conflict of arms, thus emerging from 
 a ten years' dream into a living reality. This change was simply 
 laying down one burden and taking up another. The position of 
 Cavour was not one of ease, especially in the earlier period of the 
 war, when the enemy might have appeared at any time before Turin. 
 Indeed, if the Austrians had been more aggressive they might have 
 defeated the combinations of their adversaries before Piedmont and 
 France could have united their armies. 
 
 When the formal demand of Austria that the Sardinian army 
 should be reduced to a peace footing was refused, the Austrian 
 troops immediately crossed the Ticino and entered the Piedmontese 
 territory. If they had taken advantage of their superior numbers, 
 and marched boldly on Turin, Piedmont and her allies would have 
 met with a disaster in the very beginning of the conflict. But Aus- 
 tria, having committed an error of diplomatic rashness, added to it 
 the greater blunder of military delay. Marshal Canrobert fortunately 
 succeeded in deceiving and intimidating the Austrians by throwing 
 out, on the 29th of April, his first French lines to Casale. Cavour 
 was prepared for the worst, neither hesitating to defend Turin to the 
 last, nor, if necessary, to inundate the Lomellina for the purpose of 
 arresting the progress of the enemy. Having challenged this war, 
 he bravely met its risks and difficulties. 
 
 During these perilous and anxious days his labors were herculean. 
 Remaining alone at Turin, while the king and General La Marmora 
 went to the camp, he was at the same time president of the council, 
 minister for foreign affairs, minister of the interior, minister of ma- 
 rine, and minister of war. He was truly every thing, and equal to 
 all his arduous duties. Having resolved to stand in the center of 
 these weighty responsibilities he was pressed on every side, and even 
 
622 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 transferred his bed, for which he seemed to have but Httle use, to 
 the war -office. The battle-field in which he constant^ fought was 
 his bureaus, and there he exhibited remarkable energy and tact, pro- 
 tracting his labors far into the night, hurrying from one department 
 to another in his dressing-gown, dictating dispatches, transmitting 
 orders, overseeing the equipment of the volunteers, directing the 
 operations on the field, and at the same time conducting a volumi- 
 nous correspondence. He stimulated the dilatory, encouraged the 
 despondent, and inflamed the lukewarm with a portion of his own 
 fire and patriotism. 
 
 Nothing could intimidate or perplex him. On a certain day in 
 the month of May the French army was reduced to extremities; but 
 Cavour solved the problem in twenty-four hours. The Piedmontese 
 government had entered into a special contract to provide food for 
 the French army up to a given date. The day arrived, and the 
 French military administration was seriously embarrassed in view of 
 the morrow. This intelligence surprised and annoyed the emperor, 
 who was in camp at Alessandria, and he sent Cavaliere Nigra, whom 
 he kept near him, to Turin. Cavour was vexed at the bad manage- 
 ment, and hastened to amend it. The mayors of all the communes 
 within reach of the lines of railroad were immediately ordered to 
 obtain all the meal they could find, heat the bakeries, and make as 
 much bread on the spot as they could, without a moment's delay, 
 and then transport it to the nearest stations. The result was that 
 next morning there was more provision at Alessandria than was 
 needed ! This is one case among many illustrating the activity and 
 promptness of Cavour in civil and military affairs. 
 
 *' Courage, my friends," he exclaims, "and we will give to Italy 
 the regeneration dreamed of by Gioberti." Republicans turned their 
 backs upon Mazzini, and, rallying under the leadership of Daniel 
 Manin, replied, "Regenerate Italy, and we are with you." The 
 Societa Nazionale inscribed upon its banners, * ' Independence, Unifi- 
 cation, and the House of Savoy." The flower of the Italian youth 
 flocked around the standard of Garibaldi, where it floated from the 
 crest of the Apennines, asking for nothing more than the privilege 
 of fighting and dying for Italy; while thirty thousand volunteers, 
 with swords half- drawn, impatiently awaited the signal to launch 
 themselves upon the legions of Austria, whose arms were glittering 
 upon the banks of the Ticino. While Napoleon III espoused the 
 cause of Sardinia he was careful to state his reasons, so that the other 
 powers might understand the position of France. Hence, before 
 
THE BATTLE OF MONTEBELLO. 623 
 
 leaving Paris, he issued a proclamation containing these words : 
 "Austria has brought things to such a pass that sJie must lord it up 
 to the Alps, or else Italy must be free up to the Adriatic ; for in that 
 country every nook of earth holding independence is a danger to the 
 power of Austria. . . . The aim of this war is to restore Italy 
 to herself, not that she should change masters ; and we shall have on 
 our frontiers a friendly power, owing their liberty to us." The em- 
 peror added, also: '*We do not enter Italy to foment disorder, nor 
 to shatter the authority of the Holy Father, whom we have replaced 
 on his throne, but to relieve it of a foreign burden weighing upon 
 the whole Peninsula." 
 
 The first battle of the campaign was fought at Montebello, a 
 small village in Sardinia, on the road which passes from Alessandria 
 and Voghera through Casteggio to Piacenza, about five miles south 
 of the Po, and one mile west of Casteggio. The allies, whose head- 
 quarters during the month of May were at Alessandria, endeavored 
 prior to crossing the Mincio at Turbigo and Buffalora to create the 
 impression that they intended to attack by Pavia and Piacenza, and 
 with this view concentrated a large part of their force in that direc- 
 tion. The Austrian commander, Count Gyulai, deceived by their 
 movements, accordingly ordered General Stadion to cross the Po 
 below Pavia with twenty thousand men, and march along the south 
 bank of the river, in order to make a reconnoissance in force. 
 About eleven oclock two brigades of his detachment, under General 
 Urban, reached Casteggio, which they found occupied by a regiment 
 of Sardinians and five hundred men of General Forey's division, be- 
 longing to the corps of Paraguay d' Hilliers. These were soon over- 
 powered and driven back through Montebello and Ginestrello toward 
 Voghera ; but^ re-enforced by the arrival of successive detachments 
 from Voghera, they rallied and obliged the Austrians to fall back 
 upon Montebello. Here a final stand was made. General Urban, 
 by his rapid advance, had deprived himself of the assistance of most 
 of the remainder of Stadion's force, while the French continued to 
 receive accessions — train after train arriving by railway, discharging 
 its hundreds, and hastening back for more. General Forey, bringing 
 up his left to the north of the village, opened there an effective fire 
 of artillery, while his right wing was engaged in a hot hand-to-hand 
 conflict on the south. The Austrian brigades of Bils and the prince 
 of Hesse at last came up ; but the alHes continued to maintain a su- 
 periority, and about dusk the Austrians retreated. They were not 
 pursued. Their loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, was officially 
 
624 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 stated as twelve hundred and ninety-one, and that of the alHes as 
 eight hundred and fifty. The Austrians, according to French ac- 
 counts, had thirteen thousand men in action, while the aUies had 
 seven thousand. Both sides claimed the advantage of the battle. 
 The result of the five hours' struggle was that the Austrians learned 
 the strength of their adversaries, while the allies confirmed Count 
 Gyulai in the belief that they were about to march toward Pavia. 
 
 This victory of the allies on the 20th of May was followed by 
 another at Palestro on the 30th and 31st of the same month. But on 
 the 4th of June, 1859, ^^^ Austrians met with a more disastrous de- 
 feat at Magenta, a town of Lombardy, situated about five miles from 
 the east or left bank of the Ticino, and fifteen miles west of Milan, 
 with which city it is connected by railroad. It is also the first stage 
 on the road from Novara to Milan, being nearly equidistant from the 
 two places, and has about six thousand inhabitants. Before the 
 decisive battle of Magenta occurred, the opposing forces fought at 
 different places. The French, wishing to deceive the Austrians, 
 marched from Alessandria eastward in the direction of Piacenza, and, 
 on the 31st of May, suddenly crossed the Po at Casale, and, Avhile the 
 Sardinians menaced the enemy's position at Mortara, mJdway be- 
 tween the Po and Ticino, the French moved toward the north, occu- 
 pied Novara, and threw three bridges across the Ticino at Turbigo, 
 about eight miles above Magenta. The Austrian troops thereupon 
 withdrew across the river into the Lombard territory, and fortified 
 the bridge of Buffalora, over which passes the road from Novara 
 through Magenta to Milan ; but on the 2d of June they were com- 
 pelled to retire before a French corps under General Espinasse, after 
 an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the bridge. On the 4th of June 
 M'Mahon's corps, followed by a division of the imperial guard, and 
 a division of the Sardinian army, having crossed at Turbigo, marched 
 along the left bank toward Magenta, while the emperor in person ad- 
 vanced with the grenadier division of the imperial guard to occupy the 
 bridge of Buffalora, leaving orders for Canrobert to follow. The lattei 
 was delayed, but the grenadiers began the contest unassisted, at noon, 
 and, after two hours' desperate fighting, captured the position, and 
 took possession of the heights on the canal, in the face of an Aus- 
 trian force, estimated by the French at one hundred and twenty-five 
 thousand. 
 
 The Austrian commander. Count Gyulai, at once dispatched Baron 
 Reischach to retake the bridge ; but after a conflict of two hours 
 more, in which it was seven times taken and lost, the arrival of Can- 
 
FRANCO-PIEDMONTESE VICTORY. -625 
 
 robert, Regnault de St. Jean d'Angely, Neil, and Vinoy turned the 
 scale in favor of the French, though not until great loss had been 
 suffered on both sides. The third Austrian army corps was ordered 
 up from Abbiate Grasso on the south, and assailed the French flank 
 with much spirit, but was finally compelled to fall back upon Ro- 
 becco. In the mean time M'Mahon's advance from Turbigo had 
 been several times checked by the enemy, who, on evacuating Buffa- 
 lora, concentrated the principal part of their force between him and 
 Magenta. A large detachment attempted to separate the divisions 
 of La Motterouge and Espinasse, but was finally driven back by the 
 voltigeurs of the guard under General Canou, while the forty-fifth 
 regiment of the line made a heroic and successful attack upon a 
 farm-house, defended by two Hungarian regiments, and General 
 Auger planted a battery of forty guns on the railway, from which he 
 poured a tremendous fire upon the Austrians In flank. On reaching 
 the town of Magenta M'Mahon found it occupied by seven thou- 
 sand of the enemy under Clam-Gallas, and the second army corps 
 under Prince Liechtenstein. The combat here was terrible. Both 
 sides felt Magenta to be the key of the position, and the attack and 
 defense were conducted with equal bravery and determination. The 
 French took it house by house, losing, by their own account, fifteen 
 hundred men, but making five thousand prisoners and placing ten 
 thousand Austrians hors du combat. At half-past eight o'clock in the 
 evening Gyulai ordered a general retreat, leaving four guns in posses- 
 sion of the French. His official report gave his own loss at nine 
 thousand seven hundred and thirteen, killed, wounded, and missing, 
 and that of the enemy at six thousand killed and wounded. The 
 French accounts acknowledge a loss of four thousand nine hundred 
 and fifty-seven, and estimate that of Gyulai at twenty thousand, 
 including seven thousand prisoners. The French generals, Espinasse 
 and Clerc, were among the killed. The immediate results of the 
 battle were the evacuation of Milan by the Austrians and its occupa- 
 tion by the allies. General M'Mahon was mainly instrumental in 
 securing this victory, and the emperor conferred upon him the titles 
 of marshal of France and duke of Magenta. 
 
 On the 8th of June Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon HI entered 
 Milan in triumph. The latter addressed serious words to the Italians, 
 saying: "Providence sometimes favors a people by giving them the 
 opportunity to spring to life at a blow ; but it is on the condition that 
 they shall know how to profit by it. Profit, then, by the good for- 
 tune offered to you ! Unite in a common aim, the deliverance of 
 
626 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 your country. Give yourselves military organization. Fly to the 
 banner of Victor Emmanuel, who has so nobly shown you the path 
 of honor; . . . and, animated by the sacred fire of patriotism, 
 be but soldiers to-day, to-morrow you will be citizens of a great 
 country." These prophetic words were soon fulfilled. In the last 
 days of April, at the opening of the war, Tuscany, Modena, and 
 Parma rose in revolt, and their dukes fled to the Austrian territory. 
 Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed dictator of Tuscany. He declined 
 the title, but took command of the Tuscan army, which was united 
 with his own forces. Towards the middle of June, 1859, the Aus- 
 trians, anxious to have all their troops on the Adige, hastily aban- 
 doned the papal territory, Ancona and Bologna, which they had 
 occupied for ten years, and the Romagna immediately and sponta- 
 neously joined the movement. 
 
 Thus, without a struggle, '*a half-emancipated Italy," follow- 
 ing in the track of the armies, looked toward Piedmont. Cavour 
 regarded this as the most delicate question connected with the 
 war, and he therefore closely watched it — marking day by day 
 the successive steps in the work of liberation. He deeply sympa- 
 thized with it, and desired to direct it to the best advantage, because 
 it was one of the sources of his strength. He had sent Count Pal- 
 lieri to Parma, the devoted and ardent Farini to Modena, and the 
 sagacious Boncompagni to Florence. The position at Bologna was a 
 difficult one, and Cavour reserved for it Massimo d'Azeglio, whose 
 lofty mind and noted loyalty gave to his name an authority which 
 was calculated to exact obedience. These provinces had thrown off 
 the Austrian yoke, and the men whom Cavour sent to govern them 
 received these instructions: ''Repression in the cause of order, ac- 
 tivity on behalf of the war; what remains leave to the future." He 
 wrote to Signor Vigliani, a Piedmontese magistrate of a liberal and 
 conciliatory disposition, whom he had appointed governor of Milan, 
 "We are not in 1848; we permit of no discussion. Take no notice 
 of the excitement of those who surround you. The smallest act of 
 weakness wrecks the government." 
 
 The lieutenants pf Cavour were every-where, even in the camp 
 of Garibaldi, whither Ife had sent a young Lombard, Emilio Vis- 
 conti-Venosta — who has since been minister of foreign affairs — who 
 there served as royal commissioner with the Chasseur of the Alps, 
 with whom he made the campaign. While adhering as much as pos- 
 sible to the imperial programme, Cavour directed the whole Italian 
 movement, military and diplomatic. But serious difficulties con- 
 
THE OPPOSING FORCES. 627 
 
 fronted the allies. In approaching the Mincio and the Adige, the 
 French and Piedmontese armies, besides skirmishing, were compelled 
 to engage in the heavier work of conducting sieges and carrying for- 
 midable positions. In a short time the impregnable Quadrilateral 
 would frown upon them. The situation was rendered more compli- 
 cated, however, by European diplomacy, which appeared disposed to 
 interfere. Prussia, without exhibiting any hostility, seemed inclined 
 to take a more active part. The provinces of the pope were dis- 
 turbed by these successive Italian movements, and the animosities 
 and suspicions that were excited against what was called '* Piedmon- 
 tese ambition" were felt in Paris, and all these circumstances had 
 their effect upon Napoleon III, whom they soon reached at head- 
 quarters in the heart of Lombardy. The policy that could not pre- 
 vent the war now endeavored to limit and stop it as much as possible 
 by arousing the doubts and fears of the emperor, who, already past 
 fifty years of age, experienced the fatigue resulting from the oppress- 
 ive heat of a torrid season. 
 
 But the culminating point was about to be reached in the bloody 
 and decisive battle of Solferino, After their defeat at Magenta, the 
 Austrians, unwilling to risk a defense of the lines of the Adda and 
 Oglio rivers continued their retreat along the north bank of the Po, 
 within the quadrangle of the fortresses of Peschiera, Verona, Mantua, 
 and Legnano. Gyulai had been deposed in consequence of the de- 
 feat of Magenta, and General Count Schlick was his successor. The 
 allies kept the northerly road, and crossed the Adda and the Oglio 
 without opposition. On the 22d of June both armies were so nearly 
 face to face that a conflict seemed inevitable. The allies were en- 
 camped between the Chiese and the Mincio, occupying Lenato, Cas- 
 tigliona, and Montechiara, and having their left wing resting on the 
 high ground near Brescia and the southern end of the Lake of Garda. 
 At their extreme left was General Garibaldi, who, with the Cacciatori 
 delli Alpi, a body of volunteers, after a most daring and brilliant 
 series of maneuvers round the extreme northern frontiers of Lom- 
 bardy, had come down on the Lake of Garda. The Austrian forces 
 were on the left bank of the Mincio, resting with their right on 
 Peschiera and Verona, and with their left wing on Mantua. 
 
 On the 23d of June the Austrians poured out their numbers 
 from Mantua, Verona, and Peschiera, and, led by their young em- 
 peror, Francis Joseph, who had assumed the command-in-chief, in the 
 course of the evening crossed the Mincio at four different places, 
 confident of defeating the allies, and driving them beyond the Chiese. 
 
 41 
 
62S ITALY STR [/OGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 On the 24th of June, 1859, ^^"^^ ^^ the bloodiest battles on record 
 occurred. The Austrians began the attack at daylight, and by ten 
 o'clock the whole of the two armies had come into collision. There 
 were four French corps engaged, under Marshals Baraguay d' Hil- 
 liers, MacMahon, Canrobert, and Niel; and four divisions of the 
 Sardinian army, under the command of Victor Emmanuel. The bat- 
 tle lasted fifteen hours, and extended along a line of nearly eighteen 
 miles, from the neighborhood of Brescia down toward Mantua. The 
 right wing of the Austrians occupied Pozzolengo, where they met the 
 Sardinians ; their center was at Caviana and Solferino, while their left 
 wing marched on Guidinolo and Castel Goffredo, and for a time suc- 
 ceeded in repulsing the French. 
 
 The day was decided by a concentrated attack made about three 
 o'clock in the afternoon by the French emperor on Solferino, a vil- 
 lage in the province of Lombardy, twenty miles south-east of Brescia, 
 having a commanding position, which the Austrians had fortified. 
 After several hours of desperate fighting, the place was carried by 
 the French, who, thereby breaking the Austrian center, moved large 
 masses against their left wing, which, having pushed on almost to 
 the Chiese, was in danger of being surrounded and cut out. Late in 
 the evening, the young emperor of Austria, with tears in his eyes, 
 saw that the day was irretrievably lost, and gave the order for the 
 retreat beyond the Mincio, which was accomplished under the pro- 
 tection of a violent storm. 
 
 Few battles in modern history have been marked with more 
 slaughter and horror. More than three hundred thousand human 
 beings were engaged in this terrible combat, and at night thirty-five 
 thousand of them at least were dead or dying. The French, ac- 
 cording to their own statement, had twelve thousand seven hundred 
 and twenty killed and wounded, and the Sardinians, five thousand 
 five hundred and twenty-five. The Austrian loss, which was put 
 by them at eleven thousand, two hundred and thirteen, is generally 
 asserted to have exceeded eighteen thousand. Numerous prisoners, 
 thirteen pieces of cannon, two flags, and large quantities of arms and 
 ammunition fell into the hands of the allies ; and Napoleon III slept 
 at Solferino, in the very same apartment which Francis Joseph had 
 occupied the previous night. After the battle of Solferino, the com- 
 mand-in-chief of the Austrians was given to Baron Hess, who offered 
 no opposition to the passage of the Mincio by the allies. On the ist 
 of July the latter received a re-enforcement of thirty-five thousand 
 men, brought by Prince Napoleon through Florence and Modena. 
 
AN ARMISTICE PROPOSED. 
 
 629 
 
 While the Sardinians were investing Peschiera, a French division 
 was at Goito to watch Mantua ; Garibaldi's Cacciatori delli Alpi, sup- 
 ported by General Cialdini's division, were moving to close up the 
 
 GENERAL CIALDINI. 
 
 valley of the Adige ; and the emperor, with the main body of the 
 army, was approaching Verona, the startling news was received that 
 Napoleon III had sent General Fleury, on the evening of the 7th of 
 July, to the Austrian camp at Verona, to propose an armistice, and 
 
630 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that commissioners had been actually appointed to agree upon its 
 terms. Events presented a more pacific appearance. "Indeed, the 
 glorious and bloody battle of Solferino," says D'Mazade, "was but the 
 final coup de sokil, which, so to say, ripened the situation." It seemed 
 doubtful to the emperor whether the Austrians could be driven from 
 the famous "Quadrilateral," and the frightful carnage he had already 
 witnessed made him less disposed to continue the war. "I have lost 
 ten thousand men," he said on a certain day, soon after the conflict, 
 and the tone of his voice indicated the intensity of his feeling. He 
 received from Paris the news of the threatening attitude of Prussia, 
 and feared that she might, as the ally of Austria, appear on the scene. 
 
 All these considerations profoundly moved the mind of Napoleon 
 III, and he found himself face to face with a serious embarrassment. 
 He had entered into the war with a sincere determination to deliver 
 all Italy from the Austrian yoke ; but the participation of Prussia in 
 the conflict as the enemy of France would compel him to make extra- 
 ordinary efforts to protect his eastern frontier, and would oblige him 
 to leave Italy at the mercy of Austria, which was more than a match 
 for her. Other powers might be drawn into the struggle, and there 
 was a very decided probability that, in a general European war, Italy 
 might lose all that had been won. It appeared best to Napoleon, 
 therefore, as the disinterested friend of Italy, to bring the war to a 
 close, and to rest satisfied with what had been gained. Accordingly 
 the two emperors met at Villafranca, on the road to Verona, and 
 there, on the nth of July, signed a treaty of peace, the basis of 
 which was thus vaguely announced : 
 
 "Italian confederation under the honoraiy presidency of the 
 pope. I. The emperor of Austria cedes his rights to Lombardy 
 to the emperor of the French, who transfers them to the king of 
 Sardinia. 2. The emperor of Austria preserves Venice; but she 
 will form an integral part of the Italian confederation. 3. General 
 amnesty." 
 
 These preliminaries included several details. Austria surrendered 
 to France all of Lombardy, except the fortresses of Mantua and 
 Peschiera, and this territory was ceded to Sardinia, which had to pay 
 for the conquest forty-two million dollars. Venetia, though remain- 
 ing "under the crown of the emperor of Austria," was allowed the 
 privilege of becoming a member of the proposed federal league. 
 One of the worst features of the arrangement, and one that subjected 
 the French emperor to considerable adverse criticism, was the pro- 
 vision that the grand duke of Tuscany and the duke of Modena 
 
THE GRIEF OF CAVOUR. 63 1 
 
 were to return to their states. The question concerning Parma was 
 not decided. Peace having been made on these conditions, the 
 French army withdrew from Italy, and Napoleon III really believed 
 that he had performed a great act in the presence of Europe. To 
 secure peace, he had been compelled, as he stated, to "cut off from 
 his programme the territory stretching between the Mincio and the 
 Adige. " While he disappointed Italy by halting midway in the exe- 
 cution of the plans projected in the alliance of Plombieres, yet he 
 deprived France, temporarily, we admit, of benefits that could have 
 been obtained on her side of the Alps. But the peace thus con- 
 cluded was precarious, leaving many problems unsolved, and satis- 
 fying neither Italy nor France. 
 
 The emperor had conceived and executed his plan without consult- 
 ing his ally, the king of Sardinia. The latter, a short time previous, 
 had summoned Cavour to the Mincio for the special purpose of 
 tranquillizing Napoleon III, who was disturbed by certain events 
 taking place in the legations. Thinking that he had been successful, 
 the great diplomatist returned from the army deeply impressed by 
 the spectacle of Solferino's bloody field, but never suspecting an 
 armistice. On the 6th of July he had written to Marquis Sauli, 
 Sardinian embassador to St. Petersburg, who had mentioned the pos- 
 sibility of a mediation : ' * A mediation at present could bring nothing 
 but bad consequences. Austrian influence must entirely disappear 
 from Italy before we can have a solid and durable peace." Cavour 
 had been occasionally troubled by the difficulties and dangers of the 
 situation, but he never anticipated a cottp de theatre such as actually 
 burst upon him. The idea of direct negotiations between the bellig- 
 erents had not entered his mind, and yet at that very moment the 
 emperor had decided to ask for an armistice. 
 
 On the 8th of July Cavour received a dispatch at Turin from 
 General La Marmora announcing a cessation of hostilities, and La 
 Marmora confessed that no one knew "how or by whom the armis- 
 tice had been proposed." He started immediately for the camp, and 
 when he reached the headquarters of Victor Emmanuel at Pozzolengo 
 he found a peace, not yet fully established, but containing provisions 
 which destroyed his hopes and defeated his policy. The details of 
 it were communicated to him only on the nth of July by Victor 
 Emmanuel, who came from the imperial camp at Valeggio, bearing 
 the deed which he signed with this formula or singular reserve: "As 
 far as I am concerned." The scene was truly dramatic. He threw off 
 his uniform, and, with a serious face, sat down in his usual soldierly 
 
632 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 attitude, and commanded one of the four persons present to read 
 the preUminaries aloud. When Cavour heard the contents of the 
 documents he exhibited a violent passion, and became so intemper- 
 ate that Victor Emmanuel, unable to calm him, intrusted him to La 
 Marmora, After all, Cavour was convinced that the king had done 
 only what he was compelled to do. The question presented to him 
 for decision was whether he should alone prosecute an unequal war 
 or accept a peace which rescued Lombardy, though leaving some 
 points unsettled. He did not hesitate nor could he have done so 
 under the circumstances, and in submitting to what he could not 
 avoid he exhibited some finesse, manifesting his grief but concealing 
 his resentment. 
 
 Cavour himself, though indignant, would not have advised the 
 king to pursue a different course. As for him, he disclaimed the 
 responsibility of the peace and refused to hold power, thereby sanc- 
 tioning a cruel deception. *'I saw him on his return from Villa- 
 franca," says his private secretary, *'pale, care-worn, broken down, 
 and grown several years older in the space of three days." When 
 things had become settled he resolved to retire from the cabinet, 
 believing that to remain would be inconsistent with his honor and 
 his policy. Overcome with chagrin and grief he handed his resigna- 
 tion to the king and hastened to his villa at Leri. When he passed 
 through Milan many persons, and among them the governor, Vigli- 
 ani, were at the station impatient to see him, but his exhausted 
 nature was in the embrace of a deep sleep. He was weary, and his 
 friends would not awaken him. It was the first time that he had 
 truly slept during that sorrowful excursion to the camp. 
 
 While on the Mincio Cavour had not seen the emperor, and the 
 latter was not anxious to have an interview with him. A meeting at 
 Valeggio would have been different from that of Plombieres. Some 
 days later Napoleon HI, when returning to France, passed through 
 Turin, and while there expressed a desire to meet Cavour. These 
 two great men had a pleasant interview, and the Piedmontese states- 
 man became more reconciled to the situation. In the evening he 
 went to the palace, and on the way said to a friend who accompanied 
 him through the most deserted streets of the city: "I have been 
 invited to a court-dinner, but I refused. I am not in a state of mind 
 to accept invitations. To think that I had done so much for the 
 union of the Italians, and that to-day all may be compromised. I 
 shall be reproached for not having consented to sign the peace. I was 
 unable absolutely, and I can not sign it." 
 
CAVOUR RETURNS TO TURIN. 633 
 
 Cavour was determined to seclude himself in the mountains of 
 Switzerland, leaving La Marmora to form a ministry with Rattazzi 
 and General Dabormida. On the 22d of July he addressed a letter 
 to Madame de Circourt, stating that he would gladly accept her 
 hospitality if she did not reside at Paris, and confessing that he pre- 
 ferred some retired spot. The heart of the great statesman was 
 almost crushed with disappointment, and the same deep and poignant 
 feeling was shared by every patriotic Italian citizen. But when the 
 first outburst was over they calmly surveyed the situation, and dis- 
 covered that it was not hopeless. Napoleon III, before leaving the 
 Mincio, had uttered these strange words in the presence of Victor 
 Emmanuel: **Now we shall see what the Italians can do unaided." 
 Toward the close of 1859 ^^^ question of the annexation of Central 
 Italy to Piedmont had assumed a prominence which surprised even 
 Cavour. Deputations visited Victor Emmanuel with offers of the 
 crown of Italy, but while promising to defend their rights he could 
 not yet take the title of their sovereign. The people of Central Italy 
 were firm, and the provinces by their assemblies decreed the deposi- 
 tion of their princes and proclaimed in favor of annexation. 
 
 Napoleon III, by a double coup de thedtre, astonished Europe and 
 speedily changed the aspect of affairs. In a letter written on the 
 31st of December, 1859, he proposed to the pope to place the lega- 
 tions under the viceregency of Victor Emmanuel, and by the publi- 
 cation of a pamphlet, ''The Pope and the Congress," he contrived 
 to render a congress for the adjustment of Italian affairs impossible. 
 Cavour was called back to Turin, and he reappeared on the scene as 
 the only man who could meet the crisis and lead Piedmont and Italy 
 on the road together. He was consulted on all sides and became 
 the center of the general activity, though not in power, cordial with 
 every one, counseling prudence or boldness as the occasion required. 
 His return to Turin and the emperor's change of policy indicated; 
 the beginning of a new era. 
 
634 ITAL Y STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 SEVENTH DECADE, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 THE ANNEXATIONS— THE REVOLUTION IN SICILY. 
 
 /^N the 20th of January, i860, Cavour again took up the reins 
 ^^-^ of power. His great mission was only interrupted, not aban- 
 doned. One of his first acts on his return to the helm was to counsel 
 Victor Emmanuel, notwithstanding the opposition of Russia and 
 Prussia, and the reluctance of France to favor the annexation of 
 Tuscany and Emilia. On the nth of March the voting in the cen- 
 tral provinces occurred, and on the i8th a decree established the 
 result by pronouncing the annexation to be confirmed. It was a 
 bold and daring movement, but it inaugurated a new era in Italy. 
 It struck a key-note to Cavour's subsequent policy — the annexation 
 of provinces by means of popular suffrage. It was the first decided 
 step in favor of Italian unity. To Victor Emmanuel was intrusted 
 the sword of Castruccio Castracane, the Ghibelline leader, who had 
 left it as a legacy to whoever should become the liberator of his 
 .country, and the king of Sardinia was virtually proclaimed from 
 henceforth king of Italy **by the grace of God and the will of the 
 people." 
 
 Cavour knew that the annexation of Central Italy meant the 
 cession of Savoy and Nice, though nothing had been said on the 
 subject since the peace of Villafranca. His merit was to perceive a 
 necessity and frankly accept it, and accordingly he wrote to Count 
 Pepoli, saying: *'The knot of this question appears to me to be no 
 longer in the Romagna and Tuscany, but in Savoy. Although I 
 have not received any communication on the subject from Paris, I 
 have seen that we were on the wrong road and I have taken another 
 direction." The idea of the sacrifice of Savoy had in reality been 
 part of Cavour's programme on his resumption of power. It was 
 soon to bear the title of **an incident of his poHcy." In the Winter 
 of i860 Baron de Talleyrand, the French representative at the court 
 of King Victor Emmanuel, received a dispatch from Paris charging 
 him to announce to Cavour the wishes of France concerning Savoy, 
 and the recall of the French army from Lombardy. This official 
 
CAVOUR FAVORS THE CESSION. 635 
 
 communication stated that while France did not counsel the annex- 
 ation of Central Italy, yet, regarding it as accomplished, would not 
 offer any opposition, but simply asked the price which had been prom- 
 ised, so that the imperial forces could be recalled from Lombardy. 
 
 The plebiscitum in Tuscany and Emilia was a triumph over the last 
 hesitations of Napoleon III ; but it placed upon Cavour the most 
 solemn responsibility of his public life. On the announcement of the 
 annexation of these provinces, on the i8th of March, the French 
 emperor peremptorily demanded the cession of Nice and Savoy to 
 his kingdom. Italy was not yet recognized in the great family of 
 nations. Austria was strongly intrenched on the Mincio and the Po, 
 Prussia and Russia were not friendly to the Italian kingdom, and 
 nothing was to be hoped for from England more than English neu- 
 trality. Besides, a Bourbon army threatened it in the rear. To have 
 refused to France, its only remaining ally at that time, the territory 
 of Nice and Savoy would have been madness and ruin. Still Cavour 
 hesitated. ** For charity's sake, sign the treaty," wrote Bixio, "if 
 you do not wish to lose all sympathy of France for Italy." For 
 once Cavour was unmanned. In common with D'Azeglio, he said 
 adieu to Savoy painfully; but it was not a matter of sentiment with 
 him. He resolved to perform a duty required by his policy, by 
 cutting the "knot of the question," as he called it. Cavour walked 
 up and down his cabinet thoughtfully and gravely, not on this occa- 
 sion rubbing his hands as he listened to the reading of the treaty. 
 He then affixed his signature to the deed in silence, and in so doing 
 experienced the bitterness of death ; but in a moment after, recover- 
 ing his habitual sprightliness, he went up to Baron de Talleyrand, 
 and said to him, with a significant smile, "Now we have you for 
 accomplices !" 
 
 Thus on the 24th of March, i860, the ill-starred treaty was signed 
 and sealed. Feeling that the cession was a supreme necessity, Cavour 
 met it by rising to the heroic sublime of personal sacrifice and self- 
 abnegation. Having consecrated himself upon his country's altar, 
 he made no reservation of his fame or popularity. It was in such a 
 perilous crisis as this that he exclaimed, amidst the silence and soli- 
 tude of his chamber, " Perish my name, perish my fame — only let Italy 
 live!" One evening during the height of the political excitement, 
 referring to the treaty in a conversation with his confidential secre- 
 tary, he said: "If the king were to nominate me duke of Leri, as 
 the Austrian journals predict, I would not exchange for that title my 
 name of Count of Cavour. I have quattrini sufficient for my wants, 
 
636 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 although I am not as rich as is generally believed, and will never be 
 so popular as after the battle of Magenta and on the eve of that of 
 Solferino. ... I have the ambition to serve Italy. For her I 
 cheerfully risk my fame and my popularity. If I had aimed at noth- 
 ing less than private advantage, instead of persuading Italy and 
 Europe to consent to the cession of Nice and Savoy, I would resign, 
 and, satisfied with a glory cheaply acquired, I would retire to Leri, 
 and leave the country to be rent in twain in this dangerous polit- 
 ical crisis." 
 
 On the 25 th of March the election lists were opened for the 
 chambers tn all the provinces of the new kingdom; so that it was no 
 longer before the Piedmontese parliament, but before the first national 
 Italian parliament, that the question was to be laid which embodied 
 for the moment the policy of Cavour. The head of the cabinet, in 
 April, 1859, after a parliamentary session that had voted full powers 
 on the eve of the war, said, '* I have left the last Piedmontese cham- 
 ber — the next will be that of the kingdom of Italy." One year only 
 had passed away, and Cavour's prediction had been fulfilled. He felt 
 confident that an assembly which owed its life to him would not 
 refuse to support his policy. This new body was composed of the 
 dite of Italy, and in its spirit represented to a remarkable degree the 
 national liberalism which for ten years had carried through Piedmon- 
 tese measures. Hence Cavour had a strong governing force to sus- 
 tain him when he asked for an indorsement of the treaty ceding 
 Savoy and Nice. The discussion, however, which was unrestricted, 
 developed every form of opposition, and presented many curious 
 features, even the most eccentric. Guerrazzi, the former Tuscan 
 chief, prodigal in sarcasms, threatened Cavour with the fate of Clar- 
 endon, condemned to exile for having ceded Dunkirk to France; but 
 the opposition containing the greatest elements of danger were cen- 
 tered in a man in whom Cavour found an adversary both impas- 
 sioned and self- contained, all but an enemy — Rattazzi. The latter 
 had evidently been deeply mortified by his fall in the last ministerial 
 crisis, and the elevation of Cavour awakened in him an implacable 
 animosity. It is said that all personal intercourse had ceased be- 
 tween these two men, notwithstanding their former intimacy and 
 parliamentary alliances. 
 
 In his speech Rattazzi impeached the policy of Cavour, denounc- 
 ing in bitter terms the treaty ceding Savoy, and particularly Nice, 
 and calling the whole affair — the principle, the proceedings, the nego- 
 tiations — "unfortunate" and "miserable." He declared that the 
 
CA VO UR'S REPL V. 637 
 
 Italian provinces could have been united without yielding to a power- 
 ful ally, as the emperor, no doubt, would have finally consented to 
 the annexations ; but now Savoy, an important conservative factor in 
 a national crisis, had been given up, and Nice, an Italian city, was 
 lost. The Italian programme had been abandoned, and a policy of 
 territorial barter had taken the place of the policy of nationality. 
 Rattazzi still further affirmed that the price of the annexation had 
 been paid without even a guarantee in exchange. This shrewd tac- 
 tician, under an appearance of moderation, refrained from personal 
 attacks, and did not, like Guerrazzi, speak of Clarendon, "severe to 
 the king, scornful of parliament, and believing in his pride that there 
 would be no check to his authority;" he did not hurl such angry 
 taunts at Cavour, though he sarcastically alluded to the latter's retire- 
 ment in July as "an excellent method of escape from a dilemma, no 
 doubt, but of small use in solving the difficulties." 
 
 The president of the council, believing that these sharp, though 
 pohshed, shafts were aimed at him, proceeded to justify his honor 
 and the character of his policy before the Italian parliament, now for 
 the first time assembled at Turin. The struggle was not equal, be- 
 cause facts sustained Cavour ; and he promptly seized the advantage, 
 to the confusion of his adversaries. He replied to Guerrazzi, and said 
 that if Lord Clarendon could have defended his conduct by pointing 
 to several millions of Englishmen delivered by him from a foreign 
 yoke, and several counties added to the English dominions, the par- 
 liament would, probably, have been more merciful, and perhaps 
 Charles II would not have been so ungrateful towards the most 
 faithful of his servants. "Since the honorable deputy, Guerrazzi," 
 remarked Cavour, "has thought proper to give me an historical 
 lesson, he should have given it complete. After telling us what 
 Lord Clarendon did, he should have told us who were his enemies, 
 what sort of men his accusers, who shared the spoil they had torn 
 from him. He should have told us that these enemies formed the 
 famous coterie of men possessed of no antecedents in common, no 
 community of principles, no ideas, and who were actuated by noth- 
 ing but the most impudent egotism ; men fallen away from ever}^ 
 party, professing all opinions — Puritans, Presbyterians, Anglican 
 Churchmen, and papists, each in turn ; to-day republicans, royalists 
 to-morrow ; demagogues in the street, courtiers in the palace ; rad- 
 icals in parliament, reactionists in the councils of the king — men, in 
 short, whose coming together produced the ministry stigmatized in 
 history as that of the Cabal. So much being said," Cavour added, 
 
638 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 **I leave it to the chamber and to the country to consider what may- 
 be thought of the present case." The assembly, electrified by this 
 grand fulmination, broke forth in loud and long acclamations. 
 
 The great diplomatist denied the accusation of the sarcastic Guer- 
 razzi that he had sold cities, and he repelled the insinuation of 
 Rattazzi that he had abandoned the national programme. He plainly 
 and honestly stated to the chamber the real cause of the cession of 
 Savoy, saying, ''The true ground for it is, that the treaty is an inte- 
 gral part of our policy, the logical and inevitable consequences of a 
 past policy, and an absolute necessity for the carrying on of this 
 policy in the future." In his speech Cavour declared that the French 
 people believed that the provinces of Savoy and Nice naturally 
 belonged to them, and hence their cession was indispensable to keep 
 France in friendly relations with Italy. The latter, he affirmed, had 
 been aided by the former, and it would be ungrateful and unjust to 
 refuse reasonable demands. At the conclusion of the address, which 
 captivated the assem.bly, Cavour gained the vote for the treaty by a 
 majority of two hundred and twenty-nine ; only thirty-three protested 
 against it, and twenty-three members obeyed the signal to abstain 
 from voting given by Rattazzi. 
 
 Before the meeting of parliament, and in the interval of these 
 exciting discussions, Cavour had taken time to visit some of the pro- 
 vinces. He had gone with Victor Emmanuel to Milan during the 
 Winter fetes, where he met the venerable Manzoni, who reminded 
 him of the conversation that had taken place one day in 1850 in the 
 house of Rosmini, at Bolongaro. He had desired to see some of the 
 cities of Lombardy — Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo, — and every-where 
 he had received ovations of all kinds. Shortly after the annexation, 
 still accompanied by the king, he had also gone to Tuscany and the 
 Romagna, and for the first time beheld those provinces. As yet he 
 had not known Florence or any of those delightful Tuscan country 
 sides. While at Pisa, one morning he awoke at break of day in the 
 silence of the still slumbering city, and taking Signor Artom with 
 him, visited the Campo Santo. After remaining speechless a moment 
 he exclaimed: ''How pleasant it would be to repose here!" Signor 
 Artom informed him that he would find himself on holy ground, for 
 that this earth they trod upon had been brought from Palestine in 
 the period of the Crusades. Cavour answered gayly: "Are you sure 
 they will not one day canonize me?" 
 
 Italy had scarcely become tranquil when a new campaign was 
 preparing across the Mediterranean, and already Cavour's eyes were 
 
A NEW CAMPAIGN. 
 
 639 
 
 on Sicilian and Neapolitan waters. At length the drama suddenly 
 opened, and while on the 5th of May, i860, the parhament in Turin 
 was discussing the cession of Savoy and Nice, Garibaldi, followed by 
 
 CATHEDRAL AND LEANING TOWER OF PISA. 
 
 his companions-in-arms, the ** thousand" sailed from the "Villa 
 Quarto," near Genoa, to cross the Mediterranean, with the intention 
 of raising Sicily, Naples, and still more, perhaps, to the echoing cry 
 
640 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of "Italy and Victor Emmanuel!" The history of Garibaldi's expe- 
 dition reads like a legend. Leaving the gulf of Genoa at night in his 
 pair of vessels, the Piemonte and Lonibardo, he swept through the 
 Neapolitan cruisers, landing at Marsala on the 17th of May, , and 
 "conquering kingdoms at a gallop." Garibaldi had gone with an 
 angry heart, easily won over to the Sicilian insurrection by resent- 
 ment at the cession of Nice, and on starting he had let fly a barbed 
 arrow at Cavour in a letter, in which he said to Victor Emmanuel: 
 "I know that I embark on a perilous enterprise. If we fail, I trust 
 that Italy and liberal Europe will not forget that it was undertaken 
 from motives pure of all egotism and entirely patriotic. If we achieve 
 it, I shall be proud to add to your majesty's crown a new and per- 
 haps more brilliant jewel, always on the condition that your majesty will 
 stand opposed to councilors who woidd cede this province to tJie foreigner^ 
 as has beeji done with the city of my birth.'' 
 
 Cavour had not encouraged the expedition of Garibaldi because, 
 without doubting his sincerity, he dreaded his rashness; but when 
 the enterprise was inaugurated, he resolved to obtain from it richer 
 fruits than those he had been gathering. During the previous year, 
 on the death of King Ferdinand and the accession of young Francis 
 II, son of a princess of Savoy, Cavour had seized the occasion to 
 send Count Salmour on a mission of peace to Naples. It was an 
 offer of amity and support to an administration in its infancy. Early 
 in i860 the cabinet of Turin had renewed the attempt by sending 
 Count Villamarina, formerly embassador at Paris, to Naples, with 
 instructions to bring about an understanding, if possible. Both with 
 Rome and Naples Cavour would gladly have had dealings and 
 arrangements; but those governments of the south were too much 
 influenced by their prejudices and passions to accept wise counsel. 
 The fanatical "fire-eaters" at Rome declared that they would recon- 
 quer the Romagna, and an army, composed of all classes of papists, 
 was organized and placed under the command of General Lamoriciere. 
 At Naples the unfortunate Francis II disregarded the advice of 
 "revolutionary Piedmont" and the admonitions of France and Eng- 
 land. These southern courts were under the control of Austria, and 
 by their blindness in rejecting reasonable offers unconsciously aided 
 the cause of Italian unity. 
 
 Fearing that Northern Italy might at any moment be placed 
 between the Austrians encamped on the Mincio, commanding the 
 Po, and Lamoriciere leading an army from the south, Cavour allowed 
 Garibaldi to go forth and "bear the spark to the fiery elements of 
 
DEFEA T OF FRANCIS 11. 64 1 
 
 the south." Naples had declined his offers of conciliation, and he 
 had heard of the march of a NeapoHtan corps in the Abruzzi. 
 Hence, Avithout having advised it, he did not prevent the expedition 
 of Garibaldi, but even protected it. His agent, Persano, obtained 
 supplies and covered the passage of new convoys of volunteers under 
 Medici and Cozenz. Cavour, while encouraging the popular chief, 
 beloved of Italy, was careful not to compromise his position before 
 Europe by too open a support. "Hence came a policy," says De 
 Mazade, "mixed up of audacity and stratagem, perfectly unfathom- 
 able, the natural issue of a complicated situation." 
 
 Garibaldi reached Palermo on the 27th of May, and, though 
 opposed by a Bourbon army of twenty-five thousand men, he soon 
 made himself master of Sicily. After establishing a provisional gov- 
 ernment he passed the Straits of Messina on the 21st of August, and 
 was at Naples on the 7th of September. Truly many exciting events 
 had occurred in Sicily in the short space of six months. The des- 
 potic acts of Francis H having enraged the people, they rose in revolt 
 at Palermo, Messina, and Catania in the month of March, hoping to 
 be successful like their brethren of the Peninsula. The Sardinian 
 government, to which they looked for assistance, did not deem it 
 prudent to interfere; but Garibaldi's sudden appearance at Marsala, 
 proclaiming himself " Dictator of Sicily in the name of Victor Emma- 
 nuel of Italy," and the defeat of the troops of King Francis at Mel- 
 azzo, inspired the Sicilians with wonderful enthusiasm. Such a rapid 
 conquest surprised every one except Garibaldi himself, and the aston- 
 ished populations even declared that it was miraculous. While the 
 latter welcomed the conquering hero as their deliverer, Francis II 
 was alarmed, and appealed to Victor Emmanuel to put a stop to the 
 invasion of his kingdom ; but the Sardinian king, who had secretly 
 connived at the expedition, stated that he was not responsible for 
 the attack upon the king of Naples. A little later, fearing the tenden- 
 cies of Garibaldi's republican sympathies, Victor Emmanuel ordered 
 him to take no steps against Naples until the people of Sicily should 
 decide by their votes whether they would become a part of the Sar- 
 dinian kingdom. Garibaldi refused to obey this order, and, on the 
 night of the 20th of August, crossed his force from Sicily to the 
 main-land at Spartivento. Pushing on he defeated the Neapolitan 
 troops at Reggio and San Giovanni, and moved forward towards 
 the capital. 
 
 The success of this little army was remarkable, and the history 
 of its progress seems fabulous. Setting out with a mere handful of 
 
642 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 men, denounced as a filibuster, his expedition branded as piracy, and 
 his troops as bandits, in the course of only four months Garibaldi 
 had routed and dispersed a large and well appointed army of regular 
 troops, overthrown a proud and haughty, if not powerful, dynasty, 
 and been proclaimed by acclamation dictator of the kingdom of the 
 "Two Sicilies." His enthusiastic volunteers, barefooted and in rags, 
 in want of provisions, in want of transportation, without tents, with- 
 out even cartridge-boxes, other than their caps, seem unmindful 
 of hunger or thirst or repose. Urged forward by an irresistible im- 
 pulse as they shout, "On to Naples!" the intrepid band gathers 
 strength as it advances, until one man becomes a score, a battalion, a 
 brigade. The disorganized Neapolitan troops exchange the blue 
 waistcoat for the red shirt, shake hands with the volunteers as they 
 pass, and shout with the rest, "Long live Garibaldi!" As their 
 idolized commander pushes forward far in advance of his troops, 
 who no longer advance in regular columns, but precipitate them- 
 selves in disorganized masses, multitudes remain standing entire days 
 and nights with a hope of seeing him pass. Those who were so fortu- 
 nate as to have cauglit a glimpse of the popular idol were regarded 
 as persons of mark. Any one to whom he had spoken became an 
 object of curiosity, and whatever he touched was at once transformed 
 into a relic. 
 
 Francis II fled from Naples to Gaeta in a Spanish man-of-war, 
 and, on the /tli of September, i860, Garibaldi, accompanied by only 
 seven officials, entered the city in a hired hack, passing directly under 
 the guns of the fortifications, though manned by soldiers of Francis 
 II, who so far forgot their duty to their royal master as to present 
 arms. The capital suddenly became delirious with excitement. All 
 Naples was at the windows or in the streets. As the living tides 
 surged along the crowded thoroughfares or debouched into the pub- 
 lic squares, all distinctions were alike forgotten. The citizens were 
 beside themselves for joy. They laughed and wept, they shouted 
 and embraced, amidst enthusiastic cries of "Long live Italian unity!" 
 Had the blood of St. Januarius suddenly liquefied in special recogni- 
 tion of the auspicious event, the excitement could not have been 
 greater than it was. As for Garibaldi, he inaugurated a provisional 
 government; with his usual impetuosity, he launched one proclama- 
 tion after another, expelling the Jesuits, confiscating the goods of the 
 clergy, establishing juries, and abolishing lotteries. The conquering 
 hero did not hesitate to undertake any thing, however impracticable or 
 visionary, and even proposed, after the reduction of Capua and Gaeta, 
 
CAVOURS OPPORTUNITY. 643 
 
 to march upon Rome, then Hberate Umbria and the Marches, and 
 with the battle-cry of " ItaHan Unity and Victor Emmanuel!" to 
 advance from victory to victory, until he should unfurl the tricolor 
 from the standards of St. Mark, and proclaim Victor Emmanuel king 
 of Italy from the summit of the Quirinal. But his rapid and suc- 
 cessful advance was suddenly arrested before the stronghold of Capua 
 and Gaeta, where Francis II, with the remnant of his army, defended 
 himself with great spirit and obstinacy. The volunteers, who had 
 achieved such brilliant victories on the march, were hardly prepared 
 to conduct the operations of a siege. Then, too, there were evident 
 signs of reaction. The popular enthusiasm began to ebb. The roy- 
 alists, recovering from their panic, commenced to rally, while the 
 besieged Bourbon army, emboldened by partial successes, attempted 
 to break through the enemy's lines with a view of marching upon 
 Naples. Affairs had evidently reached a crisis. 
 
 Garibaldi's extremity was Cavour's opportunity. While the illus- 
 trious captain had been winning success upon the field of battle the 
 prime minister had been rendering equally effective service upon the 
 field of diplomacy. He had succeeded in preventing foreign inter- 
 vention until he could present to Europe a fait accompli. He resolved 
 to secure and consolidate the results of the revolution in the interests 
 of Italian unity by substituting a regular for a provisional form of 
 government. He accordingly advised Victor Emmanuel to push for- 
 ward the Italian troops across the papal frontier with a view of co- 
 operating with the army before Capua. It was a bold, hazardous 
 movement. France showed her disapproval by recalling her minister 
 from Turin ; Russia did likewise ; while Prussia remonstrated in the 
 most energetic terms. Cavour, as usual, succeeded in pacifying 
 diplomacy with a memorandum, while the battle of Castelfidardo, the 
 liberation of Umbria and the Marches, and the capitulation of An- 
 cona hastened the decisive event. On the 26th of October, i860, 
 the troops of Victor Emmanuel formed a junction with those of 
 Garibaldi before Capua, a victory followed, and the Bourbon rule in 
 Naples ended. 
 
 42 
 
644 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 CAVOUR AND THE UNITY OF ITALY. 
 
 AT the commencement of the year 1861 Italy was in a transition 
 state. Tuscany, Modena, Parma, Umbria, and the Marches, 
 which had, after the war of 1859, sought to annex themselves to Sar- 
 dinia, resolved, by solemn vote, in popular suffrage to consummate 
 the annexation, and, in accordance with the royal order issued on 
 the 3d of Januar)^ they elected deputies to the Sardinian parliament, 
 which was to assemble on the i8th of February at Turin. On the 
 1st of January the king of Sardinia sent forth an address to the 
 people of Italy, recommending prudence, patience, and, above all, 
 harmony. The election of deputies ordered resulted in a triumph 
 of the liberal party, in opposition to the clergy, who, except in the 
 old kingdom of Sardinia, had reviled and resisted the annexation 
 and the measures which would be likely to follow it. 
 
 The speech of the king at the opening of parliament on the 1 8th 
 of February was well adapted to promote harmony and judicious 
 action. "To your wisdom," he said to the deputies, "I commit the 
 concerns of a free and almost wholly united Italy." After enumer- 
 ating the claims of England and France to their grateful remem- 
 brance, he added: "In the consciousness of its power, the kingdom 
 of Italy can follow the counsels of prudence. I have hit^herto raised 
 my voice for acts of daring and even rashness ; but it is as wise to 
 wait at the proper moment as to dare at the present moment. De- 
 voted to liberty, I have risked for her my life and my crown, but no. 
 one has a right to put at hazard the existence and the destinies of a 
 nation." Count Cavour sustained the pacific policy of the king in 
 the parliament, and asked that the title of "King of Italy" should 
 be conferred on Victor Emmanuel, that thus the unity of Italy might 
 be consecrated in the royal person. The law enacting this as the royal 
 title passed the senate on the 26th of February, by a vote of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-six yeas and two nays, and the chamber of deputies 
 unanimously, on the nth of March. On the same day the king as- 
 sumed the title, which was recognized by England on the 30th of 
 
THE ROMAN QUESTION. 645 
 
 March, and subsequently by Switzerland, Greece, Denmark, Portu- 
 gal, and the United States. The recognition of France was given on 
 the loth of June. Austria protested against it, but without effect. 
 
 The Roman question was of course the most absorbing one with 
 the Italian parliament, and it was involved in great difficulties. Since 
 1848 the Roman government had chiefly been maintained by the over- 
 awing force of Austrians in the legations and the French army in the 
 capital. The defeats of the Austrians by the French and Sardinians 
 at Magenta and Melagnano, in the Summer of 1859, were immediately 
 followed by the evacuation of the States of the Church by the Aus- 
 trian garrisons. Upon this, several of these states at once revolted 
 from the pope, and proclaimed Victor Emmanuel king, or dictator. 
 As was stated in a previous chapter, the efforts of the papal army to 
 reduce these states to their former condition of obedience were unsuc- 
 cessful. But Pius IX, though deprived of nearly all his territory, was 
 as defiant as ever, and vehemently exclaimed as usual, ''Non possu- 
 mus !'' Hence the Italian parliament of 1861 was confronted with the 
 complex Roman question, which affected every thing, from the very 
 constitution of Italian unity by the choice of a capital, to the beliefs, 
 interests, and traditions of the Roman Catholic world through the 
 temporal power; and by the prolonged presence of a French garri- 
 son at Rome, it affected the most intimate relations with France. 
 It was at once a national and universal, a religious and diplomatic, 
 question ; and it is here that Count Cavour displayed, indeed, the 
 powers of a mind marvelously clear and penetrating, showing himself 
 a master in the art of contriving and combining, absolutely free from 
 vulgar prejudice, and pursuing, by the aid of liberaHsm, the solution 
 of an apparently insoluble problem. 
 
 During the preceding twenty years this question had thrust itself 
 before him, and when he was only the representative of "little Pied- 
 mont " he could not fully meet it face to face ; but now, as minister of 
 united Italy, he did not shrink from it. He believed that the settlement 
 of it would result in the complete transformation of the political con- 
 ditions of the papacy. He had one advantage, which belonged to his 
 open and liberal mind, and it had often come to his assistance in all 
 these delicate religious affairs, and that was the absence of any ani- 
 mosity or prejudice as regards the Roman Catholic Church. At the 
 same time he looked upon the temporal power as incompatible with 
 Italian nationality, and even as detrimental to religion. He spoke of 
 it publicly and temperately, like one having a great problem to solve 
 and no sectarian passions to appease. Looking abroad from the 
 
646 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 height of a lofty pohcy, he accepted whatever was in harmony with 
 the object he had in view, and was even anxious to offer the Roman 
 Cathohc Church the fullest compensation in liberty and independence 
 for its lost temporal power. One day, about this period, he wrote 
 to a confidential friend: "There are to my mind two methods: the 
 one above board, the other secret. The first would be resolutely to 
 submit the matter to the public judgment: for instance, if I or an- 
 other member of the cabinet, or the king himself, were officially to 
 declare, either in public speech or before parliament, the views of the 
 government in relation to religious affairs. The second would be to 
 dispatch a secret agent to Rome, whose presence would be unknown 
 to our adversaries, and Antonelli among them : this agent to have the 
 fullest confidence of the government, in a manner to impress the 
 belief that he is the bearer, and may be the receiver, of serious 
 proposals." Cavour had employed both these methods alternately, 
 sometimes simultaneously, as a man who joined to a purely logical 
 mind the rarest flexibility in practical issues. 
 
 In the sharpest of these struggles and crises Cavour had com- 
 municated secretly with Rome. Early in i860 the king's private 
 chaplain, Abbate Stellardi, was sent to the pope with the mission to 
 propose a Vicariate, stretching to Umbria and the Marches, as well as 
 over the legations. Pius IX listened suavely, even with some mani- 
 festation of emotion, and went so far as to discuss certain points, but 
 finally ended by refusing his consent. When the Marches were be- 
 ing annexed, or shortly afterward, Cavour, instead of widening the 
 breach, did his utmost to moderate the wrath of Rome. He gave 
 orders for the unconditional release of the prisoners, and wrote, to- 
 wards the end of October, to Dr. Pantaleoni, a friend of his, estab- 
 lished in Rome: "I send a person to Rome deputed to yield up the 
 captured gens d'armes. The same person is commissioned to inquire 
 whether the Holy Father begins to perceive the necessity of coming 
 to an understanding with us, which the Roman court will do well to 
 do, and by which its spiritual independence will be far better assured 
 than by foreign arms." The same idea had struck Dr. Pantaleoni, 
 and of this came a secret negotiation, continuing up to the close of 
 i860 and the first weeks of 1 86 1, Father Passaglia speedily becom- 
 ing associated with it. 
 
 There were other concurrent negotiations; but that conducted by 
 Dr. Pantaleoni was the main one. Cavour did not conceal any thing 
 from the French emperor, who had his own projects ; but ended by 
 entering into the mysterious business on hand, whose aim was to 
 
FATHER PASSAGLIA, 647 
 
 sweep away quietly the temporal power. The pope was to remain 
 sovereign, with all a sovereign's prerogatives, rights, inviolability, and 
 honors, retaining a large patrimony in real estate in the kingdom, 
 and absolute ownership of the Vatican, and other palaces and resi- 
 dences. The Church was to be completely free and independent in 
 its spiritual ministry. The state renounced all rights of intervention 
 in the affairs of the Church. It was the notable treaty of peace long 
 dreamed of by Cavour, and summed up in his famous phrase: **A 
 free Church in a free state." If the court of Rome was not serious 
 in this negotiation, it certainly at one time regarded it with some 
 favor. Father Passaglia was the most active intermediary between 
 Rome and Turin, and Cardinal Santucci accepted the office of nego- 
 tiator. One and the other had Interviews with the pope, who listened 
 to them, Insomuch that Cavour one day received the following dispatch 
 at Turin: ** Cardinal Santucci has thought fit to tell the pope every 
 thing; he has spoken to him of the certain loss of the temporal power, 
 and the friendly propositions that have been made. The Holy Father 
 has shown himself resigned. Antonelli has been summoned; he 
 began with a lively opposition, then became equally resigned, and 
 requested the pope to absolve him and Santucci from the oath, that 
 they might treat of the possible surrender of the temporal posses- 
 sions. They are to see Passaglia, and the latter asks me, on their 
 behalf, for some one to be indicated here, or sent from Turin, to 
 negotiate. It is desired that the person selected be not a lawyer." 
 The news was immediately telegraphed to the emperor of France, 
 who, though anxious for success, seemed to have little hope of It. 
 Cavour, perceiving this open door, believed that it was only a step to 
 the altar of compromise within, and he accordingly redoubled his 
 efforts. After designating the negotiators that had been asked of 
 him he wrote to Father Passaglia, saying, ' ' I ehtertain the belief 
 that before next Easter you will be able to send me the olive-branch, 
 symbol of peace between the Church and the state — between the 
 papacy and the Italians." But a sudden change occurred, and at 
 the moment when the first step to a negotiation seemed to be made 
 the question assumed an entirely different aspect. It was evident 
 that Cardinel Antonelli had either pretended to yield for the pur- 
 pose of controlling the designs of his enemies, and of finding the 
 means to combat them, or else that his hope of evading the necessity 
 had revived, and he thought he saw symptoms of coming events 
 in Europe, signs of a possible intervention of the Catholic powers. 
 The pope, who appeared to be half inclined to reconciliation, was 
 
648 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 held back by his wily adviser, and the latter went so far as to give 
 orders to Dr. Pantaleoni to leave the Roman states within twenty-four 
 hours ! The enemies of peace, by their intrigues, had achieved a 
 victory for the time, and every thing was in suspense. Cavour had 
 not succeeded by the *' secret means;" he had the "pubhc means" 
 to try — the parliament; and he found occasion in March, 1861, in an 
 interpellation addressed to him on the affairs of Rome. This oppor- 
 tune interpellation was for him but another manner of taking up and 
 continuing the negotiation in the light of day, in the face of Italian 
 and universal opinion, and frankly avowing to its full extent and in 
 its grandeur the policy whose realization he had never ceased to 
 prosecute. 
 
 Cavour had said in parliament, ''The star now directing us is 
 this, that the 'Eternal City,' upon which twenty-five centuries have 
 cast glory of all kinds, should become the capital of the kingdom of 
 Italy." What he had already said he confirmed with more precision 
 and breadth in March, 1861. He was not led astray by imagination 
 and artistic enthusiasm, but confessed that the plain, straight streets 
 of his native town were more attractive to him than all the monu- 
 ments of Rome. He loved Turin, and it was with regret that he 
 thought of sacrificing it, even exclaiming, "Ah, if only Italy could 
 have two capital cities : one for Sundays, the other for the days of 
 the week!" He made this resolution entirely on political grounds, 
 because the name and majesty of Rome alone could dominate the 
 rivalries of Italian cities, and so put the definite stamp on unity; and 
 he believed that it was a prime necessity to inform Europe that 
 Rome was regarded by the whole nation as vitally the capital of the 
 country. "No city but Rome," he declared, "can be the capital 
 of Italy; but here we come upon the perplexities of the problem. 
 We must go to Rome, but on two conditions : that we are acting in 
 concert with France, and that the great body of Catholics in Italy 
 and elsewhere do not see in the reunion of Rome with Italy the 
 source of the subjection of the Church. In other words, we go to 
 Rome, but not to restrict the independence of the sovereign pontiff — 
 not to bring spiritual things under the yoke of civil authority." 
 
 The plan which Cavour proposed was unquestionably a difilicult 
 one to execute, but not an impossibihty as regarded France. Cavour 
 said, plainly: "It would be madness, in the present state of Europe, 
 to think of going to Rome in spite of France. . . . We owe 
 France a great debt of gratitude ; but there is a graver motive for 
 being in harmony with her. When, in 1859, "^^ called France to 
 
INDEPENDENCE OF THE POPE. 649 
 
 our aid, the emperor did not conceal from us the engagements by 
 which he was bound to the court of Rome. We accepted his assist- 
 ance without protesting against the particular obligations he had im- 
 posed on himself; and now, that we have won so much from this 
 alliance, we can not protest against the engagements to which up to 
 a certain point we have consented." Cavour believed that there was 
 but one way of disengaging France, and quieting with her the whole 
 Catholic world, and that was by giving the Roman Catholic Church 
 what a pretended temporal power — painfully sustained for twenty 
 years by foreign arms, incapable of supporting itself or regenerating 
 itself by reforms — could not give it. This was by establishing the 
 dignity with the independence of the sovereign pontiff and of the 
 Church, by the separation of the two powers, a large application of 
 the principle of liberty in relation to civil and to religious society. 
 **It is clear," Cavour continued to say, ''that if this separation were 
 distinctly and irrevocably accomplished, if the independence of the 
 Church were thus established, the independence of the pope would 
 be much more securely based than it Is to-day. His authority 
 would be more efficacious, being no longer bound by concordats and 
 all those bonds and treaties which have been and must remain Indis- 
 pensable so long as the pope is a temporal sovereign. The authority 
 of the pope, far from diminishing, will be greatly extended In the 
 spiritual sphere, which is his own. . . . Whether or not an un- 
 derstanding with the pope precedes our entrance into the ' Eternal 
 City,' Italy will no sooner have declared the fall of the temporal 
 power than she will separate Church and state, and establish the 
 liberty of the Church on the broadest foundations." 
 
 Cavour sincerely believed what he said, and he was confident that 
 what he asked was in the Interests of the Roman Catholic Church, as 
 well as in the interests of Italy. One day when his intimate friend, 
 Signor Artoni, was expressing his doubts and fears, he exclaimed, 
 with his usual vivacity: **I have more faith than you in the effects 
 of liberty. Do you not see that the time has come to settle the 
 question of the temporal power, which has ever been the stumbling- 
 block in the way of Italian nationality, and that the only way to 
 settle it is to reassure the Catholic world as to what Italy will do 
 with the papacy? Injustice is done to Catholicism when It is urged 
 that it is Incompatible with liberty. On the contrary, my conviction 
 is that as soon as the Church shall have tasted liberty she will feel 
 herself renewed In youth by that wholesome and fortifying regimen. 
 When Europe shall have been convinced that we are not striving 
 
650 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 against Catholicism she will find it natural and fitting that the Italian 
 rather than any other flag should float over Rome. The enterprise 
 is not easy, but it is worth being attempted." 
 
 Cavour viewed Catholicism in a purely spiritual light when he 
 denied that it was ** incompatible with liberty." He was a liberal 
 Roman Catholic, and desired to promote the welfare of the Church 
 in its religious operations; but the secular, political policy of the 
 papacy was condemned by him, not only because it was hostile to 
 Italian unity, but also because it was the enemy of liberty every- 
 where. He sought to overthrow the temporal and preserve the 
 spiritual power of the Church. More than any other man, he was 
 made to attempt it. He had not yet succeeded, it is true ; but after 
 disentangling a revived Italy from her disorders and divisions he had 
 marked on the horizon a final aim, while shaping the road to reach 
 it. *'He himself," says De Mazade, ''had touched the supreme 
 point in human destiny, when a man made powerful by freedom, be- 
 girt by a solid popularity, though still with struggles before him, can 
 only be stopped by death surprising him in harness, and in the hour 
 of victory." 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 CAVOUR S POLICY VICTORIOUS—THE STATESMAN'S DEATH. 
 
 WHILE the Roman question continued to be a disturbing ele- 
 ment In Italian affairs, yet it was only a part of the difficulties 
 which the new situation developed. The more serious and immediate 
 complication was in those southern provinces suddenly annexed to 
 the north. The Bourbon standard, fixed on the rock of Gaeta until 
 the 13th of February, 1 86 1, represented but a vanquished cause, and 
 therefore this military protest, being without response or hope, did 
 not cause the Italian government any uneasiness. The moral condi- 
 tion of that southern region, which was passing through a kind of 
 stormy transition, was a source of discord and danger. The annexa- 
 tion of Lombardy, Tuscany, the Romagna, or Parma, was a safe 
 measure ; but the extremity of Italy, at that time, constituted an 
 entire kingdom, separated from the north by manners, customs, and 
 
CA VO UR'S HER CULEAN LAB ORS. 65 I 
 
 traditions, and contained a rebellious, ungovernable population. The 
 passionate, exuberant Neapolitans had been so long oppressed and 
 kept in ignorance and degradation by the grinding tyranny and 
 demoralizing influence of the Bourbon kings, that they seemed hardly 
 fitted to appreciate the liberties they had gained. Every element of 
 anarchy remained, and excited in part by the emissaries of Francis 
 II, whose residence at Rome gave him ample opportunities for such 
 intrigues, disorders, and tumults, soon burst out. In this revolution- 
 ary interregnum each party, abusing the privileges of an unbounded 
 liberty, naturally took advantage of the fanaticism, the passions, 
 and rebellious instincts of an impressible population, easily arrayed 
 against laws, taxes, and the whole new order of things. The de- 
 fenders of the fallen T-egime organized a veritable system of brigandage, 
 and covered it with a political cloak. In vain the cabinet of Turin 
 endeavored to bring order out of this chaos by sending a succession 
 of lieutenants — first Farini, then the prince of Carignano, with Cava- 
 liere Nigra ; next Signor Ponza di San Martino ; but these Pied- 
 montese representatives, who succeeded one another at Naples, con- 
 fessed their inability to manage these provinces, which, though not 
 really hostile to the government, were undisciplined and turbulent. 
 Indeed, the late Neapohtan kingdom threatened to become another 
 Ireland, so that Cavour was brought face to face with every external 
 and internal complication of an unfinished work. 
 
 The great statesman was not yet satisfied with his conquest, and 
 therefore could not rest. He had simultaneously to adjust the rela- 
 tions of a new Italy with Europe, to fix his policy in Venice and 
 Rome, to continue to pacify the southern provinces, assimilate the 
 legislation and administration of all these different provinces, reor- 
 ganize the army of the new kingdom, and unite six or seven budgets 
 into one, which, from the very first, presented a deficit of five hun- 
 dred millions of francs ! With all his natural vitality and vigor to 
 sustain him, he sometimes yielded to despondency, and asked him- 
 self whether he could perform the herculean work on which he was 
 bestowing his energies and his life ; but banishing these apprehen- 
 sions, he soon took courage again. He Avas assailed by many and 
 serious difficulties — divisions, personal resentments, things, and men ; 
 often men in the highest position opposed him, and he was bitterly 
 denounced because he would not consent either to a dictatorship to 
 simplify the work of unification, or a state of siege to quiet Naples. 
 Against all these hostile influences, which arose from the many ques- 
 tions of organization that he directed and settled, he braced himself, 
 
65 2 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and, though the trials yet in store for him might be severe, yet he 
 hoped to succeed through discussion. His strength was in the parHa- 
 ment and in the confidence of the people, in his immense influence 
 on the popular mind, and in the support of the liberals. His weak- 
 ness consisted in a situation still unsettled and undecided. Some 
 sudden outburst of fanaticism, or the daring of some popular leader 
 might Avreck his policy by rushing headlong into a rash adventure in 
 the direction of Rome or Venice. 
 
 In the Spring of 1861, one of those stormy Springs of that period, 
 which, to use Lord Palmerston's expression, *'came in like lions," a 
 pretext was given for the revival of the unhappy struggle which had 
 occurred between Cavour and Garibaldi in October, i860. The ques- 
 tion that precipitated the conflict was the dissolution or the reorgan- 
 ization of the army of the south; that is to say, of those volunteers 
 who had gone through the campaigns of Sicily and Naples with Gari- 
 baldi. General Fanti, the minister of war, did not consider such an 
 irregular military force a safe thing in a time of high national enthu- 
 siasm, and therefore nvould not have it in the interests of the 
 army ; while Cavour would not consent to retain it, because he 
 deemed it inimical to the interests of diplomacy. Great consideration 
 was shown to the officers, and men like Nino Bixio, Cozenz, and 
 Medici, who proved worthy of their rank, were made generals, and 
 many others were offered prominent positions in the national army. 
 Although the principle of volunteer service was maintained, yet the 
 southern army was virtually disbanded. The action of the minister 
 of war, who, in the execution of these delicate matters, did not dis- 
 play the highest wisdom, awakened the indignation of Garibaldi. 
 
 Cavour, however, was held responsible, and, though desiring to 
 avoid a conflict, he saw that it was inevitable, having been but inef- 
 ficiently settled in the previous October, and therefore liable at any 
 moment to kindle again with all its fury, and with all its dangers like- 
 wise. The prospect of its renewal troubled Cavour, but he accepted 
 it with as little animosity as weakness. After the failure of his plans 
 with regard to Rome and Venice, Garibaldi retired to his island of 
 Caprera, disappointed but not dismayed. He had arranged to meet 
 his companions the following Spring, and, in the mean time, from 
 the depth of his retreat, which he had not even left to attend 
 the meeting of parliament at Turin, he continued to arouse his 
 countrymen by sending forth stirring appeals. He defended the 
 southern army and the volunteers, and advocated a general arming 
 of the people. To a deputation of Milanese workmen, who pre- 
 
THE GOVERNMENT ASSAILED. 65 3 
 
 sented an address to him at Caprera, he said, among other things : 
 "For the holy redemption of this land I rely on the rough hands of 
 men of my stamp rather than on the lying promises of false politi- 
 cians. Notwithstanding the sad effects of a vassal policy umvoi'thy 
 of the country, and notzvitJistanding all that the crowd of lackeys uphold- 
 ing \this monstrous and anti-national policy may say, Italy must stand ; 
 she must live." While this popular soldier and idol of the people 
 permitted his impetuous patriotism- sometimes to lead him to utter 
 intemperate, and perhaps imprudent, expressions, yet there were 
 extenuating circumstances. Garibaldi was the exponent of the popu- y 
 lar feeling which, at that time, almost unanimously demanded the 
 speedy completion of Italian unity by the annexation of Rome and 
 Venice. It was also natural that he should feel indignant when the 
 army which he had created, and with which he had become the con- 
 queror of the Two Sicilies, was disbanded at the very moment when 
 it was needed to achieve other victories. Believing tliat the policy 
 of Cavour Avas too conservative, he did not hesitate to condemn it, 
 and yet at heart he felt confident that its author was a sincere patriot, 
 though timid. 
 
 Shortly after the interview with the deputation from Milan, Gari- 
 baldi, in accepting the presidency of the ''Association of Italian 
 Unity," delivered another speech, and exhorted his countrymen to for- 
 tify themselves against ' * that cowardly fear which those seek to inspire 
 who have dragged Italian honor in the dust." These fiery declama- 
 tions produced intense excitement throughout the country, and in the 
 southern part particularly stirred up the passions of the people. 
 With one blow he struck the king, the army, and the parliament of 
 which he was himself a member, reproving them for what he regarded 
 as their subserviency to France. Accustomed to use the most forci- 
 ble, and at times even violent, language, perhaps he did not calculate 
 the effect of his words; but, as might be expected, they created a 
 profound sensation at Turin and in the chambers. The government 
 was offended, and the deputies declared that the parliament, for the 
 honor of liberal institutions, should protect its good name, and main- 
 tain its dignity though it should strike the popular hero. Some of 
 his enemies denounced his course as an outrage, and insisted that he 
 should not have impunity in abuse. Thus this singular conflict began 
 to assume serious proportions ; but the question was. Who shall take 
 the initiative ? The government, in its official character, hesitated ; 
 the president of the council disliked to acknowledge that these offen- 
 sive words, intended mainly for him, demanded from him a reply ; 
 
654 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and If an obscure or unpopular deputy had attempted to assail Gari- 
 baldi the movement against him would have been led astray or 
 failed in its object. At length the government party found a cham- 
 pion in the person of Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who had labored ear- 
 nestly and decisively in the cause of national unity, and possessed an 
 independence both of station and character which qualified, to some 
 extent, to measure swords with Garibaldi, with whom he had intimate 
 relations during the interregnum in Central Italy. 
 
 The former dictator of Florence had recently arrived at Turin, 
 and on his first appearance in the chamber his proud and grave 
 aspect, the natural dignity and severity of his manner and person, 
 made a deep impression, inspiring mingled feelings of curiosity and 
 respect. Like many others, the Florentine baron had been wounded 
 by Garibaldi's violent utterances. He proposed to ask the govern- 
 ment for explanations on the measures it had taken, or was about to 
 take, with regard to the southern army and the development of the 
 military forces of the nation. But before proceeding to the consider- 
 ation of these measures he resolved to attack Garibaldi's course, and 
 accordingly, on the lOth of April, i86i, in the midst of an excited 
 assembly, he rose to his feet, all being instantly hushed about him. 
 In spontaneously undertaking to defend the government Ricasoli felt 
 the gravity of the position he had assumed while the chamber waited 
 Avith anxiety for his debut, not knowing any thing about him as a 
 public speaker, but simply as the dictator at Florence. With a clear 
 vibrating voice and an imperious tone which gathered fire as it went, 
 he uttered the following words: **A calumny has been circulated 
 abroad concerning one of the members of the assembly. Expressions 
 hostile to the majority in parliament have been attributed to General 
 Garibaldi. They can not have been uttered by him. I know him, 
 and I shook his hand when he was about to take command of the 
 central army. We were then animated by the same sentiments — we 
 were both equally devoted to the king. We both swore that we 
 would do our duty. I have done mine. . . . Who is it, then, 
 that could proudly claim for himself the exclusive privilege of devo- 
 tion and patriotism, and exalt himself above his fellows? One head 
 only has the right to be higher than any other among us — that of 
 the king. Before him we must all bend, and any other attitude 
 would be that of a rebel. . . . Victor Emmanuel has made our 
 nation. . . . Italy's liberator being the king, and all Italians 
 having marched to liberty under the command of a chief so magnan- 
 imous, one citizen is not above another. He who has had the good 
 
THE ELOQUENT FLORENTINE. 655 
 
 fortune to do his duty more generously in a wider field of action or 
 in a manner more profitable to his country, and Avho has perfectly 
 fulfilled it, a greater duty still lies before him, and it is to thank God 
 for allowing him the inestimable privilege which is granted to so few, 
 of being able to say : * I have served my country well, I have abso- 
 lutely done my duty.'" The whole assembly was moved by these 
 words, emphasized by the impressive bearing and vibrating delivery 
 of the speaker, and at times his thrilling sentences called forth enthu- 
 siastic acclamations. 
 
 Cavour had never before heard his austere Florentine ally and 
 rival speak, and had not always found it easy to deal with him in the 
 affairs of Central Italy, and he listened rather curiously at first; but 
 he soon began to share the universal excitement, and in leaving the 
 house he said to a friend: ** To-day I have understood and felt the 
 nature of true eloquence." Others have declared that he said: 
 "Were I to die to-morrow my successor is found." The government 
 was highly pleased with this vindication of royalty, parliament, and 
 the dignity of the nation, and Ricasoli himself felt that he had simply 
 discharged a conscientious and patriotic duty; but he certainly did 
 not express the sentiment of the Italian people in intimating that 
 Garibaldi was a rebel. Ricasoli denounced the intemperate language 
 of the brave general, and yet did not restrain himself The hero of 
 the Two Sicilies could not decline the challenge, but hastened to 
 Turin, and immediately published a letter disavowing all intentions of 
 censures either towards the king or the national representatives. A 
 collision in parliament was now unavoidable, and the presence of 
 Garibaldi made the scene still more dramatic. For more than a week 
 Turin had been filling up with volunteers, who hurried thither to 
 escort and support their leader. Some feared a conflict between the 
 citizens of that sturdy Piedmontese city, faithful to its king and the 
 followers of the conqueror of Naples; but this was not probable when 
 all were striving to secure the unity of their beloved Italy. 
 
 On the day appointed — the i8th of April, 186 1, — the sitting was 
 opened with an unusual solemnity. The diplomatic corps had wished 
 to be present, and even the tribunes bent under the weight of an 
 excited crowd. A few moments elapsed, and then Garibaldi appeared 
 in his singular costume — the legendary red shirt and South American 
 poncho. As he entered the galleries burst forth in shouts of wel- 
 come, but the chambers remained immovable and cold. When the 
 excitement had subsided Baron Ricasoli, taking up the thread of his 
 former subject, questioned the government as to the southern army, 
 
656 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and the military reorganization of the nation. The minister of war, 
 General Fanti, in his reply, gave a detailed statement of the measures 
 he had adopted and had found necessary. He stated that he had 
 done all he could do for the officers and volunteers of Garibaldi's 
 army, which he claimed was an institution born of the circumstances 
 of the time, and that he could not have pursued a different course 
 without introducing into the regular army a disastrous spirit of rivalry 
 or wounding military feelings and interests. 
 
 At this point Garibaldi arose and proceeded to address the 
 assembly. In the beginning he seemed to be embarrassed on this 
 new stage, entangling himself in laborious phrases; but he soon dis- 
 pensed with circumlocution and went straight to the question at issue. 
 In reply to the charge of antagonism to the government, made by 
 Ricasoli, he said: "I have not given any occasion for dualism. It is 
 true that plans of reconciliation have been proposed to me; but these 
 have only been in words. Italy knows me to be a man of deeds, 
 and deeds have always been in opposition to words. . . . When- 
 ever dualism could have damaged the cause of my country I have 
 bowed and shall always bow. . . . But I leave it to the con- 
 sciences of the Italian representatives here present to state whether 
 I can give my hand to one who has made me a stranger in Italy." 
 The scene now became animated, and the assembly was disturbed 
 by loud interruptions, when Garibaldi, returning to the subject of 
 the southern army, which he stated was "the principal object of his 
 presence in the chamber," added with growing excitement: "Having 
 to speak of this army, I should, above all, relate its glorious deeds. 
 The wonders it achieved have been darl^ened only when the cold 
 and inimical hand of the ministry has made its evil influence felt. 
 When, through love of peace and horror of a fratricidal war, pro- 
 voked by that same ministry — " At these words, before the sentence 
 was complete, the tempest burst out and protestations were shouted 
 on every side; the real struggle had come at last. 
 
 Cavour, who was seated among the ministers, could scarcely 
 restrain himself, and, full of indignation, at length exclaimed: "Such 
 insults as these are not permitted ; we can not suffer them ; see that 
 proper respect is paid to the government and representatives of the 
 nation. We demand a call to order." Rattazzi, the president, sadly 
 perplexed and almost extinguished in this storm, requested Garibaldi 
 to express his opinions in a form less offensive. Cavour cried out: 
 "He has said that we provoked a fratricidal war; this is far more than 
 an expression of an opinion." "Yes, a fratricidal war!" Garibaldi 
 
CAVOURS REJOINDER. , 657 
 
 vehemently replied. The assembly was now convulsed with an ex- 
 traordinary agitation. The deputies loudly shouted for a call to order, 
 while the friends of Garibaldi, who crowded the galleries, made the 
 Chambers resound with frantic applause. Violent invectives and abu- 
 sive challenges crossed each other in rapid succession, and the confu- 
 sion became so great that the president was compelled to adjourn the 
 sitting until order could be restored. After some minutes the debate 
 was resumed, and Nino Bixio, one of the band of heroes of Sicily 
 and the Volturno, delivered an address in which he endeavored to 
 palliate the violent language of his ancient chief by invoking a patri- 
 otic return to reconciliation. "Count Cavour," he hastened to say, 
 "has undoubtedly a generous heart. The earlier part of this day's 
 session should be forgotten. It is a misfortune that it has happened. 
 Let us banish it from our minds." 
 
 Cavour, though he had been wounded by Garibaldi's words, and 
 experienced emotions he was unable to repress, controlled himself 
 sufficiently to reply to Bixio's request that the insult should be over- 
 looked, and to enter into an explanation. "It is not," he replied, 
 immediately, "that I flatter myself with the hope of seeing the 
 friendly feeling spring up again which the honorable member, Bixio, 
 has just entreated us to entertain. I know there is one deed which 
 has put a gulf between General Garibaldi and me. I thought to ac- 
 complish a painful duty — the most painful I have ever known — in 
 urging upon the king and parliament the approval of the cession of 
 Nice and Savoy to France. Through the pain it caused me I can 
 realize that which General Garibaldi must now feel on the subject, 
 and if he is unable to forgive me for that deed I can not hold it to 
 be a reproach to him." Garibaldi in his turn became more calm, 
 expressing a desire that, according to him, would have a tendency to 
 moderate their dissensions. He said: "Although my sentiments 
 towards Count Cavour are those of an adversary, I have never 
 doubted that he also is the friend of Italy. My wish would be that 
 the honorable count should make use of his powerful influence to 
 cause the law which I propose for the national armament to be 
 adopted ; namely, to dispatch the forces remaining of the southern 
 army to a point wherein they might serve Italy by combating a reac- 
 tion daily growing more threatening. This is my desire." 
 
 Cavour was ready to do all he could to relax a situation of ex- 
 treme tension and to promote reconciliation. After the first moment 
 of indignant feeling had passed away he quickly recovered his cool- 
 ness, and calmly surveyed the field. He feared that these rashly 
 
6$ 8 ITAL V STT^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 kindled conflicts might descend from parliament to the country, and 
 produce civil war, to the destruction of the dawning unity. Hence 
 no effort was too strong for him, and no sacrifice too great. He 
 was even willing to forget personal injuries, and to make concessions 
 in particulars. There was but one thing — the essential one, it is 
 true — that he positively refused, because in it he saw another danger, 
 the external danger. He would at no price, while appearing to sub- 
 mit to Garibaldi's desire, favor a sort of active organization of volun- 
 teer corps, in the positive acceptation of the word, believing that 
 such a measure would have the appearance of preparation for an 
 offensive war, and might ruin all his labor of diplomacy, of which he 
 alone had the secret. "We decline to do," he said, resolutely, 
 ' * what would be a real provocation, because we do not think our- 
 selves bound to follow a provocative policy." Believing this to be 
 the question at issue, Cavour fought with consummate skill for three 
 days, not to win over the Chamber, because that body was already 
 in sympathy with his schemes, but to obtain a clear and decisive 
 consideration, so that the vote might be intelligently given. 
 
 Cavour, rising high above the sense of a personal conflict, addressed 
 the Chamber, declaring that the ministry had so often proclaimed to 
 Italy, and also to the whole of Europe, the policy of the government, 
 that they must be familiar with it. He reaffirmed the opinion that 
 the Italian question would not be settled until the independence of the 
 Peninsula was thoroughly established, and the relations of Rome and 
 Venice satisfactorily arranged ; but he opposed any adjustment of the 
 Roman question which involved hostility or discord with France. 
 He stated that while the present condition of Venetia was incompat- 
 ible with a durable peace, yet European interests, and the counsels 
 of friendly governments and powers which had aided Italy in critical 
 times, should be considered. A general war could easily be precip- 
 itated; but Cavour expressed his belief that such a policy at that 
 time would be dangerous. At the close of this address the vote for 
 an order of the day, proposed by Baron Ricasoli, was accepted by 
 the government. Thus ended a conflict which began in a wild tumult 
 and uproar, and might have culminated in a serious crisis had not 
 wiser counsels prevailed. After the drama had quietly closed it was 
 followed by an epilogue due to the diplomacy of Victor Emmanuel, 
 who used all his influence to secure a personal reconciliation between 
 Cavour and Garibaldi. He succeeded in arranging a meeting be- 
 tween them in one of the private apartments of the palace. A few 
 days later Cavour wrote as follows to Count Vimercati, at Paris : 
 
CA VOURS ARDUOUS LABORS. ^ 659 
 
 *'My interview with Garibaldi was courteous, though not warm; we 
 both kept within the hmits of reserve. I acquainted him, however, 
 with the Hne of conduct which the government intends to follow, as 
 regards Austria as well as France, assuring him that on these points 
 no compromise is possible. He declared his readiness to accept the 
 programme, and to be willing to engage himself not to act contrary 
 to the views of government. He only asked me to do something 
 for the army of the South. I gave him no promise; but I told him 
 I would seek a means to provide, as well as might be done, for the 
 future of his officers. We parted, if not good friends, at least with- 
 out any irritation." 
 
 This note, written on the 27th of April, 1861, describes the last 
 interview between these great men. Garibaldi disappeared to return 
 to his Mediterranean island, and Cavour resumed the herculean 
 labors which were rapidly undermining his physical constitution. 
 During his contest with Garibaldi he seemed to be full of vigor, and 
 exhibited a sort of new brilliancy that indicated a generous maturity. 
 As his work became greater and more complicated his resources of 
 strength and activity appeared the more inexhaustible. But the 
 strongest and most robust constitution could not endure the strain to 
 which Cavour was subjected. In winning his last and decisive vic- 
 tory over Garibaldi he had received a heavy blow, the storm of ex- 
 citement having told seriously upon his nervous system. Excess of 
 work of every kind could hardly be other than murderous to his 
 health. At one and the same time he was engaged in establishing 
 the relations of Italy with Sweden, Denmark, and Portugal ; he was 
 in the heat of negotiations with the emperor of the French on the 
 subject of Rome ; he was minutely observing the troubled affairs of 
 Naples ; he was regulating the finances and attending to tlie navy 
 of the new kingdom ; and every day he was in parliament, taking 
 his part in every discussion. It was not necessary for him to strug- 
 gle for a majority; but, having it, the responsibiHty of directing it 
 and preventing the adoption of imprudent measures rested upon him. 
 On the 29th of May he was in parliament, earnestly discussing a 
 project that was to be turned into a sort of manifestation in favor of 
 the republicans fighting at Rome in 1849, ^^^ ^^ that day he was 
 more excited and impatient than usual. That evening, on returning 
 home, he seemed weary and gloomy. **I am exhausted," said he; 
 "but I must go on working, for the country needs me. Perhaps 
 this Summer I may be able to take some rest in Switzerland." That 
 same night he was seized with violent indisposition, and grave symp- 
 
 43 
 
66o ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 toms began to be manifested. For a moment it seemed to be con- 
 quered by early care and bleeding — the habitual remedy at Turin — 
 and even Cavour thought himself all right. On the 31st of May he 
 was again able to assemble about him his colleagues of the ministry. 
 He worked with Nigra and Artom, but at length was compelled to 
 yield. After the ist of June the remedies ceased to be effectual, and 
 all hope vanished. The 2d of June had been appointed by the govern- 
 ment as the national, f^te-day, in commemoration of the achievement 
 of Italian unity; but, amidst the public rejoicings from one end of 
 the Peninsula to the other, Cavour was attacked by his final illness. 
 
 As the news of his dangerous sickness spread through the capital 
 the residence of the prime minister was besieged by a silent, anxious, 
 and sympathizing crowd that thronged the court, the vestibule, and 
 even the grand staircase, until long after the hour of midnight, while 
 the telegraph was busy in transmitting the medical bulletins of the 
 illustrious sufferer to the various sovereigns and cabinets of Europe. 
 In this last struggle between life and death Cavour passed from fits 
 of delirium to lucid moments, during which all that had been occu- 
 pying him came to his mind. As in health and activity, so in the 
 closing hours of Hfe, the welfare of his beloved Italy was ever upper- 
 most in his thoughts. In his paroxysms of delirium he discussed ques- 
 tions of state policy and from time to time called for his private sec- 
 retary, with a view of dictating dispatches. To his physician he 
 said: ''Cure me promptly; I have Italy on my shoulders, and time 
 is precious." With his niece, the Marchioness Alfieri, always atten- 
 tive at his pillow, and with his friends, Farini and Castelli, he spoke 
 of all he had yet to do, of the loan of five hundred millions which 
 was impending, of the recognition of the kingdom of Italy byFrance, 
 a letter expected from Count Vimercati in Paris, and of the navy it 
 was necessary to create. He was anxious about Naples, and spoke 
 of it urgently. 
 
 ''Northern Italy is established," he said. "There are no longer 
 Lombards nor Piedmontese, Tuscans nor Romans. We are all Ital- 
 ians ; but there are still Neapolitans. Oh! there is much corruption 
 in their country. Poor people! it is not their fault, they have been 
 so ill-governed! . . . We must impress the country morally: 
 but it is not by abusing the Neapolitans that they will be brought to 
 reason. . . . Above all, there must be no state of siege, none of 
 the measures of absolutist governments. Any one can govern with 
 a state of siege. I will govern them with liberty, and I will show 
 what ten years of liberty can do for these fine countries. Twenty 
 
FRA GIACOMO SUMMONED. 66 1 
 
 years hence they will be the richest provinces in Italy. No, have no 
 state of siege; that is my advice to you." Victor Emmanuel 
 wished to visit his illustrious minister, and standing by his bedside 
 affectionately pressed his hand. Cavour, recognizing him, exclaimed : 
 "Oh, your majesty, I have many things to communicate to you, 
 many papers to lay before you, but am too ill, it will be impossible 
 for me to come and see you ; but I will send you Farini to-morrow, 
 he will give you all particulars. Has your majesty received no letter 
 from Paris? The emperor is friendly to us now." Sometimes Ca- 
 vour complained of confusion in his brain, imagining that there was 
 the seat of his malady ; he felt that the power of thinking was rap- 
 idly leaving him. 
 
 After taking leave of his friends and domestics, he requested that 
 the priest of the Madonna dei Angeli, the Fra Glacomo, with whom 
 he had seven years previously made every arrangement, should be 
 sent for ; and accordingly, at the summons of the Marchioness Alfieri, 
 the priest hastened to the death-bed of the great man, and spent half 
 an hour alone with him. After the padre's departure, Cavour called 
 for Farini, and said to him : * ' My niece has summoned Fra Glacomo ; 
 I must prepare for the great passage into eternity ; I have confessed 
 and been absolved. I desire that It be known, that the good people 
 of Turin should know that I died the death of a good Christian. 
 I am without anxiety; I know that I have injured no man." That 
 same day the ''good people of Turin," who were anxiously watching 
 the course of the illness, tearfully followed the priest, who carried 
 the viaticum to the dying statesman. The priest himself, it is said, 
 comforted a relative of the count, by reminding her that ''no man in 
 this world had known better how to succor and pardon than that 
 one." After administering extreme unction Fra Glacomo recited at 
 the bedside of the illustrious citizen the prayer for the dying, when 
 Cavour, pressing his hand, significantly whispered: "■ Frute, frate, 
 libera chiesa in libera stato.'" It was almost in pronouncing these words 
 that, at a quarter before seven o'clock on the morning of the 6th of 
 June, i86i. Count Camillo Cavour "rendered to his God one of the 
 noblest souls that ever animated a mortal being." He passed away In 
 the fifty-first year of his age, a victim of overwork and untiring devo- 
 tion to his country. He seemed to have been struck down in the 
 heat of action, as on a battle-field on the morning after a victory, 
 which had been secured by the moderation and the greatness of his 
 intelligence. Massari states that "he who did not see Turin that 
 day knows not what is meant by the grief of a people." The town 
 
662 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 was filled with mourning. The tribunes of the chambers and the 
 standard on the palace were veiled with crape. 
 
 The sorrow occasioned by his death was universal throughout 
 Europe, and in his own beloved Italy the grief of the people was 
 intense beyond expression. His funeral occurred with more than 
 regal pomp. In spite of the rain, which fell in torrents, as if the 
 very elements were in sympathy with the mournful event, an im- 
 mense concourse of people, with every manifestation of sincere and 
 profound sorrow, thronged the sidewalks or followed in the proces- 
 sion. In all the large cities business was entirely suspended. Even 
 his poHtical enemies recognized his death as a national loss, while the 
 friends of Garibaldi, burying their resentments in his newly opened 
 sepulcher at Santena, followed silently and respectfully in the wake 
 of his funeral car. He died early, but he lived long enough to wit- 
 ness the assured triumph of the policy to which he had dedicated his 
 life and consecrated his genius. What he failed to accomplish him- 
 self, with singular prevision he clearly foreshadowed in his speeches. 
 Among the latest of these delivered in parliament was the celebrated 
 one upon the Roman. question, which at that time was invested with 
 peculiar interest. Referring to Rome as the capital of Italy, he said : 
 ''Our destiny, gentlemen — I declare it openly — is to make the ' Eternal 
 City,' upon which twenty-five centuries have accumulated every spe- 
 cies of renown, the splendid capital of the kingdom of Italy. But per- 
 haps this will not satisfy the honorable interpellant who has asked 
 b}^ what means we are to attain this desirable end. I would reply: 
 If you will first inform me as to what will be the condition of Italy 
 and Europe within the next six months I will respond ; but if you 
 can not furnish me with the data, I fear that neither I nor any one 
 of the mathematicians of diplomacy will be successful in finding the 
 unknown quantity you seek." 
 
 He, however, indicated some of the more rational means to be 
 employed in the solution of this difficult question — as the establish- 
 ment of a compact and powerful government at home, the modifica- 
 tion of public opinion abroad, and the growing conviction in modern 
 society that liberty is eminently favorable to the development of true 
 religious sentiment. He predicted that the time would soon come 
 when ''the large majority of sincere and intelligent Catholics will 
 recognize the fact, that the august pontiff, who represents the head 
 of the CathoHc religion, would be able to exercise in a manner much 
 more free and independent his spiritual functions guarded by the 
 love and respect of twenty-two miUions of Italians, than defended by 
 
CA VOURS CHARACTER AND POLICY. 663 
 
 twenty-five thousand bayonets" of mercenaries and foreigners. He 
 subsequently added: ''The moral world is subjected to laws analo- 
 gous to those of the physical world. The attraction is in proportion 
 to the mass ; and, by as much as Italy becomes more strong and 
 compact, by so much will the attraction which she exercises upon 
 Venice (and Rome) become the more powerful and irresistible." 
 
 The friends and enemies of the departed statesman alike regarded 
 his death as a national calamity, and even the great men of other 
 countries pronounced glowing eulogies upon his character. In the 
 English House of Commons, Palmerston, following Brougham in the 
 Lords, and Milnes, said: **The name of Count Cavour will live forever, 
 embalmed as it were with gratitude and admiration in the memory of 
 the human race. And when I speak of Count Cavour I do not 
 simply mean to praise him for those administrative acts which have 
 most astonished the world ; that is to say, for the unity of his country. 
 He has done many other things that make him no less great. The 
 foundation of the constitutional government in which Italy now 
 rejoices was laid by him ; it is he who managed all the affairs of the 
 Peninsula, and secured inestimable benefits to those who are living 
 and to all who will live after us." The sudden death of Cavour 
 awakened a deep and sincere feeling of sorrow in France, and, with- 
 out doubt, hastened the recognition of the new kingdom of Italy by 
 the French government. ''Italy a nation," says De Mazade, "is the 
 legacy of Cavour. The fruit of a policy starting from an idea of 
 independence and patriotism, and embracing internal order, econom- 
 ical interests, religious affairs, and diplomacy, developing and enlarg- 
 ing itself daily, by the help of the most astonishing mixture of dex- 
 terity and daring, justice and high-mindedness, practical good sense 
 and unbaffled energy in contrivance." 
 
 In reviewing the character of the illustrious Italian statesman, and 
 in studying his policy, we are reminded of the remark of one of his 
 distinguished contemporaries, who said that Cavour possessed the two 
 most essential quaHties of a great diplomatist — "prudence and impru- 
 dence." He was generally cautious, but when a bold movement was 
 necessary to turn the trembling scale in his favor he did not hesitate 
 to inaugurate it. In mediaeval Italy, under the shadow of the Roman 
 hierarchy, he advocated the largest liberty and became the champion 
 of free trade, free press, free speech, free schools, and a free Church 
 in a free state. "All the world," he exclaimed, "knows how to 
 govern by martial law; I would govern by means of liberty." He 
 persistently refused to restrict the freedom of the press, though no 
 
664 ^^^ LY STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 one suffered more from its unbridled license than he. And yet, 
 notwithstanding his liberal tendencies, he was always in favor of a 
 monarchical rather than a republican form of government for Italy as 
 better adapted to the temper of her people, and more in accordance 
 with the genius of her institutions. He often repeated that **the 
 form of republic best adapted to the customs and needs of modern 
 Europe has still to be discovered. It presupposes in any case the 
 accomplishment already of that great task of popular education which 
 will be the work of our century." 
 
 Cavour was rich and of a noble lineage, but he attached very 
 little importance to birth and position, rarely wore decorations, and 
 did not highly esteem those who delighted in the ''pomp of ribbons." 
 In speaking of the gravitating tendencies of modern society, he pre- 
 dicted that within fifty years there would not be a knightly order in 
 Europe. Still he believed that an aristocracy might be useful to 
 Italy, and ''noblesse oblige''' was one of his favorite mottoes. He 
 was generous and conciliatory in his bearing toward all parties, and 
 promptly recognized the good qualities of his opponents. His adver- 
 saries of to-day became his allies to-morrow. He was ever ready to 
 extend a friendly hand to any one, irrespective of party antecedents, 
 who was willing to co-operate with him in achieving Italian unity and 
 independence. Like Macchiavelli, he acted upon the principle that 
 the rules of morality which ought to govern the intercourse of indi- 
 viduals are not binding upon societies or applicable to international 
 relations. Hence the dangerous maxim that "the end justifies the 
 means" is painfully conspicuous in his creed as a diplomatist. 
 
 "In his personal appearance," says Dr. O. M. Spencer, "Cavour 
 was of medium stature, with a tendency to corpulency, quick and 
 energetic in his movements, with a forehead broad, high, and spa- 
 cious; his eyes partially closed by weakness, and further concealed 
 by spectacles; his mouth not well formed and somewhat voluptuous, 
 over which played an ironical smile, the joint offspring of mirth and 
 disdain. Nevertheless, the tout ense?nble of his countenance was 
 expressive of benignity. " 
 
GRAND MISSION FIELD. . ' 665 
 
 Seventh Decade Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 WALDENSIAN MISSIONS IN ITAL V. 
 
 WHILE the period from i860 to 1870 will ever be recognized as 
 an important one in the history of Italy's progress toward 
 national unity and independence, it will also be regarded as a decade 
 of religious awakening. The battle of Solferino made an opening in 
 the ramparts of despotism and superstition, and through it the Bible 
 entered Italy, Before the sound of the cannon had died away "the 
 sword of the Spirit" was unsheathed in the midst of the nation and 
 was smiting "the man of sin." The colporteur, with the sacred 
 volume in his hand, seemed like a prophet come down from heaven, 
 or rather come up from the sepulcher, to reveal truths long concealed 
 from the eyes of the sons of Italy. The Waldenses, who had worn 
 the crown of martyrdom for many ages, were now honored by the 
 God of their fathers, with a grand mission — the spreading of the 
 Gospel throughout the entire land. 
 
 Startling events followed one another in rapid succession during 
 the year 1859, ^^^ each enlarged the mission field of the Waldenses. 
 Scarcely was the blood of the three great battles — Montebello, 
 Magenta, and Solferino — dry before Austrian Lombardy, Tuscany, 
 Modena, Parma, and a large part of the pontifical dominions had 
 annexed themselves to Piedmont. In i860, during the brilliant cam- 
 paign of Garibaldi in Sicily and Naples, the sword of the hero routed 
 armies, put kings to flight, and added Southern Italy to the magnifi- 
 cent dominion of Victor Emmanuel. The Peninsula was subject to 
 one constitution, which granted toleration to the Waldenslan Church, 
 thus giving to her, as a field of labor, the whole of Italy from the 
 Alps to Etna. The cannon which vastly extended the area of con- 
 stitutional liberty also made a wider field of action for the Gospel; 
 and the Waldenslan Church, looking down from her native mountains 
 and beholding the country thrown open to Protestant effort, ventured 
 down from her abode of ages, though she had reasons to doubt that 
 uncertain political sky in which the clouds had so often returned 
 after the rain. 
 
666 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 At its meeting in May, i860, the Vaudois synod resolved to 
 establish its college in Florence. In the following Autumn two pro- 
 fessors, M. M. Revel and Geymonet, with their families and eight 
 students, departed from La Tour in the "Valleys" and settled in the 
 capital of Tuscany. From the glens of the Cottian Alps to the city 
 of Cosmo was "not a step, but a stride." Truly it was a significant 
 event when the Church of eighteen centuries and of thirty persecu- 
 tions planted herself on the banks of the Arno. Through the liberal- 
 ity of a few Christian friends the Pallazzo Salviati, a magnificent 
 structure, and the former residence of an archbishop of Florence, 
 became the headquarters of the Waldensian school. Indeed, under 
 its spacious roof the Waldenses found room for all the agencies of 
 their mission. They converted one part of the venerable building 
 into a college with its class-rooms; they formed another part into an 
 elegant sanctuary, capable of containing from three to four hundred 
 hearers. They selected another portion as dwelling-places for the 
 professors; a fourth they destined for schools, and a fifth for the 
 Claudian printing-press, which was now brought from Turin and set 
 to work in the old literary capital of Italy. The purchase money of 
 the building was four thousand pounds, and the alterations and 
 repairs cost two thousand more. This measure, which gave a mate- 
 rial foothold to the work of evangelization in Florence, was mainly 
 carried through by Dr. Stuart, of the Scotch Church. 
 
 When the Waldenses descended from their mountains they sought 
 not to occupy prominent places, but to perform a great and difficult 
 work, which they were willing to accept with all its responsibilities. 
 They felt that their mission was to evangelize the whole field from 
 Mount Blanc to Moimt Etna. In the early part of i860 they organ- 
 ized a mission station in Leghorn. This city, until eclipsed by the 
 growing prosperity of Genoa, was the chief seaport of Italy. It is 
 truly a race of mosaics and creeds, and under the wise and liberal 
 policy of Cosmo I and Ferdinand I, grand dukes of the Medici 
 family, was noted for religious toleration and unfettered commerce. 
 In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was a general city of 
 refuge to the persecuted and oppressed of all climes. Here fled the 
 Jews in great numbers, chased from every part of the Spanish empire 
 by the pitiless bigotry of its counsels. In i860 they formed about a 
 fourth of the population, and comprised more than a fourth part of 
 its intelligence and activity. To this city also came many famiHes 
 from France, driven out by religious persecutions or civil wars. 
 Many inhabitants of Corsica, impatient of the Genoese yoke, took 
 
THE JESUITS ALARMED. 667 
 
 refuge in Leghorn. At the time when the Waldenses visited it to 
 preach the pure Gospel it contained an EngHsh church, a Scotch 
 Presbyterian chapel, a Greek temple, a Turkish mosque, and a Jew- 
 ish synagogue, and the addition of another to its already numerous 
 ** rites" should have been an easy matter. Yet it was in the free 
 city of Leghorn that the most violent opposition was offered to the 
 establishment of a Waldensian mission station. A young evangelist 
 was sent there, and he began to hold small meetings in a private 
 apartment. When this fact became known the owner of the house 
 was deprived of his situation and his wife, a dressmaker, of her 
 customers. After great difficulty a hall, which could contain a hun- 
 dred and fifty persons, was rented. The opposition became more 
 violent, and the audience more numerous. Night after night hun- 
 dreds went away because they could not obtain admission. The 
 proprietor of the hall was coaxed, threatened, and tempted in every 
 way to cancel his agreement, but he refused. The Society of St. 
 Vincent de Paul, the new form which the Jesuits had assumed, had 
 previously established a branch in Leghorn ; hence the excitement of 
 the public mind, the disturbances of the peace, and the deeds of 
 violence which followed. 
 
 The Waldensian evangelist was resolved to have a place for wor- 
 ship which he could control, and accordingly leased a piece of ground, 
 upon which he built a wooden shed that could be used as a church 
 until a stone fabric should be erected. The Protestant cause had 
 now obtained a foothold in Leghorn, and its enemies raged still more 
 fiercely. The Jesuits went from house to house arousing the faithful 
 children of the ''Mother Church," and urging them to expel the 
 plague of heresy from their city. Bitter complaints and foul calum- 
 nies were fulminated from the papal press, and even the slumbering 
 pulpits awoke and began to thunder against Protestantism. Friars, 
 celebrated for their learning and eloquence, were brought from a 
 distance and hired, like Balaam, to curse this new people from the 
 heretical regions of England and the Cottian Alps. But, in the midst 
 of this storm of excitement and clamor, many were silently investi- 
 gating the doctrines of this sect, every-where spoken against. The 
 Protestant tracts and pamphlets, which had been scattered among 
 the people, had produced a good effect, as the increasing attendance 
 at the wooden shed testified. 
 
 Ribet, the young evangelist, was a man of remarkable zeal, un- 
 daunted courage, and keen intelligence. He was not in the least 
 intimidated by this opposition, but went to the cathedral and list- 
 
668 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ened to the philippics which the priests uttered against Protestant- 
 ism. On the next evening he repHed, in the presence of a large 
 audience assembled in his own church. This method of conducting 
 the war was not agreeable to the priests, and they determined to 
 employ other weapons. Ribet was warned by several persons, who 
 had learned of the plot, that sixty mien had united in a conspiracy 
 to take his life by stabbing him in the dark, and throwing his body 
 into the nearest ditch. While it may have been a ^iise designed to 
 alarm the evangelist and induce him to leave the city, the report was 
 believed, and henceforward a select number of his hearers escorted 
 him home every evening, and were not satisfied until they saw him 
 safe in his own dwelling. But now the matter was carried from the 
 street corners to the higher tribunal of the government offices. Be- 
 neath these noisy discussions there was an important principle. The 
 question at issue was whether the law or the priest should rule the 
 country. The law said, ** Protestantism must be tolerated." The 
 priest said, ''It must be suppressed." A regular application had 
 been sent to Turin for the government sanction to the opening of 
 the new Waldensian church, and it was now to be decided which 
 was the supreme power in Italy, the constitution or the papacy. 
 Cavour was then at the head of the nation, and, though not a Prot- 
 estant, he felt that Protestantism must be tolerated as a logical 
 necessity of liberty. He therefore sent down an order to the offi- 
 cials at Leghorn for the opening of the Waldensian temple; but un- 
 fortunately the administrators of the law were against the law, and 
 the order from Turin remained a dead letter. Cavour was requested 
 to send another, which was placed in the hands of the same author- 
 ities; but it was treated with the same contempt as the former. It 
 seemed as if the constitution could not make effectual its article 
 which guaranteed toleration. A third time Cavour was asked to 
 protect the Protestants in the enjoyment of their rights, and after 
 some delay and many difficulties, a third order was dispatched, this 
 time not to the Leghorn officials, but to Dr. Revel of the Wal- 
 densian college at Florence, and the result was that the new church 
 at Leghorn was opened in June, 1861. 
 
 The details of this conflict are given, not only because they show 
 the true state of the public mind at that period, but also because 
 issues were involved which concerned the entire Italian nation. Tol- 
 eration had been inserted in the national code, but not as yet in the 
 opinion and practice of the people. The firmness of Cavour made 
 this a test-case in the working of the constitution, proclaiming, as 
 
CA VO UR'S A CTION—DR. RE VEL S LETTER. 669 
 
 it did, that that instrument was able to confer the religious liberty 
 which it promised. It is a significant fact that the signing of the 
 third order which established religious freedom in Leghorn, and 
 prospectively throughout Italy, was among the last acts of that great 
 man and minister. He had devoted his life to the grand work of 
 securing the unity and independence of his country, and now, at the 
 close of his earthly career, he is permitted to practically enforce the 
 policy expressed in those favorite words, uttered by him so often 
 during his public life, and breathed to his spiritual guide in the 
 dying hour: ''Libera chiesa in libera stato.'' By the official recogni- 
 tion of the little Waldensian chapel in Leghorn he opened the door 
 of the ''free state" for the admission of the "free Church." 
 
 In a letter, written by Dr. Revel of Florence to a clergyman in 
 America, on the 4th of November i860, encouraging statements 
 relative to the progress of the Gospel are found. "As we have 
 already," he says, "in Central and Northern Italy more than forty 
 colporteurs, and as the kingdom of the Two Sicilies is now open 
 to free intercourse, and by consequence to the free circulation and 
 preaching of the Word of God, I have thought that I would look 
 after one -or two colporteurs, and send them to Sicily, where some 
 friends, who are under the banner of Garibaldi, write us that much 
 could be done as well in the military hospitals as in the midst of the 
 population. But, as I have said, it would be necessary for me to 
 find some one already accustomed to the business. I have at length 
 found two colporteurs, who have labored in Lombardy and the 
 duchies, and whose engagements with a German committee of Elber- 
 feld terminate with the month of October. These colporteurs are the 
 two brethren, Joseph and John Cereghini, two cousins belonging to 
 those remarkable families of the Cereghini of Favale, a small com- 
 mune in the mountains at the foot of the Apennines, about fifteen 
 or twenty miles from Genoa. They were led to the knowledge of 
 the pure Gospel ten years since, and have given the best proofs of 
 fidelity in the service of Jesus Christ in the midst of many trials. I 
 have great confidence that they will discharge their duty well, and 
 that God will bless their labors. They set out for Palermo, where a 
 friend recommends them to persons of his acquaintance. They are 
 furnished with necessary books, and there is already a Bible depos- 
 itory in Sicily. They have desired to go both together, and we find 
 that this is better, especially in a distant country, and one that is not 
 very well known. If you would be willing to bear the expenses of 
 one, I hope to find readily the means of paying the other." 
 
670 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 On the 6th of November, i860, Dr. Revel, in a letter to 
 Rev. A. E. Campbell, D. D., Secretary of the ''American and For- 
 eign Christian Union " at New York, gives some interesting facts con- 
 cerning the evangelization of the Peninsula. "You know," he says, 
 ' ' that we have added to our old stations for Italian evangelization — 
 to-wit: those of Pignerol, Turin, Casale, Alexandria, Genoa, Favale, 
 Courmayeur and Aosta — the stations of Milan, Pisa, Leghorn, and 
 Florence. We are now hoping to send a minister to Bologna and 
 one to Naples, where they have written us that a Waldensian min- 
 ister is a great desideratum. The reports which we receive from 
 our evangelists are exceedingly interesting, and full of encouraging 
 facts. To mention only one station, that of Courmayeur and Aosta, 
 the evangelist tells us that he has in the former place an audience 
 which reaches fifty, and in the latter a congregation Avhich sometimes 
 amounts to one hundred and fifty. He reminds us that Calvin made 
 his appearance at Aosta in 1536, and wrought such a religious move- 
 ment that the Reformation came within a hair's breadth of being es- 
 tablished in the whole province. An order of death arriving from 
 Turin compelled Calvin to flee, and ruined for a long time the evan- 
 gelical cause. Calvin had only five minutes to save himself There 
 are inscriptions and a monument in the city of Aosta, which are 
 destined to perpetuate the memory of his flight. It is this which 
 explains the custom of the clergy of striking the noon bell at eleven 
 o'clock, this being the hour at which Calvin fled. They inflicted the 
 severest cruelties on the adherents of the Reformation. Some they 
 burnt alive on the public square ; as for instance, Nicholas Sartorius. 
 The greater part, terrified, returned to Romanism. Only three fam- 
 ilies remained steadfast, and they continued to exist to within forty 
 years ago. Two of them bore the name of Bruno, and the name of 
 the other was Savoie. They are now extinct except one of the Bru- 
 nos, whose son attends our meetings. Our evangelist says that 
 he has often heard the piety and steadfastness of the aged Savoie 
 spoken of in the highest terms of praise. He was blind ; but he did 
 not fear, forty years ago, to assemble his friends at his house to 
 explain to them the Word of God, and to pray and encourage the 
 faith of his brethren. Five priests labored to convert him in his 
 last moments. But this was in vain. He continued steadfast to 
 the end, confounding the priests, and received here below from men, 
 as a reward for his steadfastness, a burial in the place appropriated 
 to suicides and the vilest felons." 
 
 The wonderful opening in Italy in i860 for the spread of the 
 
DR, WCLINTOCK'S LETTER, 6/1 
 
 pure Gospel attracted the attention of philanthropists and Christian 
 workers every-where. Among these was the Rev. John M'Clintock, 
 D. D., a learned and eloquent minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and at that time the pastor of the American chapel at Paris 
 belonging to the "American and Foreign Christian Union." In a 
 letter written at Paris on the 6th of November, i860, he says: "The 
 direct effect of the vast political changes that have taken place in 
 Italy is to open that country to Protestant agencies. If there was a 
 field calling for immediate and energetic labor on the part of the 
 Protestant Church that field is Italy; and tJie time is to-day. Every 
 month that passes now without improvement is equal to a year of 
 ordinary time. I trust that the American and Foreign Christian 
 Union will throw itself boldly into this work, trusting that American 
 Christians will sustain them in grand enterprises for the planting of 
 earnest, practical Protestantism in the chief cities of Central and 
 Southern Italy. But besides the direct effect of political changes 
 there is a great controversy waging in the bosom af the Church 
 itself on the question of the temporal power of the pope. The 
 bishops and great functionaries of the Church affirm that tjie tem- 
 poral sovereignty is necessary to the independence of the pope ; the 
 Italian people, on the other hand, demand the city of Rome and the 
 ' patrimony of St. Peter ' as part of the territory of the new * king- 
 dom of Italy.' Liberal Roman Catholics all over Europe sympathize 
 with the Italian people; and there are many, both of the clergy and 
 laity, who believe that the Roman Church itself will be greatly 
 strengthened by the abolition of papal sovereignty. This doctrine is 
 energetically maintained in the Observateur Catholique, a journal in 
 the interest of Gallicanism, edited by the Abbe Guettee, and pub- 
 lished twice a month. It deals vigorous blows, not only against the 
 temporal power of the pope, but also against the new doctrine of 
 the Immaculate Conception, and against the Ultramontane theories 
 generally. This journal must find a good many persons in the 
 Roman Church to sympathize with its views, as it has managed to 
 live for five years, and appears now to be more vital and active than 
 ever before." 
 
 Dr. M'Clintock, in another letter to the secretary of the "Amer- 
 ican and Foreign Christian Union," written on the loth of Decem- 
 ber, i860, refers to the instrumentality that was being employed for 
 the regeneration of the Italian people. ' * The evangelization of 
 Italy," he says, "is now, perhaps, the greatest and most pressing 
 question for Protestantism. Italy is no longer the land of the past 
 
6/2 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 or of the dead. Grand as her history has been, none of its pages 
 are nobler than the latest. Instead of the decrepitude of age, which 
 the world has supposed to be her condition, she is showing the 
 power, the vitality, the energy of youth. The Waldensian Church 
 seems to have been preserved and disciplined by Providence in order to 
 its preparation for the great part which it now seems destined to play 
 in the work of introducing and establishing the Gospel in Northern 
 and Central Italy. The question of its adaptation to this task is dis- 
 cussed with great judgment in the Chretien Evangelique of Lausanne, 
 for November. I beg to submit to your readers a few of the points 
 of this discussion. A French Protestant journal some time since 
 made the remark that the Waldensian Church can not do the evan- 
 gelizing work now called for in Italy for the reason that, *in spite of 
 their Italian patriotism, they have neither the blood, the character, 
 nor the habits of Italians.' This charge is answered by Pastor 
 Mellle, of Turin, who, while admitting that the Waldenses are not, 
 indeed, such Italians as the inhabitants of Naples, Rome, or even Tus- 
 cany, shows that they are the Italians of the mountains ; and in point 
 of patriotism and love of country have through many ages show^n no 
 inferiority to the people of the plains. As for habits and manners. 
 Pastor Mellle thanks God that the Waldenses are not to be identified 
 with the southern masses trained up in Romanism; but, instead of 
 finding in this a disqualification, he sees in it the strongest reason 
 why they should be employed in rescuing their less fortunate breth- 
 ren from the degradation into which ages of superstition have re- 
 duced them. He concludes by expressing the belief, in which I 
 think most American Christians will agree with him, that the 
 ' Church of the Waldenses, as an Italian Church, is destined for this 
 work, both by right and by duty; and that she would show herself 
 unfaithful to her mission if she did not place herself at the head of 
 the movement.' 
 
 ''Let the post of honor, of duty, and of trial be granted to this 
 long-suffering, persecuted, but faithful Church of Christ. Instead of 
 disputing her right to this post, let us hold up her hands, and give 
 her all the moral and material support in our power. And what we 
 do let us do quickly! The time is now more favorable for Christian 
 effort in Italy than it has been for centuries. But who knows how 
 long this bright day may last? Let us use it, at least, for the sowing 
 of seed. Whatever may happen in the political world, the seed will 
 not be wasted ; God will take care of it, and it may germinate in the 
 darkness, if not in the sunshine. A writer in the same journal 
 
THE ITALIANS CLASSIFIED. 673 
 
 classifies the Italians with reference to their susceptibility of religious 
 Impressions as follows : The upper and more cultivated classes are so 
 preoccupied with the great political questions of the time that they 
 are for the present almost Inaccessible to appeals on the side of per- 
 sonal religion. They see that the papacy stands in the way of Italian 
 liberty and unity, and they are therefore learning to hate the papacy. 
 But they are not learning to love Christ. The reaction from Rorrte, 
 for the present at least, and during the * storm and pressure period of 
 politics ' amid the birth-throes of the new Italian empire, is likely to 
 carry them Into the domain of indifference, If not of infidelity. In 
 the opposite extreme are the very poor, the lowest classes of the 
 Italian peasants. Their ignorance and superstition are very great. A 
 low and sensual type of religion satisfies them, and it is very difficult 
 to awaken their minds to hear or think of any thing better. Between 
 these extremes there is a middle class, consisting to a large extent 
 of mechanics and working-men In the towns and cities. They are 
 better informed than the country people, and therefore less submis- 
 sive to the commands of the priests, and less superstitious. They 
 read, talk poHtics, and are profoundly Interested In the Italian move- 
 ment. And the same activity of mind which makes them eager for 
 newspapers Inclines them to listen to colporteurs, to receive, buy, 
 and read Bibles and Testaments. It is among this class, to all ap- 
 pearances, that the foundations of the new Protestant Church of Italy 
 are to be laid. And among this class the Intelligent, sober, diligent 
 Waldenslan evangelists and colporteurs have found a hearty welcome. 
 Their 'success,' to cite the language of one of their own number, 
 ' if not brilliant, has certainly been thus far highly encouraging. ' 
 
 ''What has been done in Piedmont In the last ten years certainly 
 augurs well for the rest of Italy, now that it Is open to the zealous 
 men who have labored so faithfully in the North. But the field Is 
 vast, and the laborers are few. The feeble Church of Piedmont can 
 not do this work alone. There is room in Italy for the activity of 
 every Christian Church In England and America; and the Waldenses, 
 Instead of repelling foreign aid, welcome It — even implore it. The 
 British and Foreign Bible Society Is doing a noble work in the dis- 
 tribution of the Word of God In Italy by the agency of twenty-four 
 colporteurs. The Edinburgh Bible Society employs eight. The 
 American Bible Society, wisely acting through the Geneva Commit- 
 tee, employs ten. The Waldenslan Church Is scattering Its evan- 
 gelists and colporteurs, both on the main-land and In Sicily. Con- 
 sidering that it was safer to offer Bibles and to preach evangelical 
 
6/4 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 religion in Turkey two years ago than in Central and Southern Italy, 
 we may well exclaim, in view of the present state of things, ' What 
 hath God wrought!' I trust that the American and Foreign Chris- 
 tian Union will find many ears open to listen to its appeals for aid 
 in this crisis of Italian evangelization." 
 
 Soon after the establishment of the Waldensian mission in Leg- 
 horn a student, of the name of Gregori, having written a religious 
 tract, was indicted for attacking the religion of the state, and brought 
 to Lucca for trial. He was acquitted, and on the same evening 
 thirty citizens of the town waited upon him, and prayed him to re- 
 main there and instruct them. Services were held in a hall; but the 
 landlord, fearing the bigoted populace, turned the evangelist and his 
 flock into the street. A house was offered for sale, and they resolved 
 to buy it. The bargain was concluded, the title-deeds were signed — 
 when, to their surprise and joy, they discovered that the house which 
 they had purchased was the identical building in which their fathers 
 three centuries ago had worshiped God. They had obtained one of 
 the old temples of the Reformation. 
 
 This church was opened several months afterwards, and the little 
 handful of Protestants had a place, despite the intrigues of the monks 
 and the subserviency of the landlords, where they could regularly 
 assemble for worship. The first service was largely attended because 
 the priests, desiring to ridicule the occasion, had announced that, 
 according to custom, the evangelici would sacrifice an ox in honor of 
 the devil. The result was that the country people in great numbers 
 flocked to town, anxious to behold the wonderful scene. They 
 waited until the close of the service, expecting every moment that 
 the animal would be led forth and slain ; but no such event occurring, 
 the spectators retired in disappointment and disgust, denouncing in 
 the strongest terms those who had deceived them. 
 
 Thus, after three centuries of darkness, the light of the Gospel 
 returned to Lucca. The first ray shone upon it in the sixteenth cent- 
 ury, when Peter Martyr proclaimed the truths of the Reformation 
 there and organized a Church. In no other city did so many distin- 
 guished families embrace the Protestant cause. Driven into exile, 
 these illustrious men carried with them to Geneva the light which 
 their native town did not appreciate, and while the city of their 
 adoption was radiant with the glory of evangelical truth a deeper 
 gloom enveloped Lucca. But in 1862 a spark from the altar of the 
 Waldensian Church fell upon it, and, fanned by opposition, became 
 a religious flame. But three hundred years did not remove the big- 
 
THE GOSPEL IN MILAN. 675 
 
 otry and poverty of the inhabitants. The Waldensian evangehst 
 found in its population of less than thirty thousand a priest for every 
 thirty -three inhabitants, and also twenty convents. He, no doubt, 
 saw the Volto Santo, of which the Lucchese are proud, a crucifix 
 which they affirm Nicodemus attempted to paint, but, not having 
 sufficient skill, an angel, it is said, snatched the pencil from his hand 
 and completed the work ! The superstitious residents of the city 
 boast of a standing miracle in the river, which once flowed near 
 Lucca, but is now about two miles distant from it. They claim that 
 St. Fredian diverted the stream from its course to prevent the inun- 
 dation of the city. Macchiavelli, in his "History of the Florentine 
 Republic," states that the bed of the Serchio was changed, not b> 
 the saint, but by the spades of the Lucchese, who, hearing that the 
 Florentines, with whom they were then at war, had contrived to dam 
 up the Serchio and drown Lucca in its own river, ^hastily dug a new 
 and more distant bed for its waters. 
 
 The Waldenses did not have any serious opposition to the work 
 of evangelization in Milan. Indeed, the capital of Lombardy has 
 always been more progressive religiously, intellectually, and politi- 
 cally than any other city in Italy. The famous edict of Constantine 
 the Great, which closed the era of primitive persecutions, and ex- 
 tended toleration to Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, was 
 issued from Milan, A. D. 313. Here lived St. Ambrose, one of the 
 most renowned fathers of the early Church, and a man of deep piety 
 and great courage. By his religious influence he maintained the pu- 
 rity and independence of the Church of Milan, and made his metro- 
 politan see, of which he was archbishop for more than twenty-two 
 years, paramount in the councils of Christendom. He died A. D. 
 397; but his earnest, devout spirit long survived him, and several 
 of his hymns are still sung in the churches of Milan. 
 
 The character of the people of Lombardy must have been differ- 
 ent from, and perhaps superior to, that of the other races that have 
 inhabited Italy from age to age. If climate and scenery have a con- 
 trolling influence upon men, it is not difficult to explain why the 
 Milanese have always desired civil, religious, and intellectual free- 
 dom. The city is surrounded by a vast plain, majestically guarded 
 on one side by the snowy Alps, and on the other by the blue Apen- 
 nines. In every direction fadeless verdure and inexhaustible fertility 
 can be seen. The writer climbed the central tower of the Duomo, 
 and beheld that lovely plain — worthy to have been the site of Para- 
 dise — extending from the snow-clad Ortler-Spitz, which rises like a 
 
 44 
 
6^6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 dome in the east, to the shining pyramid of Monte Viso on the bor- 
 der of the Waldensian land, at least a hundred and fifty miles to the 
 westward. It is impossible to look upon the enchanting scene with- 
 out feeling that no other garden on earth can be more lovely. Rau- 
 mer; the historian, says: ''Milan stands in a sea of green trees, as 
 Venice stands in a sea of green waters." For miles around, the land- 
 scape is a mosaic of ruddy grape and golden grain, of sycamore and 
 mulberry woods, in which are half-concealed white villas and old his- 
 toric towns. Through this measureless expanse flow noble rivers, 
 which the suns of Summer release from their prison of Alpine ice to 
 water the plain, and to be the ''Gihon" and the "Hiddekel" that 
 adorn this modern Eden ; while the mountains which defend it on the 
 north, pure and white as alabaster, and almost touching the heavens 
 in their loftiness, seem, says the eloquent Dr. Wylie, "to be the 
 gates and towers set up by the great Architect of all to inclose" what 
 was lovely enough to have been ''the seat of primeval innocence." 
 The rugged scenery of the Alps and the invigorating air which cir- 
 culates on the plain at their feet impart to the Milanese that activity 
 and independence of character for which they have always been 
 celebrated. 
 
 While the proximity of the Alps has been a source of material 
 benefit to the people of Milan, it has, without doubt, conferred upon 
 them moral blessings. In the Alpine valleys of Piedmont the Wal- 
 denses have preserved the pure faith of the Gospel since the apos- 
 tolic days, and they also endeavored to propagate it among their 
 neighbors. The leaven of truth manifested itself among the Milanese 
 at a very remote period, and it seems probable that the Waldenses 
 on their borders secretly deposited it there. Hence, Milan was in a 
 favorable state for the reception of the Reformation in the sixteenth 
 century, and under the labors of the distinguished Celio Secundo 
 Curio the Protestant cause rapidly advanced in that city. When the 
 Inquisition subsequently began its bloody work there, martyrs were 
 not wanting who could endure the most terrible sufferings, and then 
 die in the triumphs of that faith which they refused to abjure. For 
 many a dreary century the night of idolatry covered the capital of 
 Lombardy ; but the darkness of priestly tyranny is being dispelled. 
 Its glorious past will be followed by a yet more glorious future. It 
 was the first of all the cities of Italy to raise its voice in behalf of a 
 religious reformation. One of its journals, in the Summer of i86i, 
 discussed the question in a series of able-spirited articles, in which 
 the doctrines of the papal Church were boldly impugned, and a 
 
THE BIBLE IN A OSTA. 677 
 
 reform of her faith as well as a reconstruction of her government 
 demanded. 
 
 After the planting of a mission in Milan by the Waldenses in 
 1859, ^^^^ truth spread rapidly, and entered the towns and villages on 
 the plain around. Intra, Como, Monza, Varese, Caravaggio, Ber- 
 gamo, Brescia, Cremona, Parma, Guastalla, Modena, Pavia, Bologna, 
 and Ferrara were visited by evangelists, and Northern Italy heard 
 the pure Gospel for the first time since the suppression of Italian 
 reformation. The Protestant religion also penetrated the remote 
 Valley of Aosta, a continuous winding path of beauty and grandeur, 
 which extends from the plain of Piedmont to the glaciers of Mont 
 Blanc. The oldest mission station in the valley is Courmayeur, at 
 the foot of Mont Blanc. A minister of the Free Church of Scotland, 
 in search of health, visited it in 1856, and by his efforts a religious 
 interest was first awakened among the people. In the midst of oppo- 
 osition, a little Church has grown up, and there, on the verge of the 
 eternal snow, these faithful disciples maintain family worship in their 
 humble cottages, and, by the distribution of Bibles and other evan- 
 gelistic agencies, endeavor to win the simple mountaineers around 
 them to the Protestant faith. Another station is the town of Aosta, 
 and, though its population is not much over one thousand, it had 
 forty priests at the time when the Waldensian colporteur first visited 
 it in i86r. It is said that during the three ensuing years these nat- 
 urally indolent teachers actually preached more sermons than during 
 the previous thirty. They discussed but one topic, and that was 
 Protestantism, and their whole arm seemed to be the warning of 
 their flocks against the dangers of heresy. Fearing that their hear- 
 ers might be tempted from the "old paths," these papal shepherds 
 occasionally burned Bibles in the public square. It is not strange 
 that they were alarmed when fifteen hundred copies of the Word of 
 God were sold in Aosta in 1861. In the same year the attendance 
 at the Protestant service amounted to one hundred and thirty per- 
 sons ; but the audience was diminished by the troubles resulting from 
 the burial of the colporteur Doro, who was thrown into a grave at 
 night where only criminals are interred. Soon after the congregation 
 numbered eighty persons, and in the surrounding villages the evan- 
 gelists found many present to hear the Word. The third station in 
 the Valley of Aosta is Montestrutto, and around it several smaller 
 stations are clustered. 
 
 There are many spots in Italy where the sixteenth century sowed 
 and the nineteenth reaps. Among these is Aosta, where John Calvin 
 
ej^ ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 resided for some time. When he departed, he left behind him a few 
 disciples of the Reformation. The footprints of the great reformer 
 were not entirely obliterated at the end of three centuries, for when 
 the evangelical movement entered the Valley of Aosta one or two 
 Protestant families were found there who had in their possession some 
 heir-looms of the Reformation in the shape of works which had 
 escaped the keen eyes of the inquisitors of Rome. These links that 
 connect the past and present are full of thrilling interest because 
 they are striking illustrations of the providence of God. The ear- 
 nest, faithful servant of Christ should be encouraged to persevere in 
 the work of sowing the good seed. These fruits of the Reformation 
 show that the seed will not perish, and, though it may remain below 
 the surface one, two, or even three hundred years, it will finally 
 spring up. Every particle of it will rise again in the coming glorious 
 harvest of the earth ; and all who have sowed from Paul to Augus- 
 tine, and from Augustine to our own day, shall reap together in joy. 
 The battles of the past in Italy, which were fought to promote civil 
 and religious liberty, and the blood of martyrs, which the earth 
 drank up, were the seed whose fruitage is now beginning to appear. 
 The island of Elba, in the Tuscan Archipelago, celebrated as the 
 spot where the conqueror of Europe resided a short time before his last 
 great struggle, Avas first visited by an evangelist in i86i. As early as 
 1855 some sailors from the town of Rio carried a freight of charcoal 
 in their speranzella to Nice, where they became acquainted with M. 
 Say, a Waldensian evangelist, and Francesco Madiai, When they 
 departed, the captain of the vessel was presented with a Bible by 
 Madiai, which he carried with him to his home in the island of Elba. 
 This Bible first converted the captain, and then several of his neigh- 
 bors ; and soon a small company of believers gathered around the 
 sacred volume, Avhich was to them a pastor. They were persecuted, 
 but their numbers increased. In 1 861, when the country became 
 free, Dr. Stuart, of Leghorn, sent them an evangehst. The priests 
 and monks excited the passions of the people, declaring that the 
 devil had invaded the island, and that, unless expelled, terrible judg- 
 ments would befall the inhabitants. When the evangelist appeared 
 on the street he was pointed at, insulted, frequently stoned, and if he 
 crossed the threshold of a dwelling the holy water of the Church 
 was brought to wash out the pollution. The little flock endured 
 every species of persecution short of death ; and by their firm attach- 
 ment to the Gospel, their courageous, patient, and loving spirit, and 
 their simplicity and dignity of manner, they finally disarmed the op- 
 
THE BIBLE IN NAPLES. 679 
 
 position which the priests had raised, and, without the interference 
 of the civil authorities, secured protection from their fellow-citizens. 
 
 The territory extending from Ravenna to the southern extremity 
 of Italy was, previous to 1859, under the dominion of the pope and 
 the king of Naples. It was a region of thick darkness, where igno- 
 rance and superstition prevailed. In the early part of 1861 the people 
 of Naples manifested a great desire for the Word of God, and pur- 
 chased many copies of it from the colporteurs. The sword of Gari- 
 baldi had recently brought to them political liberty; but only the 
 "Sword of the Spirit" could deliver them from spiritual bondage. 
 In the Strado Toledo, the most crowded street in that city, a lad sat 
 behind a "stand," that resembled a "tray," filled with Italian Bibles 
 and Testaments, and called out, in a broad Neapolitan accent that 
 arrested the attention of all, "II Libro ! II Libro !" — The Book! The 
 Book ! The clergy, of course, were opposed to the unrestricted cir- 
 culation of the Bible. To many of them it was almost an unknown 
 book, and therefore they naturally believed that it was dangerous for 
 the masses. The only Bible in the Italian language that the priests 
 of Central and Lower Italy, and particularly what was called the 
 "Kingdom of the Two Sicilies," had seen previous to the Summer 
 of i860 was Martini's version, with notes, in several large volumes, 
 which could be found in the book-stores. There were a few priests, 
 however, who seemed to be delighted with the distribution of the 
 Bible and religious tracts. A printer In Naples, having obtained a 
 copy of the famous "Letter of Dr. Desanctis to Pius IX," was so 
 pleased with it that he issued it in the form of a broad-sheet tract, 
 and posted a large number on the corners of the streets. It was 
 eagerly read by the people, who openly indorsed its sentiments. On 
 one occasion a colporteur from Tuscany was touched on the shoulder 
 by a priest, who came up behind him as he stood in the crowd read- 
 ing this remarkable document. "Buy it, buy it," said the priest, 
 "and keep it as long as you live, for it is the truth." Sometimes a 
 Garibaldian soldier, as he passed along the street and heard a bigoted 
 priest denouncing a colporteur or Bible-vender for selling the Word 
 of God, would express by his words and looks great displeasure at 
 such conduct, and frighten away the "son of the Church," for the 
 amusement of the bystanders. 
 
 Another indication of the progress of reform at Naples was the 
 organization of a committee of priests under the appellation of the 
 "Union of the Ecclesiastics of Southern Italy." Their programme 
 comprised: Fu'st. The creation of an ecclesiastico- political journal, 
 
6S0 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 aiming solely to instruct the people, and to propound and formulate 
 projects of reforms in discipline. Seco7id. A uniform system of 
 preaching, with a view to attain the double political and religious 
 end, the extinction of hypocrisy and superstition, with national unity 
 under Victor Emmanuel. Third. Gratuitous instruction in religious 
 and poHtical duties, for all classes. Fourth. Assistance for the sick 
 in the hospitals, and a method of assisting and succoring prisoners. 
 Gavazzi, who had been preaching in the city for some time, addressd 
 this association of liberal priests, and in his speech attacked the 
 spiritual as well as the temporal power of the pope. An uproar was 
 threatened if he should be permitted to preach any more in the 
 cathedral, and his friends, desiring to avoid a disturbance, advised 
 the ex-Barnabite monk to desist for a short time. 
 
 In an interesting letter written by Dr. Revel, of Florence, on the 
 22d of January, 1861, and addressed to Dr. Baird, corresponding 
 secretary of the ** American and Foreign Christian Union," the 
 statement was made that all the stations of the Waldenses in Tuscany 
 were in a hopeful condition. A minister who had been recently sent 
 to Pisa reported an attendance of sixty regular hearers, and the 
 organization of an elementary school. He was assisted by a young 
 Tuscan teacher, who went through his preparatory course in the 
 normal school at La Tour. The special meetings that were opened 
 for the young people were productive of good ; and the Sabbath- 
 school was a blessing to the children, and also to the parents. The 
 congregation at Florence rapidly increased, varying from eighty to 
 one hundred and twenty, and including about sixty communicants. 
 The school for boys, and the one for girls, containing thirty -five 
 scholars, the Sabbath-school, and the Christian Union for the young 
 gradually advanced, and the theological students by their punctuality 
 and industry rendered themselves useful. 
 
 Dr. Revel, while communicating these facts to Dr. Baird, thanked 
 him for an appropriation to support colporteurs and students of the- 
 ology, saying: **I am under special obligations to you for all the 
 efforts you feel yourself called to make in order to excite the active 
 and the generous sympathy of the friends of the Gospel in the 
 United States in favor of this work of Italian evangelization, so won- 
 derfully prepared by the Lord, contrary to all human foresight. I 
 hope that the friends of the Lord in the British Isles and the United 
 States will succeed in combining their efforts with ours, so as to 
 accomplish a work whose foundation shall be clear, sure, and Biblical, 
 and shall have a future. For, if the Lord permit us to-day to labor 
 
AN EARNEST COLPORTEUR. 68 1 
 
 with a great degree of liberty and in comparative peace in the extension 
 of his kingdom in this Peninsula, to-morrow, perhaps, the storms will 
 descend on us, and if the spiritual edifice has not been founded on a 
 rock, and built of incombustible materials, the fire of affliction will 
 destroy the whole superstructure." The same writer, who was chair- 
 man of*the Waldensian Missionary Committee, stated that in the 
 Summer of 1861 eleven ministers, eleven male and female teachers, 
 and four evangelists, not ordained, were employed in the missionary 
 work. Besides these there were a dozen colporteurs, who received 
 as compensation eighty francs each per month, which amounted to 
 twelve hundred francs each per annum, or two hundred and forty 
 dollars. Dr. Revel estimated the number of colporteurs then at 
 work in Italy at about forty, and also declared that the Waldensirn 
 Churches could furnish many capable men to sell and distribute 
 Bibles and religious tracts, and that the synod had at various central 
 points, such as Turin, Leghorn, Perugia, Milan, Bologna, Naples, 
 and Palermo, ministers and other laborers, who could superintend 
 and direct them. 
 
 One of these colporteurs visited the mountains and valleys of 
 Piedmont with his permit to sell, delivered by the intendent of Pigne- 
 rol. With a pack of books on his back, he went from place to 
 place, and when his stock was reduced, he came to Turin and re- 
 plenished it at the central depot, or Evangelical Library. From 
 thence he passed to Alexandria, Placentia, Reggio, and Bologna ; 
 then crossing the Apennines, he arrived at Florence, where he re- 
 mained several days, selling in the city and its environs; and fill- 
 ing his pack, he pursued his journey through Arezzo, Perugia, 
 Foligno, Spoleto, Monte Calvo, Sora, Iserna, Capua, and other 
 places until he came to Naples. In the latter city he made another 
 halt, again supplying himself at the depot recently established there, 
 and resumed his Bible-pilgrimage through Salerno, Policastro, Co- 
 zenza, Monte Leone, and Reggio. From thence he proceeded to 
 Messina, where he made good sales, and then visited Palermo, 
 where a depository had been established. He subsequently made 
 a tour through Trapani, Marsala, Girgenti, Noto, Catania, and Mes- 
 sina, having traversed the Italian peninsula from one extremity to an- 
 other, selling the Book which the Romish priests opposed with fury, 
 without having been molested in one place, and every where protected 
 by the civil authorities. 
 
 The death of Count Cavour on the 6th of June, 1861, was 
 deeply felt and deplored by the Protestants of Italy. The monthly 
 
6S 2 ITAL Y STR UG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 journal called, Ljx Buona Novella, published at Turin, and, in a sense, 
 the organ of the Waldensian Churches, appeared in mourning, on the 
 15th of June, and contained a brief editorial notice of the great 
 statesman, showing his claims to the regard and gratitude of the 
 Italian Protestants. The latter, however, were encouraged by the 
 appointment of Baron RicasoH to succeed Cavour as prime^minister 
 of Victor Emmanuel, because they believed that he would maintain 
 the existing liberal policy toward them. Another recent event of 
 importance was the meeting of the Waldensian Synod at La Tour. 
 Besides the regular members, comprising ordained ministers, whether 
 pastors, professors, or missionaries, and two elders from each of 
 their fifteen Churches in the ''Valleys," there were present the 
 Rev. Messrs Stuart and Young from Leghorn, Murdoch from Nice, 
 M'Dougal from Florence, Viaux of Genoa, and delegates from Chris- 
 tian bodies in the Canton de Vaud, France, and England. Among 
 the persons present was the noble and venerable General Beckwith. 
 The services continued several hours each day, and were extremely 
 interesting. Full reports were read relating to the interior condition 
 of the Churches as well as the work of evangelization and colportage 
 in Italy. The receipts of the Table, or committee ad interim of 
 the synod for salaries of pastors, professors, schools, hospital, or- 
 phan asylum, etc., were 140,335 francs, or nearly twenty-eight 
 thousand dollars, and the payments were 134,757 francs, or nearly 
 twenty-six thousand eight hundred dollars. The receipts of the 
 Commission of Evangelization, of which Dr. Revel was chairman, 
 were 83,457 francs, or sixteen thousand five hundred dollars, and 
 the payments 79,692 francs, or fifteen thousand seven hundred and 
 fifty dollars. This comprised the receipts and expenditures for col- 
 portage, as well as the employment of missionaries. The donations 
 for mission work exclusively were 52,642 francs, or about ten thou- 
 sand five hundred dollars, the larger portion of which came from 
 Christians in Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, 
 Holland, and Sweden. 
 
 In the Summer of 1861 Gavazzi visited England to interest 
 British Christians in the good cause of Italian evangelization. At 
 a conversazione, or familiar meeting of friends in the drawing-rooms 
 of the Dowager Countess of Ducie, he spoke of the state of religion 
 in Italy from a threefold point of view : — I. As affecting and affected 
 by the government ; 2. In relation to the people ; 3. In reference to 
 the work of evangelization, tlien progressing. He cherished the most 
 hopeful expectations as to the tendencies and policy of the new gov- 
 
GAVAZZr S STATEMENTS. 683 
 
 ernment. Indeed, with RIcasoli he had even greater hopes than 
 with CavoLir, because the former was reputed among the Tuscans to 
 be himself a Christian man. He described the extraordinary eager- 
 ness to hear the Gospel which prevailed among the people. But 
 though for the most part only nominally Romanists, it must not 
 be therefore concluded, he said, that they would readily embrace 
 the truth, or openly disconnect themselves from the papacy. He 
 dwelt on the difficulties arising from popular prejudices and antip- 
 athies to certain names, such as "Protestant," and illustrated in 
 his characteristic style the mode in which these difficulties could 
 alone be met. He next gave details with regard to preaching and 
 Bible circulation in different parts of Italy, and urged in the conclu- 
 sion, that the most pressing want of the moment was more evan- 
 gelizers to enter on the field, so "white unto the harvest." He 
 stated that one of his principal objects in coming to England was to 
 obtain means for the purpose of training up such men, and he there- 
 fore earnestly appealed for the aid and co-operation of British Chris- 
 tians. He declared that, under the blessing of God, a Church would 
 soon be established in Italy, which would, he trusted, become truly 
 national — having for its basis justification by faith without the deeds 
 of the law. It would recognize the necessity of a regular ministry, 
 with a confession of faith — articles, doctrines, and discipline, and, with 
 a view to uniformity, a liturgy, not however, compulsory, but volun- 
 tary. A liturgy would be required for baptisms, the Lord's-supper, 
 etc. This constitutional organization of their Church was essential 
 in order to present to the government some kind of regularity. 
 Nowhere had the papacy so weak a hold on the affections of the 
 people as in Italy, and if Rome could be gained for the Gospel it 
 would be more easy to evangelize all Europe from Rome than from 
 any other spot. After appealing to the ladies present to aid his 
 cause by forming the nucleus of a "Central Ladies' Committee," 
 the eloquent Italian closed his address by asking all present to 
 remember his fellow-laborers and himself in prayer. He hoped the 
 time might come when they could say, "Italy is evangelized, and 
 we have ourselves contributed to such a blessed work." 
 
684 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Seventh Decade Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 italian missions of the '^ american and foreign christian 
 
 union:' 
 
 IN April, 1 86 1, the Board of Directors of the ** American and 
 Foreign Christian Union " issued an appeal in behalf of the evan- 
 gelization of Italy, signed by Thomas De Witt, Esq., President, and 
 Rev. Robert Baird, D. D., Corresponding Secretary. In this docu- 
 ment, which was published in the Christian World, the organ of the 
 society, the Board declared its purpose to estabhsh a mission in that 
 country, and, having appointed Rev. E. Edwin Hall, of Guilford, 
 Conn., who had spent three years as their chaplain at Rome, to be 
 their missionary in Italy, they asked for financial help to send him 
 to the field as soon as possible. The city of Florence was designated 
 as the center of the proposed mission, and among the duties assigned 
 to Mr. Hall was that of promoting the spiritual interests of his own 
 countrymen, who in large numbers visit that city every year, and 
 make a longer or shorter sojourn there. It was stated that the most 
 important of his labors would be to direct and superintend the soci- 
 ety's work in Italy, embracing the appointment of colporteurs, evan- 
 gelists, and ordained ministers as missionaries in that country. He 
 was also expected to do something toward the education of pious 
 Italian youths for the ministry, for which Florence furnished great 
 facilities, since the Waldenses had removed their theological seminary, 
 with its professors and students, to that city. 
 
 In addition to the work of the living missionary, the Board pro- 
 posed to employ the press as a means of disseminating the truth by 
 the publication of books and tracts, and also occasional papers or 
 periodicals, made properly attractive and instructive for the youth as 
 well as the adult classes. The Board expressed a desire to organize 
 an "Evangelization Committee" at Florence, composed of Italian, 
 American, and English brethren, of which Mr. Hall would be secre- 
 tary as well as a member. They also hoped that Drs. Revel and 
 Geymonat, the professors in the Waldensian Theological Seminary at 
 Florence, would consent to be members of the committee. The 
 
THE MISSION IN ELBA. 685 
 
 latter would be authorized to receive the funds for the missions, select 
 and employ the missionaries, and transmit to the society full details 
 and reports of their labors — their successes as well as their trials — in 
 order that its friends and supporters might know what was done with 
 their money, given to advance the kingdom of Christ in that country. 
 
 This appeal "to those who desire and pray for the salvation of 
 Italy" closes with these earnest sentences: ''But what need is there 
 of words ? Dear friends, is it not clear that now is the time to work 
 \\\ Italy? The door is now open to spread the Scriptures in all Italy 
 (including the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, Elba), with 
 the exception of Venetia, and the small part of the Patrimony of St. 
 Peter, over which the pope still bears rule. The Word of God may 
 now be given to twenty-three millions of people in Italy. This has 
 been so far the first time in twelve centuries within the last six 
 months. Who shall take hold of this work if our American Churches 
 do not? Have we not a right to do it? Are we not able to do it? 
 If we are not, who are more able? Are our brethren of England, 
 who are responsible for more than two hundred millions of the human 
 race that are now under her sway? Are our French and Swiss breth- 
 ren, with all their burdens? Certainly not. It is we that ought to 
 bear a great part in this work." 
 
 The Rev. E. Edwin Hall sailed from New York with his family 
 on the 27th of April, 1861, and on the 14th of June announced to the 
 Board his safe arrival in Florence. He stated that he had engaged 
 two excellent Bible readers from the "Valleys of Piedmont" — the 
 home of the Waldenses — whom Drs. Revel and Geymonat strongly 
 recommended for both Bible-readers and Bible-distributers. The 
 recent arrival of two young ex-priests, intelligent and promising, was 
 also reported, and the hope expressed that, after receiving suitable 
 instruction in the "theological seminary," they would be valuable 
 laborers in the evangelical cause. A few months later Mr. Hall 
 employed, at the suggestion of Dr. Revel, a colporteur and Bible- 
 reader, who was a member of the Waldensian Church, to labor in 
 several villages between Aosta and Turin. Another excellent worker, 
 M. Peccenini, was sent into Elba, the beautiful and populous island 
 off the coast of Italy, so well known as the home of Napoleon Bona- 
 parte for a year. As the way had been prepared by another colpor- 
 teur, M. Peccenini commenced his labors with much encouragement 
 at Portoferraio, one of the principal towns of the island. Soon he 
 had a congregation of two hundred deeply interested hearers. From 
 two other places he received pressing invitations to come and preach 
 
686 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 to them. The priests prevailed on the governor to forbid his preach- 
 ing; but, nothing daunted, the missionary instantly resolved to appeal 
 to Baron Ricasoli, the prime minister of Victor Emmanuel, under 
 whose dominion the island was then placed. A petition, signed in a 
 few hours by sixty persons, including thirty heads of families, and 
 asking that the governor should not only be forbidden to hinder 
 his preaching, but required to protect the missionary in his work, 
 was forwarded to Ricasoli, who soon granted the request of the 
 petitioners. , 
 
 In a report, made by ]\Ir. Hall on the i6th of November, he 
 refers to the growth of the mission in the island of Elba, and states 
 that the room then rented for public services was too small. Two 
 buildings in Portoferraio, the property of a widow who was favorable 
 to the evangelical cause, were offered for sale, either one of which 
 was suitable for the meetings. One of the members visited Mr. Hall 
 at Florence to urge the purchase. On the 9th of December, M. 
 Daniel Lantaret, the colporteur, stationed at Verres, in the valley of 
 Aosta, sent an encouraging statement of his work. He held Sabbath 
 services in three villages — Verres, Viarena, and Chdtillon — and dur- 
 ing the week visited different places, entering the homes of the people 
 and engaging in religious exercises whenever permitted. In that 
 region many professed to be dissatisfied with the Roman Church, and 
 said to M. Lantaret that they expected at no distant day to hear 
 the Gospel preached in the temples where now the mass was cele- 
 brated. Some of these persons, especially at Mount Jovet, belonged 
 to the influential class. The number of those who regularly attended 
 Protestant services was not large, but they were active and faithful. 
 One of them, the father of five children, whose necessities demanded 
 his constant care, found time to devote hours, and sometimes a day, 
 to those who lived in the little hamlet in the mountains, reading and 
 explaining the Word of God, which he had read with so much profit 
 to his own soul. 
 
 When Mr. Hall reached Florence, in the Summer of 1861, he 
 found less religious intolerance than had prevailed during the past 
 decade. Ten years before (August 17, 185 1), Francesco Madai, two 
 other Florentines, and an English gentleman were arrested and 
 thrown into prison on the charge of reading the Bible. The police 
 searched the house of Madai on the Sabbath, and captured two Bibles 
 and these four heretics. The Englishman was released at the end of 
 twenty-four hours through the efforts of the British legation, the 
 two Florentines were banished, but Madai was detained in his gloomy 
 
FRANCESCO AND ROSA MA DIAL 6%7 
 
 cell. On the 27th of August his wife, Rosa, a poor, sickly woman, 
 was also imprisoned in the Bargello, and separated from her husband. 
 The lawyers feared to defend them, but finally one noble, talented 
 young man called Maggiorani, volunteered to plead their cause. The 
 trial, however, was delayed until the 5th of June, 1852, and, after 
 two days, a decision was pronounced by the judges, sentencing 
 Francesco Madiai to four years and eight months' solitary confinement 
 and hard labor in the prison at Volterra, and Rosa three years and 
 ten months of the same in the dreadful Ergastola at Lucca. At the 
 close of the sentence the husband and wife shook hands, smiled on 
 each other, embraced, and in a few moments disappeared amidst the 
 bayonets of their guards. 
 
 It is an interesting historical fact that the ** American and Foreign 
 Christian Union," which sent its missionary, Mr. Hall, to Florence in 
 1861, first issued the call for a public meeting of the "friends of relig- 
 ious liberty" in the city of New York, to express sympathy with the 
 ** Madiai " family and others imprisoned in the grand duchy of Tuscany, 
 and to devise measures for their relief Not until the highest judicial 
 authorities of Tuscany had refused to release the prisoners did the 
 Protestant world interfere. Maggiorani appealed the case to the 
 supreme court; but the judges, violating the true interpretation of 
 the ''Leopoldine Laws," confirmed the sentence of the first court. 
 Peter Leopold (or Leopold I) who was grand duke of Tuscany from 
 A. D. 1765 to A. D. 1790 secured remarkable reforms in the civil 
 and criminal administration of justice. "In his new code," says 
 Spaulding, "the criminal section was especially bold, inasmuch as it 
 swept away at once torture, confiscation, secret trial, and even the 
 punishment of death. . . . All privileged jurisdictions were de- 
 stroyed, and the public courts fortified in their independence. . . . 
 Leopold's ecclesiastical reforms were equally daring, and gave deep 
 offense to the papal government." 
 
 The learned Maggiorani demonstrated that the general tenor of 
 the " Leopoldine Laws" was to confer on the Tuscans personal and 
 ecclesiastical freedom of action, and to render piiblic all the proceed- 
 ings of government. He also, in reply to Bicchierai, the public 
 minister, showed from the writings of Nani, Poggi, Cremani, Ne- 
 groni, and other celebrated Italian expounders of the penal code, 
 that impiety, to be considered as a civil crime, must be committed in 
 public. But the Tuscan judges were only interpreters of the will 
 and wishes of the grand duke, and the prisoners were not released. 
 Their situation excited the sympathy of all Protestant nations. In 
 
688 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 England, Scotland, and elsewhere meetings were held ; and a depu- 
 tation of distinguished men, representing the Protestants of England, 
 France, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, proceeded to Florence 
 in the latter part of October, 1852. They addressed a letter to the 
 duke of Casigliano, the Tuscan secretary of foreign affairs, stating 
 the object of their mission, and requesting the privilege of an inter- 
 view with the grand duke ; but permission was not granted. 
 
 The meeting in the city of New York, on January 7, 1853, was 
 an imposing demonstration, and among the resolutions adopted was 
 one asking the president of the United states to intercede in behalf 
 of the imprisoned Tuscans. The king of Prussia and the queen of 
 England also sent private letters to the grand duke, imploring him to 
 liberate the sufferers. At length, on the 22d of March, 1853, they were 
 released and sent to Leghorn, where Francesco and Rosa met after 
 their long separation. They were not allowed to remain in Italy, but 
 were immediately placed on a French steamer, which conveyed them 
 to Marseilles. Thus terminated one of the most remarkable and 
 thrilhng cases involving religious liberty which this century has pro- 
 duced, and the full history of it, published by the ** American and 
 Foreign Christian Union," reveals the hostile spirit of the papacy to 
 the Bible. 
 
 Seventh Decade Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 THE ITALIAN CABINET— GARIBALDI— PROTESTANT WORK. 
 
 ON the 2d of March, 1862, Victor Emmanuel, who, to his sub- 
 sequent regret, had been completely under the influence of 
 Rattazzi, sent a communication to Baron Ricasoli, which led him to 
 convene his cabinet and submit to them the propriety of resigning 
 office. The motion to resign was unanimously carried, Cordova 
 being the loudest in his consent, and the portfolios tendered to the 
 king the same day, though at first declined, were afterwards accepted. 
 On the morning of the 3d of March, when the ministers waited upon 
 the king to surrender in person the seals of office, they found Cor- 
 dova closeted with the monarch, and arranging for his retention in 
 the cabinet. Rattazzi fulfilled his promise to Garibaldi by appointing 
 
RATTAZZrS ADMINISTRATION. 689 
 
 Persano and Despretis, professed friends of Garibaldi, to positions in 
 his cabinet, and subsequently selected other of his friends to be pre- 
 fects in Sicily and Naples. Of the other members of the cabinet, 
 three belonged to the French party, and two were of the old Pied- 
 montese aristocracy. On the 7th of March Rattazzi, having com- 
 pleted his cabinet, announced to the parliament "that the principles 
 of his government would be a largely conciliatory spirit to all true 
 Italians without regard to personal differences, the removing of all 
 dualism between government and nation, a policy of non- isolation 
 from foreign powers, economical management of the finances, and a 
 cordial alliance with France, v/hereby that completion of Italy would 
 be best achieved, which, as the wish of every patriot, was naturally 
 the cherished wish of the ministers." 
 
 It was inevitable that a cabinet constituted from such discordant 
 materials, and hampered by pledges to parties so diametrically op- 
 posed to each other, would very soon fall into difficulties. Indeed, 
 the Rattazzi administration would not have been continued through 
 the first month of its existence had not the patriotic majority in the 
 parliament been induced by a strong sense of duty to sustain the 
 appointees of the king. Baron Ricasoli withdrew into the country, 
 and his friends, not wishing to embarrass Victor Emmanuel, voted 
 down as inopportune a motion of direct censure, offered only twelve 
 days after the cabinet was announced. Rattazzi soon found himself 
 compelled to intimate to Cordova and Mancini, two of the members 
 of the cabinet, the necessity of their resigning, and to supply their 
 places with men more acceptable to the parliament. 
 
 Garibaldi had previously sought to hasten the redemption of Italy 
 from Austrian and papal rule by an appeal to the Hungarians to rise 
 against their old oppressors, and had, after considerable forbearance 
 on the part of Ricasoli, been warned that, if an expedition which he 
 had planned to attack Austria through Hungary were not given up, 
 the government would be compelled to arrest it by force. The ex- 
 dictator had submitted reluctantly, and with a feeling of hostility, 
 which Rattazzi had carefully stimulated. On the 12th of April par- 
 liament was adjourned to the 3d of June, and soon after the king 
 and the premier visited Naples, accompanied by Garibaldi, who, with 
 their apparent approval, was already organizing his schemes and en- 
 listing his bands of volunteers. In Lombardy, during the month of 
 May, he had gathered a considerable body of riflemen, and made 
 some feints of attacking the Tyrol. Probably at the instigation of 
 the French emperor, Rattazzi, between the 12th and 15th of May, 
 
690 ITALY STRUGGLING. INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ordered the arrest of several of Garibaldi's confidential officers and a 
 large number of the men he had enlisted, and committed them to 
 prison, sequestering their arms, all the while professing the greatest 
 regard and respect for Garibaldi himself, who, he affected to believe, 
 was not cognizant of their doings. Garibaldi, furious at this unex- 
 pected act, avowed his responsibility for their conduct, denounced 
 the arrest, and demanded their release, but could get no reply from 
 the government. 
 
 On the 1 6th of May a collision occurred at Brescia between a 
 mob, who endeavored to set the arrested force free, and the soldiers, 
 in which several persons were killed. The government soon after pub- 
 lished a circular, declaring in direct contradiction to his own assevera- 
 tions that they had good grounds for believing that Garibaldi had 
 not participated in the enterprises for which these men had been 
 arrested, and that his name had been improperly used. Meantime 
 the crafty minister had persuaded Garibaldi to return to Caprera, 
 and on the reassembling of parHament took to himself great credit 
 for having suppressed an insurrection, which threatened the public 
 peace, reading a professed letter from Garibaldi, to sustain his posi- 
 tion. He was destined, however, to receive from Crispi, a deputy, 
 who was a friend of Garibaldi, a castigation, which would have 
 driven any other man to tender his resignation. 
 
 Garibaldi, meantime, was projecting new schemes and was still 
 deceived by the promises and maneuvers of the wily premier. 
 He had gone to Palermo, and in the presence and with the sanction 
 of the prefects whom Rattazzi had appointed, presented his plan 
 for an expedition to attack Rome from Sicily. He aroused the 
 enthusiasm of the Sicilians by his proclamations, and, co-operating 
 with Mazzini, commenced organizing a small army of invasion, 
 believing that the measure had the full sympathy of the govern- 
 ment, which, indeed, had furnished it with means and arms. Napo- 
 leon HI began to protest, and Garibaldi and Mazzini denounced the 
 emperor without stint. Thus passed the month of July, without 
 remonstrance from the Italian government. At length, oh the 
 3d of August, Victor Emmanuel issued a proclamation to the 
 Italian people, warning them to take no part in any such enterprise 
 as was proposed, as it would be regarded as revolt and civil war, 
 and pledging himself to secure for them eventually the possession 
 of Rome. This proclamation under Rattazzi's secret explanations 
 Garibaldi regarded as a ruse, and went on with his preparations. 
 The emperor sent war vessels to blockade the Sicilian coast to pre- 
 
GARIBALDI WOUNDED. 69 1 
 
 vent his passage to the main-land, and Rattazzi finally sent General 
 Cugia with orders to prevent the ex-dictator from marching toward 
 Rome, but not to interfere with him if he wished to go anywhere 
 else. Garibaldi, meantime, had moved forward to Catania, on the 
 1 8th of August, adopting as his watchword, **Rome or Death!" 
 On the 24th and 25th of the same month he succeeded in crossing 
 the strait near Cape Spartivento, having had a slight skirmish with 
 some Italian troops, in which he lost a few prisoners. 
 
 Garibaldi had at the time of crossing a force of about twenty- 
 three hundred men; and five hundred, whom he had left at Catania, 
 were taken prisoners on the 26th of August. It was not a part of 
 his purpose to come into conflict with Italian troops, and he accord- 
 ingly passed, by mountain routes, from Mileto and Reggio toward 
 Aspromonte, encountering on the 27th of the month a small force 
 under General Cialdini, and losing forty-two of his men as prisoners. 
 On the 29th he occupied a strong position at Aspromonte, where he 
 was attacked by Colonel Pallavicini. He directed his men not to fire 
 at Pallavicini's troops; but the royal commander was not so forbear- 
 ing, and twelve of Garibaldi's men were killed, and two hundred 
 wounded, among whom were Garibaldi himself and his son Menotti. 
 Two thousand prisoners were taken and conveyed to Spezzia. Gari- 
 baldi requested to be put on board an English ship: but Rattazzi 
 refused to grant this, and he was kept as a prisoner. His wounds 
 were painful, and one of them (a ball in the foot) was considered 
 dangerous. The knowledge of his being wounded and taken pris- 
 oner produced great excitement throughout Europe. An eminent 
 English surgeon was sent to Spezzia to attend him, and his expenses 
 were defrayed by a public subscription. After some months of 
 suffering the ball was extracted. The Italian government found 
 itself greatly embarrassed with the prisoners thus taken. The brave 
 chief, who had given Victor Emmanuel the kingdom of the Sicilies, 
 was not treated as a common prisoner, even though taken in arms 
 against his king ; nor was it to be believed that he Avas at heart 
 disloyal to that king ; he was rather the dupe of the prime minister, 
 and had believed himself really doing the king service. From all 
 quarters came an appeal for an amnesty for him and his followers. 
 At the wedding of Princess Pia, the second daughter of Victor 
 Emmanuel, and Louis I, young king of Portugal, on the 27th of 
 September, both the bride and bridegroom, and Prince Napoleon 
 and the Princess Clotilde, the eldest daughter of the king, added their 
 prayers for the amnesty, which was granted on the 5th of October. 
 
 45 
 
692 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The arrest of Garibaldi's expedition intensified rather than checked 
 the feehng of the whole Italian nation that Rome must become their 
 capital. This feeling found expression in the circular of the minister 
 of foreign affairs, Signer Durando, to the representatives of Italy at 
 foreign courts, on the loth of September, in which he said that Gar- 
 ibaldi's watchword ("Rome or Death!") was but the declaration of 
 a national necessity, more imperious now than ever. It found a still 
 stronger expression at the reassembling of the parliament, when the 
 chamber of deputies adopted an address to the king, in which, after 
 thanking him for the amnesty decreed to Garibaldi and his fol- 
 lowers, they proceeded to say, ''the time for action, for the acquisi- 
 tion of Rome is delayed; for the present we will strengthen our 
 finances by an active industry; we will increase our army to 400,000 
 men, and then, sire, with you at its head, we shall see who will with- 
 hold Rome from us!" 
 
 The Rattazzi cabinet fell in November, at the reassembling of par- 
 liament, under the withering scorn of a nation's representatives, hav- 
 ing sunk so low in reputation that no respectable minority could be 
 found to support it. The premier, in his intense desire for a pro- 
 longation of his power, even for a few weeks, begged the king to 
 prorogue the parliament, so that a new ministry might not be con- 
 firmed ; but Victor Emmanuel, to his credit, firmly refused. The 
 new cabinet consisted of Signor Farini, premier; Peruzzi, minister of 
 the interior ; Muglielti, minister of finance ; Amari, minister of pub- 
 lic instruction ; and Manna, minister of commerce. This was a cabi- 
 net of great ability and high character. The political condition 
 of the country, however, excited deep anxiety, and financial affairs 
 particularly awakened apprehension of trouble — the expenses in time 
 of peace exceeding receipts from all sources by a very large amount. 
 The parliament, from the commencement of the session, was occu- 
 pied only in hearing charges against the ministry. Rattazzi himself 
 was compelled to acknowledge that, after all his cringing to the 
 French, the poHcy of the emperor was hostile to Italian unity. The 
 late circular of the French minister of foreign affairs discouraged the 
 progressive party in Italy, and inspired the court of Rome with a 
 stronger hope than it had entertained for many years. Indeed, after 
 this assurance of French protection, the pope threatened the most 
 extraordinary measures against a vast body of the priesthood which 
 expressed sympathy with the policy of Victor Emmanuel. 
 
 While the papacy resisted every effort for the annexation of 
 Rome, it could not prevent the spread of liberal ideas. During the 
 
THE MISSION A T FOR TOFERRAIO. 693 
 
 year 1862 the evangelical press was very active in Italy. Many 
 works, some small and some of considerable size, were published, 
 such as "Amico di Casa," a popular almanac; ''Historic Improba- 
 bility of Peter's Voyage to Rome;" Dr. D'Aubigne's "History of the 
 Reformation in the Sixteenth Century," and others. Professor Gey- 
 monat prepared a "History of the Waldenses," so that the Italians 
 might understand the true history and character of that people, and 
 also the faith which they had held since their origin in remote ages. 
 At Naples the friends of the Gospel were active in bringing forth 
 controversial treatises on the errors and superstitions of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. Dr. Desanctis edited a publication in the form of 
 a weekly dialogue, which had an extensive circulation ; and Rev. Mr. 
 M'Kay, a Scotch minister at Genoa, issued an illustrated periodical 
 called ''Lettiur di Fainiglia,'" or "Family Readings," which exerted 
 a salutary influence. And still further, to advance the good work, an 
 association was formed in the early part of January at Florence, under 
 the name of "The Italian Evangelical Publication Society." The 
 semi-monthly periodical '' Biiona Novella,'" hitherto published at Tu- 
 rin, was transferred to Florence, and edited by Signor Tito Chiesi, a 
 lawyer, and Professor Geymonat. 
 
 Rev. E. E. Hall, the agent and missionary of the "American 
 and Foreign Christian Union" at Florence, reported that, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1862, two laborers under his direction were employed in that 
 city, visiting from house to house, and selling every day some relig- 
 ious tracts and Testaments. Rooms were hired both at Verres in 
 Piedmont and Portoferralo in the island of Elba, and furnished with 
 plain cheap chairs and tables. The Bible reader at Verres met with 
 some opposition in his field. He was twice attacked in returning 
 from his evening meetings by "lewd fellows of the baser sort," who 
 seriously wounded him with stones thrown in the dark. After de- 
 scribing the assault made upon him, he stated that he loved "to 
 think that the wounds on his limbs were in a better state than the 
 wounds on the consciences of his enemies," and hoped "that the 
 Good Samaritan, with oil and wine, will visit them with spiritual heal- 
 ing." This persecution indicated that the Gospel was advancing. 
 The work at Portoferralo was very prosperous, both the evangelist 
 and colporteur writing encouraging letters, and declaring that the 
 preaching service was profitable, though the number of attendants 
 had been diminished by local causes. The colporteur being well 
 known and popular, had ready access to the people, and sold many 
 Bibles and other religious books. He preached and exhorted daily 
 
694 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 in the public square, in the shops and coffee-houses, and every-where 
 found hearers and occasionally made converts from Romanism. 
 
 The evangelist at Portoferraio, Melchiore Peccenini, on the i8th 
 of January wrote an interesting letter to Mr. Hall, in which he 
 referred to the decreased attendance at public worship, attributing it 
 partly to the pleasures of the Carnival, and partly to the action 
 of Count Guicciardini, general director of the salt works, who threat- 
 ened to dismiss his workmen if they continued to attend the evangel- 
 ical meetings. The arch-priest who had in his hands the ' ' pious lega- 
 cies " or the dowry fund for poor young girls, declared that he would 
 withhold this from any who were seen conversing only once with Prot- 
 estants. He also influenced other employers so that they refused to 
 hire any except Roman Catholics. All these causes operating simul- 
 taneously apparently retarded the progress of the Gospel ; but M. 
 Peccenini, asserted that nearly two-thirds of the population in their 
 hearts rejected the Romish creed ; and though, from certain consid- 
 erations, they absented themselves from public worship, yet they 
 expressed their belief in evangelical truth and defended it in the 
 squares, coffee-houses, and other places. Many said that when Rome 
 was captured by the Italian government, and all power to Injure 
 taken from the priests and "codlnis," they would openly renounce the 
 Roman Church. From Capolivere, Longone, and Rio Marina favor- 
 able news was received Indicating the steady growth of the Protestant 
 cause, and In the latter town a believer, named QuottrinI, promised, 
 if a church should be opened there, a small contribution from him- 
 self and others, as they were not able to make large donations. The 
 enemies of the truth at Portoferraio confiscated a little tract enti- 
 tled '' BiLon Capo a' anno,'' and published by M. Peccenini; but he 
 printed others at night, and sent them all over the Island, the people 
 gladly receiving them and demanding more. "As long as the Ro- 
 man question Is undecided," said the evangelist, "these abuses of 
 power will exist. Let us pray that the downfall of Rome may soon 
 come. In divers ways all our affairs suffer greatly from it." 
 
 The Wesleyan Methodist mission In Italy made some advance- 
 ment during the year 1862. Rev. H. J. Piggot had been assisted by 
 Rev. Richard Green ; but the failure of the latter's health compelled 
 him to return to England. Benedetto Lipolo, an Italian evangelist, 
 labored at Ivrea, and fifty persons regularly attended his ministry 
 there. A revival occurred at Baijo, and more than a hundred people 
 were attracted to the meetings. In other villages the work of refor- 
 mation was commenced, and not without encouraging indications. 
 
DEA TH OF BECKWITH. 6gS 
 
 The ''Italian Church" also made considerable progress, having 
 two or three chapels in Florence, one at Genoa, one at Turin, one 
 in Pisa, and in other places. Count Guicciardini visited the various 
 stations, and reported that religious services of some kind were 
 maintained in twenty-five cities and villages. The largest number of 
 communicants was found in Florence, the membership there amount- 
 ing to over three hundred and fifty; and in Milan at least seven 
 hundred persons were accustomed to meet for conference and prayer- 
 meeting. Conversions occurred among the soldiers of the garrison 
 in Pavia, two evangelists gathered an interesting congregation in 
 Bologna; while the laborers in Brescia, Novara, Pisa, and other local- 
 ities were successful in their efforts to build up the cause of Christ. 
 Signor Mazzarella and Dr. Desanctis gave their united ministrations 
 to the Church in Genoa. The former was once a Neapolitan lawyer, 
 and embraced the true religion of Christ at Turin, when in exile in 
 that city some years previously. In 1862 he was a member of the 
 Italian parliament, and had been professor in the University of Bo- 
 logna. He and Dr. Desanctis opened a theological school in Genoa, 
 to qualify in as short a period as possible evangelists to meet the 
 constantly increasing calls for such laborers in all parts of Italy. 
 
 The death of Major-general John Charles Beckwith, the brave 
 English officer and philanthropist, which occurred at La Tour, Pied- 
 mont, on the 19th of July, 1862, was a sad event to the Waldenses. 
 His efforts in behalf of the temporal and spiritual welfare of these 
 people have already been described, and his intimate friends believe 
 that he expended from his private resources not less than fifty thou- 
 sand dollars. He did not possess a fortune ; but his salary as a 
 colonel of the British army was handsome, and his mode of living 
 simple and inexpensive. In 1846, encouraged by the liberal policy 
 of Charles Albert, he determined to attempt the nationalization of 
 the Waldensian Church. The Vaudois had since A. D. 1620 spoken 
 French, and used it in their schools and religious services. He re- 
 solved to introduce the Italian language into both school and pulpit ; 
 and for this purpose sent six young pastors to Florence to acquire 
 the pure Tuscan dialect. This accomplished, they taught the teachers 
 of the schools in the ** Valleys," and in about two years the people 
 became sufficiently conversant with the language to use it in their 
 religious services. In 1848 permission was given to erect a Walden- 
 sian church or chapel at Turin, and Colonel Beckwith raised the 
 amount necessary to build a large, convenient, and attractive edifice 
 on the Viale de Rei, himself donating the liberal sum of six thousand 
 
696 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 dollars. In 1850 he became by regular promotion a major-general 
 in the British army, and soon after sold his commission for a large 
 sum of money, which he carefully invested. 
 
 General Beckwith made Turin his Winter residence, though his 
 Summers were spent in the * 'Valleys," visiting his schools, and 
 acting as the father of the people. In one Waldensian family at 
 La Tour he passed a large portion of his time very agreeably, and 
 
BRIGANDAGE. 697 
 
 became deeply interested in a little girl, who often sat on his knee, 
 and shared much in his affections. Having made a provision in his 
 will in her behalf, he deemed it proper to communicate the fact to 
 her parents, who were both surprised and troubled, fearing that the 
 matter would excite discontent, if not envy, among their poor neigh- 
 bors and friends. The noble and venerable philanthropist soon 
 removed the difficulty by marrying the object of his tender regard, 
 who had become a young lady. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 THE BRIGANDS— THE LIBERAL PRIESTS— MISSIONS. 
 
 AT the beginning of the }'ear 1863 brigandage in the Neapolitan 
 provinces was still very active. A committee appointed by the 
 chamber of deputies for examining the subject traversed the dis- 
 affected localities, offering full pardon to all the insurgents Avho Avould 
 submit. At the end of February a detachment of sixteen soldiers 
 was surprised by sixty men of the band of Chiavoni and completely 
 exterminated. The democratic deputies (the "Left ") of the Chamber 
 of Deputies proposed the formation of corps of volunteers to disperse 
 the brigands ; but this plan, combated by the ministry, was not 
 adopted by the Chamber. The presence of General La Marmora in 
 the infested districts in April was followed by good results. The 
 insurgents were driven from the mountains of Castellamare, Sorrento, 
 and Amalfi, and about two hundred were captured. But in June the 
 devastations by the brigands began anew on a large scale. The 
 province of Benevento, in particular, became the headquarters of the 
 gangs of Chiavoni and Caruso. This time the French troops in the 
 papal states in favor of the Italian government, and many of the brig- 
 ands were seized at Rome, Civita Vecchia, and other places of the 
 papal states, and either imprisoned or handed over to the Italian 
 authorities. On the loth of July the prefect of Genoa, Gualterio, 
 seized five insurgent chiefs on board the French vessel Aiuiis] but 
 this act the Italian government soon disavowed as a violation of a 
 convention concluded between the two countries in 1862, and the 
 
698 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 five prisoners were conducted to France. Subsequently, however, 
 on the loth of September, upon a demand made by Italy for their 
 extradition, the brigands were surrendered by France. 
 
 The report of the committee of the Chamber of Deputies on the 
 "Brigandage in the Neapolitan Provinces" charged the papal govern- 
 ment with giving the greatest possible support to the insurgents. 
 It declared that the brigands ''consist of foreign adventurers, or of 
 bad characters and men in the lowest state of misery, who have come 
 from the Neapohtan provinces," and that the papal police have no 
 eyes to see these preparations for war, and allow them to be carried 
 out tranquilly without offering the least opposition ; that thesfe brig- 
 ands, after being defeated by the government troops "have always 
 been at full liberty to recover and reorganize themselves by re- 
 crossing into the Roman territory; that the papal government "as- 
 sists them with arms and money, and, in order not to be discovered, 
 it employs every species of artifice." 
 
 On one occasion, for example, it supplied several hundreds of 
 military great-coats, and, in order to carry out its purpose, the min- 
 ister of Avar advertised them for sale at public auction. A French 
 priest made his appearance at the auction as the mock purchaser. 
 No sooner had he obtained them than he consigned them punctually 
 to the brigands for whom they were destined. The- Bourbon com- 
 mittee of Alatri, Frosinone, Ceccano, Velletria, and Pratica were 
 unceasingly engaged in the work of assisting these desperadoes. In 
 the Bourbon committee of Frosinone there were of persons connected 
 with the papal government a judge, a chancellor of the episcopal 
 court, two canons, and a curate. In that of Ceccano there was a 
 person of Cardinal Antonelli's own household ; in that of Alatri 
 there were several canons ; in that of Pratica there was an arch- 
 priest who sometimes accompanied the brigands on their raids. At 
 the abbey of the order of the Passionists in Ceccano there resided a 
 papal gens d'arme in active service and two gens d'armes living on 
 their pensions, who acted as the regular guides to the robbers. 
 
 In a volume entitled a " Historico-political Account of the Brigand- 
 age on the Pontifical Frontier from i860 to 1863," it is clearly shown 
 that the plan of the brigandage was devised at Rome, and that the op- 
 erations were directed from that city. The writer was Count Saint 
 Jorios, who was head of the staff of the general-in-chief on the station ; 
 and as the whole correspondence between the French and Italian 
 commanders and the pontifical authorities passed through his hands, 
 he had the very best opportunities of knowing the facts which he 
 
TESTIMONY OF COUNT SAINT JORIOS. 699 
 
 presented. ''The brigands are publicly enlisted at Rome," said Saint 
 Jorios, ''by the druggist Vanozzi in the Campo de' Fiori, and by a 
 certain Piccirilli, ex-sergeant in the former Bourbonic army, and cap- 
 tain in the band of Chiavoni ; by the Abate Ricci, and the priest 
 Gonella, formerly sacristan of Santa Restituta, in Sora, who was 
 named a colonel by Francis II, and put at the head of a band of 
 brigai!ds ; and by many others, whose names it is not so easy to dis- 
 cover. These brigands are collected and publicly formed into bands 
 in the piazza Montanara, at Rome, and are afterwards distributed 
 under their several captains, by whom they are paid, clothed, and 
 accompanied to the frontier. The above-named Piccirilli and Pietro 
 Rondelli of Pescolisodo and Bernardo Mancini of Campoli are the 
 ordinary conductors of these small detachments of brigands to the 
 frontier." 
 
 Count Saint Jorios also declared that arrangements similar to those 
 in Rome were made at Ceprano, Frosinone, and Villetri, and other 
 places in the papal states, for equipping, lodging, and paying as many 
 brigands as could be raised, and sending them off to the mountains for 
 the purpose of laying waste the frontier. A department of the Com- 
 munal Hospital, at Ceprano, was also converted into a barrack, and 
 occupied by twelve soldiers of the papal cavalry and fifty brigands. 
 In many localities buildings belonging to the Romish Church were 
 freely placed at the service of the robbers. ^ Numerous convents in 
 the Neapolitan territory were stored with arms, ammunition, and pro- 
 visions, and became simply centers of brigandage. On the 26th of 
 February, 1862, as many as two thousand of these outlaws left Rome 
 in a body, and proceeded to the frontier, of course separating into 
 small parties before crossing. Priests were also taken fighting in 
 their ranks, and in some of the churches a service was instituted, 
 termed the "Brigand's Mass," and for expedition's sake, those for 
 whom it was intended were permitted to enter the church on horse- 
 back. The brigands were often found decorated with the medal 
 of the Immaculate Conception. The leader of one of these infa- 
 mous bands, Pasquale Romano, who had held the district of Gioia 
 in terror, was slain on the 5th of January, 1863. On his body and 
 in his portfolio were found papers, "the importance of which," said 
 the report of the commission to the Italian parliament, ' ' it would be 
 impossible to overestimate." Among others, the copy of the "oath" 
 taken by the brigands, with their names subscribed, was discovered. 
 The oath consisted of six clauses, of which the second was as fol- 
 lows: "We promise and swear always to defend with our blood, 
 
700 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 God, the supreme pontiff, Pius IX, and Francis II, king of the Two 
 SiciHes, and the commander of our column, whose orders we shall 
 obey, as God may aid and assist us ever to fight against the rebels 
 of holy Church." 
 
 Not less significant were the confessions of a brigand leader, Pas- 
 quale Forgione, on the 23d of February, 1863, before a committee 
 appointed to examine him. His admissions showed that the oath 
 was no mere form ; that the brigands acted thoroughly in its spirit, 
 and that they regarded their worst crimes as sanctified by the cause 
 in which they are done. When asked why he should inflict such 
 ravages on an unoffending community, Pasquale Forgione replied, 
 *'We fight for the faith." The committee then inquired, ''What do 
 you mean by the faith?" The brigand responded, ''The holy faith 
 of our religion." The committee asked this question, "But does 
 not our religion execrate the robberies, burnings, murders, cruelties, 
 and all the impious and barbarous deeds which you and your com- 
 panions have committed?" Forgione answered, "We have fought for 
 the faith, and have been blessed by the pope ; and if we had not lost 
 the paper which came from Rome, we should have been able to con- 
 vince you that Ave have combated for the faith." The committee 
 asked, "What paper was that?" The reply was, "It was a stamped 
 paper which came from Rome." "What did that paper contain?" 
 inquired the committee. The brigand replied, "It said that he who 
 combated for the holy cause of the pope and of Francis II committed 
 no sin." Forgione was asked one more question, "Do you recollect 
 what else that paper contained?" He answered, "It said that the 
 real brigands are the Piedmontese, who have taken away the king- 
 dom from Francis II, and are excommunicated; but we are blessed 
 of the pope." 
 
 When the operations against the brigands were first commenced, 
 the French were in the habit of sending those they captured across 
 the frontier, and delivering them up to the papal troops, but soon 
 every one of them was equipped anew and sent back. Sometimes 
 the brigands, being hard pressed, came down to Ceprano and has- 
 tened to Rome on the train, where comfortable lodgings awaited 
 them. The notorious Crocco, who had committed untold robberies 
 and murders, avoided capture by repairing with five Spanish followers 
 to the papal frontier, where he demanded to be taken to Rome. 
 Instead of being sent in chains as a malefactor, he was furnished 
 with a railroad ticket, and journeyed openly, with every sign of 
 wealth about his person. He wore a gold watch, a massive gold 
 
THE BRIGAND CHIEFS SUBMIT. 701 
 
 chain traversed his breast, precious jewels sparkled on his fingers, 
 and a profusion of military medals decorated his person. At Rome 
 this worthy supporter of the throne and the altar was received with 
 marked attention. These few of the hundreds of facts that could be 
 produced show that the papal government sanctioned this wholesale 
 system of robbery and murder. Indeed, the pope and his ministers, 
 in order to restore the dynasty of the ex-king of Naples, enlisted 
 brigands, furnished them with arms and pay, and sent them forth 
 with the Church's blessing to spread rapine and slaughter over the 
 NeapoHtan provinces. Hence the committee of investigation ap- 
 pointed by the chamber of deputies placed the responsibility upon 
 the authorities at Rome, where it belonged. In their report the mem- 
 bers of the commission stated that the war against brigandage from 
 the 1st of May, 1861, to the end of March, 1863, caused the loss of 
 twenty-one officers and two hundred and eighty-six soldiers of the 
 Italian army, "a painful sacrifice," as the report observes, "when 
 the character of the victims is compared with that of the murderers." 
 As to the brigands the number of killed, arrested, and voluntarily 
 surrendered, exceeded seven thousand. 
 
 On the 8th of September, 1863, the brigand chiefs, Crocco, 
 Minco, Nanco, Carusa, and Fortora, presented themselves at Kionero 
 to the commandant of the Italian troops, requesting a safe -conduct 
 for two hundred and fifty other brigands, who had promised to give 
 in their submission to the government. The chiefs left Kionero for 
 Lagopesole with cries of "Viva Victor Emmanuel!" and displaying 
 the national flag. On the 22d of December the Chamber of Deputies 
 adopted a motion, by one hundred and fifty -nine against fifty -one 
 votes, to the effect that the law for the suppression of brigandage 
 should be postponed to the end of February, 1864. On the follow- 
 ing day the Official Gazette of Turin published a decree pronouncing 
 the postponement of the law to the time indicated by the Chamber 
 of Deputies. The royal mandate proclaiming an amnesty had been 
 previously issued. It annulled the penal punishments awarded in 
 the Neapolitan provinces for all crimes excepting those connected 
 with brigandage and ordinary offenses against the press laws, and all 
 persons who had evaded the conscription, or acted in contravention 
 of the laws relating to the national guard. The report preceding the 
 decree stated that the enthusiastic reception and other manifestations 
 which the king met with during a recent journey proved how deeply 
 the desire for the unity of Italy was rooted in the mind of the pop- 
 ulation. Having nothing more to fear from the efforts of enemies, 
 
702 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the ministers declared that it was their duty to second the generous 
 idea conceived in the heart of the king. 
 
 Some measures which the government adopted in Sicily in order 
 to prevent disturbances and carry out the conscription laws induced 
 Garibaldi and several other deputies of the *'Left" to send in their 
 resignation on the 2ist of December. Garibaldi, in the following 
 letter, written at Caprera, explained his reasons for taking this step : 
 ' ' To my constituents at Naples : When I saw two hundred and 
 twenty-nine deputies of the Italian parliament confirm by their votes 
 the sale of the Italian soil I had the presentiment that I should not 
 remain long in the assembly of those men who blindly tore asunder 
 the limbs of the country which they were called to reconstitute. 
 However, the counsels of friends, the hope of reparatory events, 
 and an unshaken sentiment of devotion toward my constituents, kept 
 me at the post. But now, when I see succeeding to the sale of Nice 
 the shame of Sicily, Avhich I should be proud to call my second 
 country by adoption, I feel myself, electors, compelled to restore to 
 you a commission which enchains my conscience, and makes me 
 indirectly the accomplice of the faults of others. It is not only the 
 affection which I owe to Sicily, the courageous initiator of so many 
 revolutions, but the thought that they have wounded in her the right 
 and honor in compromising the safety of all Italy, which has led me 
 to take this resolution. There is, however, nothing in this v/hich 
 will prevent me from finding myself with the people in arms on the 
 road to Rome and Venice. Adieu." The majority of the ''Left," 
 however, preferred not to abandon their posts, but to remain in the 
 Chamber; and a manifesto explaining the motives which determined 
 their course of action received twenty-nine signatures. 
 
 The Italian government in 1863 was not any more successful in 
 its efforts to bring about a reconciliation with the court of Rome 
 than it had been in previous years. In order to avoid as much as 
 possible any conflicts with the Church, a circular, issued on the 25th 
 of March, recognized the right of clergymen to omit the name of the 
 sovereign from public prayers, provided they did pot substitute for it 
 those of the former rulers. The government also declared itself 
 against a motion made in the Chamber of Deputies by the liberal 
 priest. Father Passaglia, to require all priests to take an oath of 
 loyalty to the king and the constitution. In opposition to this mo- 
 tion the government advocated liberty of conscience and the principle 
 of "a free Church in a free state," and the Chambers concurred in 
 the views of the government. But, notwithstanding all the precau- 
 
MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES. 703 
 
 tions to mitigate it, the contest between the civil and religious power 
 became more and more exciting. The despotic authority of arch- 
 bishops and bishops over the inferior clergy of the Roman Catholic 
 Church was used very extensively to prevent any expression of 
 patriotic sentiment or sympathy with the government of Italy on the 
 part of the priesthood. Many priests Avho openly approved the 
 course of the government were suspended from official acts, and as a 
 consequence their ordinary means of support withdrawn. Many 
 others were restrained from manifesting any sympathy with the polit- 
 ical sentiments of the people generally through fear of being deposed 
 and condemned to beg for a living. 
 
 As a means of protection from this epi-scopal despotism the more 
 liberal members of the clergy in all parts of Italy organized societies 
 for mutual aid. A monthly payment was required from every mem- 
 ber ; and in case of suspension by the archbishop or bishop, for any 
 other causes than offenses against morality, the suspended member 
 received a monthly allowance from the common fund. These soci- 
 eties proved to be very useful, and gave the means of subsistence to 
 many, whom arbitrary suspension had exposed to absolute want. 
 The bishops evinced their hostility to all who were connected with 
 these mutual aid societies by refusing to promote them or appoint 
 them to any vacancies whatsoever. The pope, probably taking cour- 
 age from the apparently reactionary course of Louis Napoleon, 
 ordered the bishops to suspend and starve the nine thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-three Italian priests who signed the Passaglia peti- 
 tion for the abandonment of the temporal power. In obedience to 
 the mandate the archbishop of Florence suspended from their sacred 
 functions all who refused to yield absolute submission to the court 
 of Rome. These priests appealed to the government for protection 
 and redress. Rattazzi, when prime minister of Italy, did not inter- 
 fere with the bishops because he was the tool of France ; but when 
 Farini became prime minister he would not permit them to be op- 
 pressed, and consequently the archbishop of Florence was prosecuted 
 by the crown lawyer for deposing the liberal clergy of his diocese. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1863, the presiding judge of the court in 
 Florence notified the archbishop that by a decree of the council of 
 state one month would be allowed him in which to defend himself 
 against the charge of abuse of power in suspending so many priests 
 for political reasons. At first he would not condescend to answer 
 the call of the king's attorney, but finally concluded to do so. The 
 minister of worship directed the proper officers to restore the sus- 
 
704 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 pended priests immediately to their administrative rights, their rev- 
 enues, including all arrears, and their benefices, and hereafter to 
 execute no decree of suspension without first being provided with 
 the royal exequatur. This important step on the part of the govern- 
 ment was designed to prevent the bishops from depriving the inferior 
 clergy of their stipends for merely political or civil reasons. To the 
 surprise of all liberal men the state council, before whom the case of the 
 archbishop was tried, acquitted him. In other words, the ministry and 
 crown lawyer of Victor Emmanuel were for progress and liberty, but. 
 his state council favored the pope and despotism. The latter tribunal 
 had come down from the days of Jesuit rule in Sardinia unreformed, 
 and it seemed strange that the king did not make it conform to the 
 new constitution, as he did with the old laws in the courts of Tuscany. 
 In this conflict Francesco Liverani, the ex-chaplain of the pope, and 
 twenty years a member of the papal court, and Carlo Passaglia, the 
 pope's popular champion of the "Immaculate Conception," repre- 
 sented the liberal Roman Catholics ; and public sentiment was still 
 more intensified by the revelations of Gennarelli, who published in 
 two volumes the epistles in the private archives of the ex -grand 
 duke of Tuscany. In them Pius IX, Antonelli, emperors, princes, 
 archbishops, statesmen, priests, and confessors were shown up to 
 the world in extracts from confidential letters, in which they speak 
 their desires, intentions, and plans freely. These publications were 
 opportune ; for they exposed the arts, concessions, and fawnings by 
 which the papacy obtained foreign aid in extinguishing every ray of 
 light and liberty in Italy. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Waldensian synod in May, 1863, 
 was one of deep interest. There was a very full representation of 
 the Vaudofs Churches, and also delegates from ecclesiastical bodies 
 in England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, and America. The 
 "Committee of Evangelization" reported that there were, outside 
 the "Valleys," twenty stations, in which thirty-nine laborers were 
 employed, embracing sixteen ministers, seven evangelists, and sixteen 
 teachers. At least twenty of these earnest and efficient workers were 
 supported by the "American and Foreign Christian Union." Signor 
 Peccenini, Avho was transferred in October, 1862, from Portoferraio to 
 Naples, received encouragement from the increasing congregations 
 which assembled twice every week in the hall of St. Thomas Aquinas. 
 Four schools were organized, consisting of one for religious instruc- 
 tion ; one of catechumens, with eighty-six attendants, including an 
 evening school of fifty adults ; a Sabbath-school of forty small chil- 
 
THE WALDENSIAN AND WESLEYAN MISSIONS. 705 
 
 dren ; and a day-school, which numbered about forty pupils. Signori 
 Appia, Cresi, and Buscarli also opened schools in various parts of 
 the city, in which not less than one hundred and seventy boys and 
 girls were instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, the 
 evangelical catechism, and singing. In the beautiful island of Elba, 
 at Florence, Perugia, Bologna, Modena, Reggio, Genoa, Brescia, 
 Milan, Fa vale, Pavia, Turin, and other places, flourishing congrega- 
 tions and schools were established. 
 
 In 1863 Milan was selected as the center of operations for the 
 English Wesleyan mission in Italy, and Revs. H. J. Piggott, Thomas 
 W. S. Jones, and Benedetto Lipolo were the stationed ministers. A 
 girls' boarding-school and a book-depot were opened, and Signor 
 Bosio preached regularly in the school-room. The mission which 
 Mr. Piggott had organized the previous year at Parma continued to 
 prosper. The ordinary congregation numbered more than two hun- 
 dred and fifty persons ; and often twice as many assembled to hear 
 the evangelist, while hundreds stood In the streets, unable to gain 
 admission. In the villages on the shores of Lago Magglore and 
 Lakes Lugano and Como the Gospel was proclaimed, and some 
 abandoned the Romish system. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 THE ROMAN QUESTION— THE ITALIAN PRESS. 
 
 IN the beginning of 1864 Garibaldi issued an address to the 
 Italian nation, announcing the formation of a committee to 
 promote the unity of the country; but his manifesto, which was 
 published on the 1 8th of January In one of the democratic papers 
 of Turin, was not responded to as cordially as he expected. He 
 was a candidate at the elections held at the close of the month, but 
 was defeated at Palermo by Signor Robanda. The moderate party 
 was generally successful, but the progressives were greatly strength- 
 ened by Garibaldi's visit to England In April, where he was received 
 with Immense enthusiasm. The minister of the interior, In reply 
 to speeches from several members of the opposition, stated that 
 it was not for the government to declare its Intentions respecting 
 
706 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 General Garibaldi and his party, but that it was, above all, 
 necessary to know how they would act. The same speaker also 
 expressed the hope that, after Garibaldi's ovation in London, and 
 the eulogy pronounced by him on English institutions, and the 
 respect paid by the English nation to the queen and the laws, 
 no one, apart from the king and the government, would speak in 
 the name of the country or pursue a policy differing from that of 
 the government and in opposition to the constitution. 
 
 During the year the relations between the Italian government 
 and parliament on the one hand, and the pope and Italian bishops 
 on the other, remained unchanged.. The government often expressed 
 a desire to come to an understanding with Pius IX, but it was not 
 willing to abandon the plan of Italian unity to satisfy the pontiff. 
 In February the minister of justice presented to parliament two 
 bills, one for the suppression of all religious corporations, and the 
 other for the suppression of ecclesiastical tithes. By the former, not 
 only all convents, but all chapters of collegiate churches, and all 
 ecclesiastical benefices were suppressed. Nuns were allowed to live 
 in their convents, but when their number in any one establish- 
 ment was reduced to six, they were transferred to an'other. Monks 
 received a life interest varying between three and six hundred francs. 
 According to the '* Opinione'' of Turin the total income of all the 
 ecclesiastical property falling within this law amounted in 1864 to 
 over seventy-six millions of francs. These new decrees were 
 denounced by the clerical party, and intensified the bitter feeling 
 between the pope and the government. 
 
 In September, 1864, the ministry was reconstructed as follows : 
 president of the council of ministers and minister of the exterior. Gen- 
 eral Alphonse Ferrero de la Marmora ; minister of the interior. Dr. 
 John Lanza; minister of worship and justice, Vacca; minister of war, 
 General Aug. L. Count Pettiti Bagloani di Proreto ; minister of 
 finances, Quintino Sella; minister of public instruction. Baron 
 Joseph Natoli ; minister of public works, Peter Jacini ; minister 
 of commerce and agriculture, Torelll. Signor Natoli, the new min- 
 ister of public instruction, by a decree shut up all the ecclesiastical 
 schools as the bishops refused to submit to the common law, which 
 provided that the government inspectors should watch the system 
 of education followed in the colleges, no matter whether they have 
 been founded by the state or are private institutions. The minister, 
 also, decreed that the schools of the seminaries should henceforth 
 be subjected to the established regulations. 
 
THE CAPITAL OF ITALY. 707 
 
 On the 15th of September a convention, which had a great 
 influence on the poHtics of Europe, was concluded between France 
 and Italy. The text of the agreement, as published by the official 
 gazette of the kingdom of Italy, is as follows : 
 
 Article, i. Italy engages not to attack the present territory of the 
 Holy Father, and to prevent, even by force, every attack upon the 
 said territory coming from without. 
 
 Art. 2. France will withdraw her troops from the pontifical 
 states gradually, and in proportion as the army of the Holy Father 
 shall be organized. The evacuation shall nevertheless be accom- 
 plished within the space of two years. 
 
 Art. 3. The Italian government engages to raise no protest 
 against the organization of a papal army, even if composed of for- 
 eign Catholic volunteers, sufficing to maintain the authority of the 
 Holy Father and tranquillity as well in the interior as upon the 
 frontier of his states, provided that this force should not degenerate 
 into a means of attack against the Italian government. 
 
 Art. 4. Italy declares herself ready to enter into an arrange- 
 ment to take under her charge a proportionate part of the debt of 
 the former States of the Church. 
 
 As a corollary to this document, it was agreed also that the 
 capital of Italy should be removed from Turin to Florence. It 
 soon became apparent that the two governments had not fully 
 determined what policy should be pursued in case the people of 
 Rome should rise against the papal government and demand annex- 
 ation to Italy. A long diplomatic correspondence followed on this 
 subject. On the 30th of October the French minister of foreign 
 affairs, M. Drouyn de L'Huys, addressed a note to the Italian 
 minister at Turin, in which he explains the obligations, which, accord- 
 ing to the French cabinet, the recent convention regarding Rome 
 imposes upon King Victor Emmanuel. The Italian government is 
 to be restricted from employing, among other "violent means," 
 against the pope ''the maneuvers of revolutionary agents upon 
 the pontifical territory, as well as all agitation tending to produce 
 insurrectionary movements;" and the ''moral means" are to "con- 
 sist solely in the forces of civilization and progress," while the only 
 "aspirations" to be considered legitimate by the court of Turin are 
 to be "those whose object is the reconciliation of Italy with the 
 papacy." The transfer of the Italian capital from Turin to Florence 
 is to be "a serious pledge given to France;" and to suppress this 
 pledge would be to destroy the contract." Finally, "the event 
 
708 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of a revolution breaking out spontaneously at Rome, is not foreseen 
 by the convention;" and ''France reserves her liberty of action for 
 this eventuality," while the Italian cabinet is to follow the poHcy 
 of Count Cavour, who ''declared that Rome could only be united to 
 Italy and become the capital with the consent of France." 
 
 On the /th of November General La Marmora addressed a note 
 to Chevalier di Nigra, Italian embassador at Paris, in consequence of 
 the publication of the dispatches of M. Drouyn de L'Huys in the 
 Moniteur. General La Marmora stated that the present ministry 
 accepted the convention of the 15 th of September because its clear 
 and precise text could not give rise to any doubt, and because they 
 thought that, taken literally, it was advantageous to Italy. As 
 the convention provided by positive assurances for the relations 
 and exigencies of the papacy with regard to France and the Roman 
 Catholic world, he declared that the Italian government repelled the 
 thought of ever resorting to secret dealings, which it regretted to 
 have seen mentioned by M. Drouyn de L'Huys. It had entire con- 
 fidence in the influence of civilization and progress in the removal of 
 difficulties ; and while both powers might have their own opinions 
 concerning the consequences of this act, it did not believe that they 
 could legitimately make it the subject of practical discussion. Jtaly 
 insisted upon a strict execution of the treaty, and would not violate 
 it to secure even the triumph of a cherished policy. The king's 
 government, whatever might be its aspirations, independently of the 
 question at issue, would abide by the decision of the convention, 
 believing that the aspirations of a people belong to its national con- 
 science, and therefore can not form the subject of an international 
 discussion. General La Marmora also affirmed in this note that the 
 government had always desired a reconciliation between Italy and the 
 papacy, and he expressed the opinion that the convention would 
 contribute to such a result; but since M. Drouyn de L'Huys 
 had taken the initiative in suggesting the possibility of a spon- 
 taneous revolution in Rome, and of the fall of the temporal power, 
 Italy would reserve, as France did, her liberty of action for such a 
 case. 
 
 On the one hand, the convention was severely denounced by the 
 Roman Catholic party, which saw in it a new danger for the tem- 
 poral power of the pope; and on the other, it was condemned by 
 the progressive party, headed by Mazzini and Garibaldi, which 
 regarded it as a cowardly submission to French dictation, and as 
 abandonment, at least for the present, of the fondest hope of the 
 
RICASOLI ON THE CONVENTION. yog 
 
 Italian nation. Garibaldi in reply to a letter from his friend, Gen- 
 eral Avezzana, who declared himself as emphatically as possible 
 against the convention, wrote from Caprera, October loth, 1864, as 
 follows : * ' My Dear Avezzana. Like you, I deplore the massacre 
 (uccidio) of the brave people of Turin. Like you I grieve (lamento) 
 to see our country so badly and so shamefully (vergognosamente) 
 governed. From the state of things generally, I think I need not 
 for the moment quit Caprera." 
 
 But the great majority of the Italian statesmen and a majority of 
 both houses of the Italian parliament heartily indorsed the conven- 
 tion. Baron Ricasoli, former prime minister of Italy, and undoubt- 
 edly one of the greatest of Italian statesmen, thus expressed his 
 views about it: 
 
 **I regard in that covention rather what it does not say than 
 what it does say. The retreat of the French from Rome within a 
 prescribed term, and the principle of non-intervention proclaimed by 
 that fact, are of themselves no slight matter; but events will prove 
 that what at present remains unseen will be of still more importance. 
 Besides, what have we to gain without the convention ? And at this 
 day, what do we lose with it ? The condition of the transfer of the 
 capital from Turin to Florence has taken the effect on me of a thun- 
 der-bolt from a clear sky. But who could fail to see, on a second 
 view, the innumerable effects which will flow from it? These effects, 
 I think, will all be in favor of our constitution. The difficulties of 
 obtaining possession of Rome have not been augmented by the con- 
 vention. It is eventually certain that the Italians will count amongst 
 their finest jewels, the noblest and greatest of all, the city of Rome. 
 When will this come to pass ? I know not ; but that this will come to 
 pass I know. We are in effect taking Rome daily. I will say more, 
 daily Rome is coming to us of herself The convention, instead of 
 opposing, aids this movement. Let not the Italians throw up this 
 great game, and the result will not fail. It will be such as religion 
 and civilization unite in claiming," 
 
 The announcement of the convention produced considerable dis- 
 satisfaction in Turin, which culminated in formidable riots; and the 
 foreign friends of Italy distrusted it, because they believed that its 
 real meaning was the renunciation of Rome as the capital of the 
 Peninsula. The convention was also warmly discussed in the Italian 
 parliament, which was reopened on the 24th of October. Generals 
 La Marmora and Cialdini delivered very impressive speeches in favor 
 of the project. Both declared that with this convention Italy would 
 
710 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 go forward toward a solution of the Roman question, prudently and 
 slowly, yet without intermission. With regard to Venetia, General 
 La Marmora expressed the hope that some solution might yet be- 
 come possible, and that the mind of the emperor of Austria might 
 be brought to new conclusions relative to this subject. 
 
 On the 19th of November, 1864, the Chamber of Deputies adopted 
 the bill for the transfer of the capital to Florence by a vote of three 
 hundred and seventeen to seventy; and, on the 9th of December, the 
 bill was passed in the senate by one hundred and thirty-four to forty- 
 seven. On the nth of December, it was sanctioned by the king, 
 and the royal indorsement, in the following words, appeared in the 
 official gazette : 
 
 **The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies having approved, we 
 have sanctioned and hereby publish as follows : 
 
 "Article I. The capital of the kingdom shall be transferred to 
 Florence within six months of the date of this present law. 
 
 "Art. II. To meet the costs of the transfer, a credit is opened 
 in the extraordinary portion of the house budget, and under a special 
 head of seven million francs, divided as follows : two millions in the 
 budget of 1864, and five millions in the budget of 1865. 
 
 "The ministers of the interior, of finance, and of public works 
 are especially charged with the execution of the present law. We 
 order that these presents, furnished with the seal of state, shall be 
 inserted in the official collection of laws and decrees of the kingdom 
 of Italy, and ordain that all persons shall observe and cause them to 
 be observed as a law of the state." 
 
 This document was signed by Victor Emmanuel, and counter- 
 signed by all the ministers. 
 
 Both the government and the majority of the national party 
 seemed to be fully determined that, during the two years yet remain- 
 ing of the occupancy of Rome by the French troops, no effort to 
 interfere with the papal power should receive the least countenance 
 from them, as both were convinced that a rupture of friendly rela- 
 tions with France would produce disastrous consequences. The 
 government found it very difficult to prevent the sympathy of the 
 Italians with Venetia from rushing them into a new war against Aus- 
 tria. In October, 1864, insurrectionary movements broke out in 
 Venetia; but the government regarded them as utterly hopeless and 
 useless, costing Italy men and money without the least chance of suc- 
 cess. The Diritto, of Turin, was seized by the government for pub- 
 lishing a proclamation of Signor Carioli calling upon the people to 
 
THE WAR OF IDEAS. 711 
 
 support the insurrection in Venetia. On the i6th of November, the 
 troops of the Itahan government had a severe engagement with a band 
 of insurgents, or, as they were caUed in the reports from Italy, with 
 the Garibaldians, at Bagohno, in Northern Lombardy, in which both 
 sides lost many men in killed and wounded, but which terminated in a 
 capture of a part and a dispersion of the rest of the insurgents. 
 
 The Austrian government issued a proclamation on the 15th of 
 November, declaring martial law in eighteen districts of the provinces 
 of Friuli and Treviso. Sentinels and patrols were ordered to fire 
 upon assemblages after the first summons to disperse. The penalty 
 of death was remitted to all those who voluntarily surrendered them- 
 selves, or who were given up by the populace. These measures re- 
 sulted in the suppression of the insurrection. 
 
 While the year 1864 did not witness many remarkable events in 
 the political affairs of Italy, yet it was a period of agitation and con- 
 flict. The war of ideas raged throughout the Peninsula, from north 
 to south, from east to west, in the parliamentary debates, in the col- 
 umns of the daily press, in the discussions on the piazza, in the con- 
 versations of every household, and in the thoughts of every heart. 
 We may take the press as one of the most reliable exponents of the 
 political, social, and religious condition of the country at that time. 
 The skirmishes which occurred every day in its columns indicated 
 the existence of two Italics — the one that was passing away, and the 
 other that was rising. The growth of the press itself was conclusive 
 evidence of the progress of liberal ideas. After the enfranchisement 
 of the pen in Italy by the revolution of 1848 and the sword of Na- 
 poleon in 1859, papers of various kinds were started, and, in 1864, 
 every party had its literary organ. The Ultramontanes, being more 
 expert at fingering their rosary than the compositor's stick, were the 
 last to come into the field. Necessity compelled them to take this 
 advanced step, and they resolved to be in the front ranks, having 
 commenced the publication of seven journals in Florence alone, 
 in the Summer of 1864. 
 
 The rapidity with which newspapers sprang up in every part of 
 the country was marvelous. There was not a city, and scarcely a 
 third-rate town, which did not have its daily journal, more frequently 
 two, and, in some cases, as Turin, Florence, and Naples, almost a 
 dozen. The Italians made the press of England their model. They 
 conducted their discussions with increasing intelligence and excellent 
 temper, though often enlivening them with raillery, or spicing them 
 with bitter sarcasm. The political situation was the great topic dis- 
 
712 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 cussed by them, and the priesthood the principal class assailed 
 by them; not that they desired to attack the doctrines of the 
 clergy, but to criticize their inconsistent lives, or, as in many cases, 
 their political opinions. Both parties, lay and clerical, appealed to 
 the Bible in their daily controversies, and thus a book, which had 
 almost passed into oblivion in Italy, emerged, as it were, from its 
 sepulcher; and some of its readers turned away from the morning 
 newspaper to the colporteur's depot. 
 
 // Temporale, Giornale Politico- Morale y published in Florence, vig- 
 orously assaulted the temporal power of the pope almost every day, 
 and the emissaries of the hierarchy, not wishing to have its errors 
 publicly exposed, replied to the logic of this fearless paper by occa- 
 sionally throwing a bomb-shell into its office window. In the number 
 issued on the 24th of June, 1864, we find this address to the codini 
 and legitimisti: ''You have raised your voices to the utmost pitch in 
 condemnation of the wickedness of the age ; you have rent the very 
 heavens with your protestations against the violation of divine right ; 
 and, in proof thereof, you appeal to the thirteenth chapter of Paul's 
 epistle to the Romans, where it is said, 'The powers that be are 
 ordained of God.' Benissimo. Constitutional kings and republican 
 presidents, being powers regularly constituted, are powers ordained 
 of God. In France it is Napoleon III who is to be obeyed ; in the 
 United States of America it is President Lincoln who is to be obeyed ; 
 and in Italy it is your duty to submit yourselves to the law of Victor 
 Emmanuel as the power ordained of God. Signor Fanatico Legiti- 
 misto, you have pronounced against yourself Monsignor Prete, you 
 know how to quote the letter of the Bible; its consequences you can 
 not divine, and into its profounder meaning you are unable to enter." 
 
 This article provoked a sharp reply, and the journalist was re- 
 proved for his presumption in interpreting the Bible. He was asked 
 why he, a layman, should endeavor to explain its true meaning, when 
 this power belonged to those only upon whom it was conferred by 
 the Church. The Jesuitical writer advised the heretical editor to 
 throw away a book which he did not understand, and which he might 
 wrest to his own destruction. To this suggestion the journalist re- 
 sponded by asking the priest why his Church had a territory, an 
 army, a crown, embassadors, and tax-gatherers, when Christ said, 
 *' My kingdom is not of this world;" and why the pope seats himself 
 in the Praetorian camp surrounded by his guards, and beholds his 
 troops defile past? Christ's servants did not fight, but the papal sol- 
 diers went forth to slay men, though, "it must be confessed," says 
 
LIBERAL WRITERS AND THE PRIESTS, 713 
 
 // Temporale of the 19th of July, 1864, ''that, of late, they have 
 won no laurels, save such as they have gained over the unarmed Ro- 
 mans." The editor expressed the opinion that the papal kingdom 
 was decidedly of this world, that its charter would show that it was 
 not established by Christ, but by Pepin. 
 
 The priests were greatly excited by these articles in the free press, 
 and endeavored to silence the objectors by urging the old argument 
 that the temporal power is necessary to the independence of the 
 spiritual office. ''What an admission," exclaimed the liberal writers; 
 "then are the present race of popes and bishops but cowards. Why 
 can not you fulfill your mission unless you have a park of artillery 
 behind you ? Why are you courageous only when you speak from 
 the midst of bayonets ? The first pastors went forth to proclaim the 
 Gospel in the face of axes and stakes. Why should you, their suc- 
 cessors, shirk duty to save your dainty limbs ? Did Christ say to the 
 first evangelists, ' I send you forth as sheep among wolves ; but fear 
 not, r appoint unto each of you twelve battahons of infantry and six 
 squadrons of cavalry as a body-guard : be strong and of a good 
 courage ?' Were the prophet of Mecca to look up, how astonished 
 he would be to find the sword which he had thought was laid by, 
 with his ashes in the tomb, drawn from its scabbard by the Church, 
 and as vigorously wielded by her priests as it ever was by his Sara- 
 cens. 'Verily,' would Mahomet say, addressing the pontiff, 'I recog- 
 nize in you a worthy successor, and I hereby duly enfeoff you in the 
 chair in which you sit ; and no one has a better right to do so than 
 myself seeing that chair belonged to me and not to Peter.' " 
 
 These independent writers in the free press also addressed the 
 
 cardinals, congratulating them on their greatly improved position 
 
 since the days of Peter the fisherman and Paul the tent -maker. 
 
 These modern princes of the papal Church were reminded of the fact 
 
 that when the latter apostle visited Rome he was not seated in a 
 
 "gilded chariot, drawn by coal-black steeds," like those brilliant 
 
 equipages in which their eminences display themselves on the Pincian, 
 
 or dash at thundering speed along the Corso. When Paul terminated 
 
 his long and tedious journey on the Appian Way, and reached the 
 
 "Eternal City," he was no doubt "foot-sore and travel-soiled," and 
 \ . . . . 
 
 not in a condition to be introduced at court, or to be presented even 
 
 in the palace of a senator. He could truly exclaim, in the midst of 
 
 the grandeur of the pagan metropolis, "Not many wise men after 
 
 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called ;" but in the 
 
 same city, under papal rule, the servants of Christ assume the titles 
 
7 1 4 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 of nobility, exercise civil authority, and amass almost unlimited 
 riches. Becoming bolder in their attacks, these advocates of a * * free 
 Church in a free state" proceeded further, by saying that if Peter 
 ever visited Rome, in his fisherman's coat and with his Galilean 
 accent, and signed all his edicts with the fisherman's ring, he must 
 have been a greater potentate than the emperor. Did the latter 
 abdicate in his favor? or was he sleeping, or on a journey, while Peter 
 was acting as a sovereign at Rome ? After discussing the question, 
 and showing that contemporaneous history is silent about it, these 
 writers declared that Peter's visit to the "Eternal City" should be 
 placed "in the same Category with Aristolfo's journey to the moon." 
 
 The priests denounced these wicked sarcasms, not hesitating to 
 call them "horrible blasphemies," and solemnly consigned their 
 authors to the regions occupied by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 
 similar individuals. These papal shepherds not only interpreted the 
 Bible to confirm their position, but also interpreted the providences 
 of God when an opportunity occurred. When the wife, brother, and 
 other relations of Victor Emmanuel died, the priests declared that 
 the constitutional views of the king had brought upon him the judg- 
 ments of God. The death of Cavour was also regarded by them as 
 a visible manifestation of the divine displeasure. A melodramatic 
 incident at Fontainebleau was not overlooked by these interpreters 
 of passing events. The emperor of the French accidentally fell into 
 the lake in the palace grounds, and, after a thorough soaking, was 
 rescued. It was said that this was a warning from God to Louis 
 Napoleon that if he did not adopt a different policy toward the 
 papacy a greater calamity would befall him. "Transformations," 
 said Signor Margotto, in the papal organ, // Solito Dito, ' ' such as 
 that of Nebuchadnezzar, are not confined to Old Testament times. 
 Louis Philippe fled from France in a little fiacre, and his successor 
 may be obliged to leave it in even a more humble guise. The first 
 Napoleon was constrained 'to sign his abdication in the same palace 
 of Fontainebleau where he had kept the pope prisoner, and com- 
 pelled him to abdicate. Napoleon III has in the same palace signed 
 decrees which are not worthy of a Christian emperor and a loyal 
 son of the Church, much less a canon of the Lateran ; and the Most 
 High has given him a warning that if he does not use his empire for 
 his glory and the good of Catholicism he may yet terminate his 
 career of success and power at the bottom of a miry pond." 
 
 The lay journalists, in commenting on this article, pronounced its 
 logic excellent and ingenious, but claimed that it could be applied to 
 
THE RADICAL AND CLERICAL PRESS. 715 
 
 priests as well as to kings. As an illustration, // Temporale, in its 
 issue of the 4th of July, 1864, referred to an accident which occurred 
 shortly before that at Fontainebleau. The pope had visited the con- 
 vent of St. Agnes, at Rome. A great crowd was present, and, the 
 rafters being somewhat decayed, the floor suddenly gave way, pre- 
 cipitating the whole assemblage into the apartment below, with the 
 exception of the pope and one or two others, whose chairs, fortu- 
 nately, were placed on a portion of the flooring that remained firm. 
 Beneath was a confused mass of monks and nuns, groaning and 
 struggling, and covered with dust and broken timbers, while the pope 
 and his companions sat in their safe niche, "like stone saints in a 
 cathedral wall," and looked down compassionately in the gulf below. 
 "Now," said // Te7nporale, "let us put in practice the lesson in 
 logic read to us by Signor Margotto. A manifest monition does 
 Christ tender to you, his vicar. When you were a fugitive at Gaeta 
 the French restored you to your diocese. You entered Rome over 
 the bodies of your slaughtered flock; you mounted to your throne 
 on steps covered with blood ; but now God tells you that if you do 
 not repent of your wickedness, lay down the temporal power, and 
 use your office for his glory, a worse thing will befall you than hap- 
 pened to the poor nuns of St. Agnes." 
 
 These extracts from the radical and the clerical press indicate the 
 nature of the conflict which raged in Italy in 1864. The discussions 
 Were not ecclesiastical, as involving the priesthood, or any doctrine 
 or practice of the Roman Catholic Church, but simply as to the 
 temporal power of the pope. Italy had not at that time the high- 
 class magazines devoted to religion, literature, and science, but she 
 had numerous low-priced papers, which circulated among the masses, 
 and educated them in the principles of political freedom. The public 
 mind was deeply agitated by these controversies, and conflicts be- 
 tween the government and the codini priests frequently occurred. 
 Eleven of them were arrested for treasonable language spoken and 
 printed in a call at Carassai for contributions of money to the pope. 
 They were tried in Turin, and each one condemned to ten days' im- 
 prisonment and one hundred francs' fine. For a long time a serious 
 disagreement had existed between Mgr. Caccia, of Milan, who filled 
 the office of archbishop of Lombardy, on the one hand, and the 
 municipal authorities on the other. After months of annoyance and 
 forbearance on the part of the authorities and people of Milan, a 
 petition, signed by many notabilities of the city, was sent to Turin, 
 asking the interposition of the government for their relief. Mgr. 
 
7 1 6 ITAL V STjR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Caccia was called to Turin, and, after making fair promises of con- 
 ciliation and loyalty, was permitted to return to Milan. His first 
 acts, however, were in violation of his promises, and in defiance of 
 the wishes of the government and people. Soon after the prime 
 minister sent again for the monseigneur, who, according to the report 
 in a Milan paper, "obstinately refused to go to Turin to give any 
 explanation of his conduct." He arrived, however, the next day, 
 under a military escort acting by order of the prime minister, and 
 found a home in the convent of the Barnabites, where he had abun- 
 dant time for reflection. These events seemed to be preliminary to 
 the entire destruction of the great hierarchy, which, like a millstone, 
 hung about the neck of Italy for centuries. 
 
 In the north of Italy, in the early part of 1864, many violent 
 demonstrations were made by the priests, who were alarmed at the 
 progress of liberal ideas. Four young men, who went from Milan 
 to Monza, were suddenly surrounded by a crowd of men and 
 women of the lower class, who cried out, "Death to the Protest- 
 ants!" These young men were taken for Protestants, though they 
 were not in reality. Three of them escaped; the other fell into 
 the hands of these fanatics, and his life was saved only by the 
 intervention of some citizens. The civil authorities inquired into 
 the reason of this fury of the people against the Protestants, and 
 found that a priest had been preaching against what he called 
 heretical doctrines, at the same time urging the people to unite and 
 compel the authorities to suppress an evangelical school in their 
 community. The sub -prefect of Monza, justly excited by this at- 
 tempt against liberty of worship, guaranteed by the constitution, 
 entered a complaint against the priest, in order that he should be 
 prosecuted under certain articles of the penal code. A colporteur, 
 selling Bibles on the public place, was surrounded by some people, 
 who bought several Bibles, and then with matches attempted to burn 
 them. Others reproached them for these acts of violence, when 
 they became still more excited, and overturned the table of the col- 
 porteur, and tore in pieces all his Bibles. The police interposed, 
 and arrested one of the guilty party, who confessed that a priest had 
 furnished the money and excited them to these acts of violence, 
 promising that they should gain paradise ! A Turin paper, speaking 
 of these acts of violence, said: "Wherever these acts occur there is 
 always found behind the curtain the hand of a provoking priest. 
 But the civil authority will energetically protect the liberty of wor- 
 ship threatened by these odious demonstrations. The Italian soil is a 
 
THREE RELIGIO US PAR TIES. 7 1 7 
 
 free soil, and the first conquest of liberty is liberty of conscience." 
 As an illustration of the disregard of the Italian government of the 
 spiritual power of the papacy, there were in the Summer of 1864 
 fifty-six bishops and priests on trial before the courts for attempting 
 to serve the pope without due attention to the rights of the people. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PARTIES IN ITALY— THE PAOLO TTI. 
 
 IN 1864 Italy contained three parties, divided by the religious 
 question, and each distinct from the other. The first consisted 
 of those who viewed Church reform from an exterior and political 
 stand-point. The flag around which they rallied had upon it Cavour's 
 rnaxim, "A free Church in a free state." Their whole purpose was 
 simply to separate the ecclesiastical from the civil jurisdiction. The 
 papacy was asked to surrender its privileges and exemptions only so 
 far as these gave it the right or pretext to interfere in civil affairs ; 
 and the state, in return, pledged itself to guarantee to the Church 
 ' the absolute and independent exercise of her own authority. This 
 party did not propose to accomplish any change within the Church, 
 neither in doctrine nor discipline, and even declared that the Church 
 must be guarded from the desecrating touch of innovation. They 
 insisted that she must be separated from the state, so that the spirit- 
 ual could be emancipated from its vile subjection to the temporal. 
 This change, they affirmed, would complete the liberty of both pow- 
 ers, and bring to them a new era of prosperity. 
 
 The second party was composed of those who looked at Church 
 reform from an inner and ecclesiastical point of observation. They 
 coincided with the first on the question of demanding of the pope 
 the surrender of the temporal power, believing that this step was 
 essential to the progress of the Church. Their theory was that if 
 she could be removed from the engrossing influence of politics, and 
 delivered from the agitation of earthly passions, her former dignity 
 and purity would be restored, and instantly her faithful children 
 wouldNrespect and love her as in the past. As to ulterior reforms, 
 
7 1 8 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 they proposed a certain kind of separation between the ecclesiastical 
 and temporal authorities, and a reformation to some extent in the 
 discipline of the Church. But they contended that the pope must 
 remain the spiritual head of Christendom, though they declared that 
 his power should be more nominal and diffusive. This party did not 
 favor the continuance of all jurisdiction and rule in the hands of the 
 pope; but, on the contrary, believed that the ''Church," — or, more 
 properly speaking, a "Council," — should be made the supreme judge 
 in ecclesiastical matters. They opposed, however, any reformation in 
 the doctrines of the Church, or any interference with the * 'dogmas," 
 which had flowed from the fount of infallible authority, and must go 
 down to the latest age of the world undisturbed and unpolluted. 
 While advocating more latitude in ''opinions," they claimed that the 
 clergy alone had the inalienable prerogative to judge of truth, and 
 that the indisputable duty of the people was to believe and obey. 
 It appears, therefore, that this party made a compendious classifica- 
 tion of all rights and all duties on both sides, leaving the one "still 
 in possession of irresponsible infallibility," and preaching to th^ other 
 "the doctrine of unquestioning submission." 
 
 Although strenuously opposing any change, in the "authority" 
 and the "faith" of the Church, this second party admitted that many 
 abuses had crept into the administration of her discipline, which they 
 desired to correct. They accused the bishops and higher digni- 
 taries of robbing the lower clergy of their rights, and of oppressing 
 them in various ways. These fortunate prelates monopolized nearly 
 all the revenues and power of the Church, and hence the redistribution 
 of both was loudly demanded by the parochial clergy. The latter 
 also asked for the restoration of the rights and liberties, of which 
 they had been despoiled, with the additional benefits of a more ade- 
 quate income, a participation in the government of the Church, 
 and the privilege of marrying. These reformers, who were mostly 
 priests, predicted that such a policy would make a purer clergy, a 
 more vigorous Church, and a deeper impression upon the world. 
 
 The third party called themselves the Eva7tgelici, or the Evan- 
 geHcal Church of Italy. They beheved that the "pagan usages," 
 the "scholastic dogmas," and the "idolatrous ceremonies" of the 
 Roman Catholic Church were the fatal heritage of the past to Italy, 
 and, therefore, they desired to inaugurate a reform in doctrine, in wor- 
 ship, and in discipline, and thus annihilate the antagonism, of which 
 the Italians were conscious, between Romanism and civilization. They 
 proposed to abolish the papal system of the Middle Ages, and replace 
 
THE ITALIANS DESIRING REFORM. 719 
 
 it with the pure Catholic faith of the first age. By this method 
 alone, they claimed, could there be at once a complete and perman- 
 ent reconciliation between religion and progress, Christianity and 
 civilization. 
 
 In 1864 the more thoughtful of the Italian people were anxiously 
 discussing the important question as to which of these parties could 
 solve the problem of the nation's deliverance. It was not a matter 
 of mere speculation, but, as they believed, one which involved the 
 life or death of their country. The papacy continued* firm and 
 defiant, creating a still more bitter antagonism between the religious 
 faith of the nation and its political and social progress. The longer 
 the Italians pondered over this problem the more inextricable it 
 became; but they , resolved to persevere in their efforts, because to 
 abandon their purpose would be the giving up of a grand oppor- 
 tunity and welcoming national ruin. ''Behind us," once exclaimed 
 the minister La Marmora, "is the abyss." They could not retreat 
 without throwing away all that they had already achieved. Hence 
 they must advance, and look to one of the three parties, then in the 
 field, to meet the emergencies of the hour by establishing order and 
 consolidating their liberties. 
 
 Previous to i860 the Italians were entirely occupied in discuss- 
 ing the political question, and desired only the statuto. When this 
 was granted, a speedy adjustment of their difficulties followed, and 
 the most sanguine among them were surprised at the glorious vic- 
 tory so suddenly won. But they discovered soon after that their 
 liberties were still incomplete, and that their country was a house 
 divided against itself. They wondered why the fires of revolution 
 smoldered beneath them, and why the sword of war was yet sus- 
 pended over their heads. At length, the truth flashed upon their 
 minds that a mightier obstacle than the political question obstructed 
 their path. They almost unanimously came to the conclusion that 
 the papal Church was the great hinderance. Although artfully 
 disguising its true character under a spiritual aspect, nevertheless 
 it made its power effectually felt. The Italians then naturally wished 
 to know why there should be antagonism between religion and pro- 
 gress, and whether this hostility was attributable to the inherent 
 nature of religion, or was simply the outgrowth of a vicious ecclesias- 
 tical system. 
 
 The newspapers and other publications of that period reveal the 
 actual state of public sentiment regarding the various expedients 
 which had been proposed for the solution of Italy's grand problem — 
 
720 ^ ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the removal of this antagonism, and the reconciliation of the national 
 Church with civilization. In the months of June and July, 1864, 
 La Perseveranza of Milan contained able discussions of this great 
 question. The writer first reviewed the position of the party who 
 have for their motto, "A free Church in a free state." He asked 
 whether the state could consistently permit the Church to define the 
 limits of her own powers. If so, then it must abandon its functions, 
 and return to the dark ages. The state, he argued, must itself define 
 its limits. It finds that it has certain interests and rights in matters 
 not exclusively secular, as Church property, religious corporations, 
 the power of bishops, and the parochial clergy, universities and 
 schools, baptismal registers, marriages, and burials. These rights, 
 he asserted, belong to the state, and it should, by its own laws, 
 maintain them, and even recover them by force, if they happen to 
 be taken from it. The state can only be called free as regards the 
 Church when all these rights have been restored to it. But the 
 Church denies the power of the state to abolish the religious orders, 
 to appropriate ecclesiastical domains, to enact civil marriage, to 
 frame a national system of education, and to do other things, which, 
 at that time, this writer declared, it was actually doing. The state 
 understood liberty to mean one thing and the Church construed 
 it to mean another. How then, he asked, can we determine which 
 of the two liberties are referred to in the motto, "A free Church in 
 a free state?" The two are contrary, because if the state is free 
 the Church is bound, and vice versa. In this article, entitled, La 
 Questioiie Religiose in Italia^ the author, Aristide Gabelli, touched 
 the whole difficulty of the question, and, in closing his argument 
 expressed the opinion that the formula, '*A free Church in a free 
 state," would remain a dead letter unless the Church herself should 
 undergo an essential change. 
 
 In his eloquent bjvchure, La Chiesa Romana e V Italia, or "The 
 Roman Church and Italy," F. De Boni, presented similar views. 
 "Incredible to be told," said he, "we sport with the honor, the 
 life, the future of our country under the formula, * A free Church 
 in a free state.' It is repeated on every occasion, but each takes 
 it in his own sense. . . '. It is vaunted as a maxim in which 
 lies wrapped up in the salvation of the country. This is not 
 quite so evident. One of the two must contain the other, or 
 there must be an absolute separation between them. The Church 
 must conquer the state, or the state must make the Church com- 
 pletely subordinate, or state and Church must live in a complete 
 
FILIPPO PERFETTPS VIEWS. 72 1 
 
 divorce, and flow in channels as far apart as those of two rivers, 
 which empty themselves into different oceans." After enlarging on 
 the dogmas, and the methods she adopts to compel belief of these, 
 he declared that the Roman Catholic Church had brought miseries on 
 Italy, "enough to make the stones cry out," and closed by saying, 
 "After all this, it is necessary to repeat, that the maxim, * A free 
 Church in a free state,' is for Italy an impossibility. The phrase is 
 simply equivalent to this other, ' A Church free to attack the free 
 state;'" 
 
 The second party occupied an intermediate position, advocating 
 a separation between Church and state, and a scheme of ecclesias- 
 tical reform which was truly a limited one. They were regarded 
 as innovators by the Church, and despised by the laity, who con- 
 sidered them behind the age. While proposing to abate a few of 
 the grosser scandals of the papacy, they did not seek to remove the 
 cause of these evils. At one time they would denounce the tem- 
 poral power of the pope, and create the impression that they were 
 with the evangelicals; at another, they would defend the spiritual 
 papacy, and talk like Ultramontanes. Their position was neither 
 consistent nor logical, because if the Church be infallible, as they 
 maintained, then they advanced too far ; but, if she be not infallible, 
 which they practically conceded when they said that she had become 
 tyrannical in government and corrupt in practice, then they did not 
 proceed far enough. The idea prevailed in England and America 
 that a large party among the priests, favorable to enlightened scrip- 
 tural reform, existed in Italy at that time ; but such was not the case. 
 Their views were misunderstood, and they received credit for more 
 liberal sentiments than they really entertained. 
 
 Filippo Perfetti, formerly secretary of Cardinal Marini, librarian 
 of the University of Rome, and, in 1864, professor of Italian litera- 
 ture in the University of Perugia, was a prominent representative of 
 this class. He was considered one of the most advanced of the 
 ecclesiastical reformers of Italy, and, better still, a true disciple of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. "Papal Rome," he declared in his Delle 
 Nuovi Condizioni del Papato, or "New Conditions of the Papacy," 
 "is a more abnormal fact, and, by consequence, a more impious 
 fact than Islam." Again he said, "The throne of the pope Avill 
 fall to-day or to-morr6w ; the sooner the better, the better for the 
 good of Italy and the character of the papacy." "The people," 
 he continued, "have not been able to see what a jewel the Gospel 
 is, because it was set in a metal too base, the same of which their 
 
722 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 chains were made." In a more recent work, // Clero e la Societa, 
 ossia della Re forma della CJiiesa, or "The Clergy and Society," he 
 asserted that the priests had ceased to make converts, and thus 
 related his own experience: "I have asked of all those Christians to 
 whom that which is seen and felt was but a shadow — those Chris- 
 tians, who felt in the life that decays, the inner life that endures — the 
 way by which they were brought to Jesus Christ and to peace. 
 Some have indicated to me the Bible, some have spoken to me of 
 the traditions contained in the writings of the Fathers, some have 
 pointed me to the heaven above, some have answered like the 
 mystic in his simplicity. Via cnicis, via hicis, but hardly one has 
 pointed me to the priest." 
 
 It would seem that a man like Perfetti must be antagonistic to 
 the pope, repudiating forever the authority of Peter's chair, and 
 laboring heart and hand to erect in his native Italy a free and inde- 
 pendent Church, having no head but Christ, and recognizing no 
 infallible standard but the Bible. Strange as it may appear, neither 
 this leader nor any of his followers contributed their influence toward 
 the erection of this glorious temple, but simply endeavored to remove 
 one or two clumsy buttresses from the old edifice, though desiring to 
 preserve the edifice itself. Perfetti and his party bowed humbly be- 
 fore the spiritual throne of the pontiff. *'The pbpe," says Perfetti, 
 in the work already referred to, "is not a subject of the king of 
 Italy, or of any king or emperor. The pope has an office which has 
 been committed to him by God, and which is not derived from man." 
 "The pope is free and independent, not by the laws of the state, or 
 in virtue of any convention, but by recognition of his own divine 
 right." After making these statements he declared that "no political 
 government can circumscribe or intervene in the action of the pope, 
 or control his relations with the Catholic world." He next proceeded 
 to weigh Protestantism and Catholicism in his balance, and decided 
 that the latter was immensely superior to the former. "On that 
 account," he asserted — that is, on account of its subjectivity — 
 "Protestantism is inferior, immeasurably inferior, to Catholicism. 
 Protestantism can not absorb Catholicism because it is not organic ; 
 Catholicism, being divinely organic, is able to absorb Protestantism, 
 which in its essence is too spiritual and mystical. Catholicism is the 
 man and the Church — the man in the Church and the Church in the 
 man ; that is to say, the man in union to Christ and in communion 
 with the saints, and Christ manifested in him." 
 
 Such were the views of these Neo-Catholics, who endeavored to 
 
THE PAOLOTTI. - 723 
 
 occupy a middle-ground on the question at issue between the Church 
 and the state. The result was that they were exposed to a cross- 
 fire — the Church which they had abandoned attacking them, and the 
 state but feebly defending them. They did not have that clearness 
 of view, that comprehensiveness of breadth, and that energy and 
 boldness of action which were essential to awaken the sympathy 
 and command the confidence of the nation. The more enlightened 
 Italians could not, therefore, depend upon this party to solve their 
 problem, not knowing whether the new Catholicism would be less 
 antagonistic to civilization than the old. De Boni, in his work, ''The 
 Inquisition, or the Calabrian Waldenses," no doubt expressed the 
 popular feeling when he said: **We must adapt our arms to the 
 character and strength of the enemy. The Church has confiscated 
 Italy in the name of God, chaining our country to her own altars ; 
 and we shall not be able to break either the country's chains or our 
 own without overturning those altars, which are based on the cupid- 
 ity of a caste and the ignorance of the people. . . . The Church 
 of Rome is immortal rebellion, pitching her tent, in God's name, in 
 Italy; and it is impossible to escape the dilemma: Italy, or the 
 Church must perish." 
 
 While these three parties favored a reformation, more or less, in 
 the Roman Catholic Church, there was another in Italy which resisted 
 all progress. The Paolotti, or the Jesuits, made their presence 
 every-where felt, though the sound of their footsteps was not heard. 
 The word ''Jesuit" had filled Italy and the rest of Europe with 
 terror because it represented a malignant power, surrounded with 
 impenetrable darkness, "hearing with its ear," says Dr. Wylie, "all 
 that was said, and seeing with its eye all that was done." As an 
 army which meditated a night attack would not light signal-fires and 
 beat drums, so the Jesuits, in order to accomplish certain results in 
 Italy, discarded their odious name, and adopted one not so suggestive 
 of their dark record. Hence they desired to be known as Paolotti — 
 in other words, the members of the order of St. Vincent de Paul. 
 "The order of Jesus and the order of St. Vincent de Paul," said a 
 Turinese journal in 1864, "have come out of two separate eggs, but 
 one mother has sat on both — the Roman curia." "In every Pao- 
 lotto," observed another, "we behold a Jesuit. The wolf has lost 
 his skin; he has not lost his teeth or dropped his visor." 
 
 Although differing in name, the Jesuits and the Paolotti were 
 essentially the same in their moral principles and poHtical aims. The 
 maxim of both was that "the end justifies the means," — a code not 
 
 47 
 
724 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 only concise, but also convenient, raising no troublesome questions 
 about the violation of oaths, and finding no sins in acts of perjury or 
 deeds of blood. According to their creed the Church was the one 
 society for which all others existed, and to promote her welfare was 
 ever the paramount consideration. Hence, whatever means were 
 employed for this purpose were sanctified, crimes even becoming 
 virtues, and the worst classes of men being transformed into public 
 benefactors. Such were the ethics of the Jesuits, and the newspapers 
 of Turin and Florence in 1864 asserted that such were the ethics of 
 the Paolotti. They possessed the same spirit of intolerance, and 
 seized every opportunity to rectify whatever they regarded as errone- 
 ous in the opinions or institutions of the age. Their growth in Italy 
 was remarkably rapid. They sprang up, we might say, in a night, 
 like the prophet's gourd, and their portentous shadow soon darkened 
 the whole Peninsula from the snows of the Alps to the fires of -^tna. 
 Just as the Jesuits were called into existence by the Reformation, so 
 the awakening in Italy brought the Paolotti upon the scene. Their 
 work was to extinguish every spark of mental freedom and spiritual 
 light that shone in Italy, and to lead the nation, once more blindfold 
 and fettered, to the foot of the pope's throne and the shrine of the 
 Madonna. To accomplish their purpose, they first resolved to over- 
 throw the statuto, and then restore the Bourbon. 
 
 It seems almost marvelous that such a vast confederation should 
 come into existence in so short a time. According to reliable ac- 
 counts, the numerous membership and perfect organization of the 
 Paolotti were the creation of a few short years. After all, it was 
 not very difficult to extemporize such a society when the materials 
 for its construction were so plenty in Italy. The diplomacy of 
 Cavour and the sword of Garibaldi had made a united kingdom; but 
 they could not create a united sentiment in the Peninsula. The old 
 parties, with all their ignorance and prejudices, remained, and could 
 not be banished from the country as easily as the dynasties. There 
 were, first of all, the old and well-known parties of the Codini and 
 Sanfedisti, composed of the prominent Roman Catholic families, who 
 were conservative from wealth, and still more from tradition and 
 aristocratic connection. They were still warm friends of the fallen 
 dynasties, which misfortune had rendered more sacred than ever to 
 them. Then there were the employes of the former governments, 
 many of whom, while living upon the bounty of the present, reserved 
 their best wishes, and when an opportunity occurred their best efforts, 
 for the old. The next class consisted of the pensioners of the priest- 
 
THE WORK OF THE PAOLOTTL 725 
 
 hood, who were numerous, as might be expected from the decay of 
 agriculture and the ruin of trade. Finally, there were the fanatics, 
 who were strong in number and revolutionary in spirit. When the 
 new constitution was suddenly launched upon the political sea com- 
 posed of so many diverse elements, it produced great commotion, 
 shocking prejudices, and producing a conflict of interests. In this 
 state of society, when old ties were being dissevered, and enemies, 
 secret and open, were appearing on every side, faction was strong, 
 and, like the fabled warrior, had only to stamp v/ith its foot, and an 
 army rose from the ground. 
 
 Each club of the Paolotti was under the direction of a president 
 and a secretary. The communal clubs reported to the provincial 
 centers, and the latter reported to Rome, where the head of these 
 confederated societies resided and directed all. They professed to do 
 religious work exclusively, bestowing alms on the poor, and admin- 
 istering consolation to the sick. To teach the young the wholesome 
 lessons of the Dottrina Christiana, and to comfort the dying with the 
 last rites of the Church, were special duties which they seldom neg- 
 lected. Belonging to every rank of life from the noble to the beggar, 
 practicing every trade and profession, advocating every shade of pol- 
 itics, and wearing every disguise, they understood how to open every 
 closed door and to enter the most secret places. They even insinu- 
 ated themselves into the bureaus of government, and while eating the 
 bread of the state were plotting for its overthrow. The workshops 
 and working-men's clubs swarmed with them ; but their greatest de- 
 sire was to be tutors and school-masters, so that they could control 
 the rising generation. 
 
 "In Leghorn," says // Temporale oi th^ 12th of July, 1864, "this 
 sect has insinuated itself in great numbers into every place. We do 
 not speak of the offices of government, where they may be seen 
 lounging in their easy-chairs, reading the Annoitia and the Campanile ; 
 but in every establishment of public instruction, in every orphanage, 
 in every institution of charity, and even in the associations of the 
 operatives, in the municipal offices, and in the communal council 
 itself, they have their agents, acting upon the immoral maxim that 
 *the end justifies the means,' supporting every wickedness, and by 
 every base means attempting to enlist members and acquire power." 
 In the same paper, of the 12th of May, 1864, we find a speech de- 
 livered by Signor SIccoli in parliament a few days previous. **This 
 society of St. Vincent de Paul," said he, "enjoys the sympathy of 
 the rich families, who abundantly aid them with money. In Tuscany 
 
726 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 the infant -asylums are under their charge. They make it their 
 business to train servants, merchants, school-masters ; and hardly has 
 a vacancy taken place before the society has found a suitable mem- 
 ber of its own to fill it. By these means, a Paolotto was made pres- 
 ident of the bank of Tuscany; a Paolotto was made secretary of the 
 chamber of commerce at Florence ; a Paolotto was named for em- 
 ployment in the secretaryship of the public accounts. We have Pa- 
 olotti," said Signer Siccoli, in conclusion, "in this Chamber." 
 
 In its issue of the 4th of September, 1864, the Avissatore Alessan- 
 drino said: "The Paolotto is found in the court, in the ministry, in 
 the parliament; the Paolotto is found in the prefecture, on the tribu- 
 nals, in the courts of appeal, in the dogga, in the barracks, in the 
 navy, in the schools, in the lyceums, in the administration of the sav- 
 ings'-bank, the lottery, and the hospitals. The Paolotto is found in 
 the democratic club, in the operative association ; in short, he is 
 every-where. This race of chameleon Jesuits conspire in secret, and 
 sow by the deadly talk of their mouths the seeds of a clerical and 
 Bourbonic reaction. Do you demand a proof? Wherever reaction 
 has taken place in Italy, there first has come the Paolotto. This 
 powerful body, with its numerous affiliated branches, is spread not 
 only over all Italy but over all Europe." 
 
 "This Avolf in sheep's clothing," said Domenico Bomba di Roma, 
 "is committing great ravages on the coast of Liguria. The order 
 of St. Vincent de Paul has two associations in Genoa, whose opera- 
 tions ramify through affiliated clubs over the whole seaboard on both 
 sides of the city. The traveler who visits the Riviera on the working 
 days is struck with admiration at the rising trade and teeming popula- 
 tions of the numerous towns which line the shore ; but let him revisit 
 these places on a festa, and he will be still more struck with dismay at 
 the superstition of the people, as gross as any he may have witnessed in 
 the far south among the lazzaroni on the shores of the bay of Naples. 
 And yet the population of the Riviera have been now twelve years 
 under a free constitution." The writer ascribed the low state of the 
 people in moral enlightenment to the influence of the Paolotti, and 
 complained that while the government fettered other societies, it gave 
 unrestricted liberty of action to an "association which tramples on 
 every law, abuses every privilege of human intercourse, whether of 
 the family or of friendship, and forms one of the mightiest existing 
 obstacles to the stability and independence of the kingdom of Italy." 
 
 It appears, therefore, that there was a sacerdotal army in Italy as 
 well as a royal one, and perhaps the former was larger than the 
 
THE BIBLE IN NORTHERN ITALY. 727 
 
 latter, but its muster-roll was not within reach of the public, and 
 consequently its numbers could only be approximated! The soldiers 
 were admirably drilled, and were ready for the great conflict which 
 seemed to be rapidly approaching. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 PROTESTANT MISSIONS ADVANCING. 
 
 WHILE the first and second parties described in a previous 
 chapter were striving to secure their favorite reforms, and the 
 Paolotti were resisting both, the third or evangelical party endeav- 
 ored to preach the doctrines of a pure Christianity, believing that 
 God's truth, diffused among the masses, Avould finally regenerate 
 Italy, politically and religiously. This important work was greatly 
 accelerated during the year 1864, through the agency of the Wal- 
 denses, aided by the * 'American and Foreign Christian Union." The 
 latter society, in the beginning of 1864, sent Rev. W. Clark to 
 Northern Italy to superintend its missions there. Its organ, the 
 Christian World, in referring to his departure for that field, expressed 
 itself hopefully concerning the new center of missionary effort at 
 Milan. Although Northern Italy was more enlightened and more 
 forward in asserting political freedom than the central or southern 
 part, yet she did not accept the Bible and the evangelist as cordially 
 as might have been expected. The people, both high and low, de- 
 sired liberty but, influenced by Gioberti's teaching, they strangely 
 hoped for deliverance at the hands of the pope. The Upper Cham- 
 ber at Turin had been ruled by a bigoted aristocracy, who clung to 
 the idea of a reconciliation between Pius IX and King Victor Em- 
 manuel. Both in Piedmont and Lombardy, all classes, except the 
 Waldensians, were reluctant to cast off the pope and take the Bible, 
 which is the acknowledged antagonist of the papacy. Even in Central 
 Italy the Bible had a more extensive circulation than in Piedmont. 
 
 But by the operation of certain potent influences a great change 
 had come over Northern Italy, which rendered it a promising field 
 for Protestant effort. The whole of that fertile region, extending 
 
728 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 from the bay of Genoa to the confines of the Venetian territory, in- 
 chiding, perhaps, nearly half the great basin of the Po and the 
 Adige, and likewise the long valley of Aosta, stretched out their 
 hands for the Bible. Prayer-meetings multiplied, and were fully 
 attended, and even preachers were called for with increasing earnest- 
 ness. This revolution in public sentiment was in part caused by the 
 pope's persistent ''non possumus'' reply to every proposal favorable 
 to liberty. This reply — *'it is impossible" — to all petitions for the 
 inalienable rights of humanity, wearied and digusted those who 
 meant to hold both liberty and papacy, and showed them that the 
 union of the two was indeed ^'impossibles Then they commenced 
 to study the Bible, and, abandoning the pope, accepted the senti- 
 ments, practices, and men sanctioned by God's Word. This auspi- 
 cious indication was further noticed by the Christian World, which 
 said: "Surely the time of commencing our new enterprise is most 
 opportune. May we not hope that Mr. Clark, establishing his female 
 seminary, preaching himself in Italian, and organizing a corps of 
 native colporteurs and evangelists, will be the instrument in God's 
 hand of great usefulness, not only to Northern Italy, but also to por- 
 tions of Austria, now also open to the truth of God ? Will not our 
 readers accompany this new undertaking with special supplications to 
 God for his richest blessings upon it?" 
 
 Soon after his arrival at Milan Mr. Clark reported that he was 
 greatly encouraged with the prospect of doing good. He was in- 
 formed by a Bible-woman that she was kindly received in all parts 
 of the city by the people, who gladly Hstened to the reading of the 
 Word. In his letter to Dr. Campbell, secretary of the ** American 
 and Foreign Christian Union," he said: ** Would that I could make 
 known to you and your committee fully my own view of the impor- 
 tance of aiding just now the work of evangelization in this great cen- 
 tral city of Italy. Day by day I am impressed more and more with 
 the conviction that now the opportunity is afforded if Christians 
 abroad desire to help onward the work of religious reform in this 
 land. Providence has thrown the door wide open, the Church may 
 now apply her power to effect great results. As this city, with its 
 population of two hundred and thirty thousand, is one of the prin- 
 cipal centers of Italian freedom, and the strongest bulwark of this 
 land against Austrian despotism, so it has become the most impor- 
 tant center of evangelization. In no other city in Italy is there so 
 large a number who listen to the preaching of the Gospel on the 
 Sabbath, and in no other city has evangelical labor been so abun- 
 
REV. MR. CLARK S LETTER. 729 
 
 dantly blessed. Five places, in different parts of the city, have 
 already been opened for public worship, and the- sixth is greatly 
 needed. Most of these are crowded with eager and attentive lis- 
 teners to the truth, and often many go away for want of room. 
 These places of meeting are obtained with great difficulty, owing to 
 the opposition of the priests, and when obtained it is necessary to 
 convert four or five rooms into one by partially removing the inter- 
 vening walls. In consequence of this they are, after all, quite incon- 
 venient, many not being able to see the speaker, or understand well 
 his words. On account of these places being so humble and plain, 
 many of the higher classes are deterred from coming ; yet the preach- 
 ing of the Word is attended with great power, and its influence 
 widely felt through the city. 
 
 *'The preachers are not men distinguished for learning, or power 
 of eloquence, but they are men who have felt the power of the truth 
 in their hearts, and hence can preach to the hearts of others. But 
 on account of the increasing eagerness on the part of the people of 
 this city to hear the truth, the work of these preachers has become 
 exceedingly onerous. Three or four times on the Sabbath, and 
 nearly every evening during the week they are required to give in- 
 struction to the people. A work so arduous they can not long per- 
 form, and already one of the most popular native preachers is begin- 
 ning seriously to fail in health. The instrumentality here in the 
 work of evangelization is wholly inadequate to the work to be per- 
 formed. If multiplied tenfold it would hardly be sufficient to meet 
 the demand. But feeble as it is, we are continually astonished at the 
 results which follow. The light is spreading from this center into all 
 the densely populated region around. The cities and towns on the 
 east and west, on the north and south, are all receiving the truth, 
 and asking for evangelical teachers. Every-where the preacher finds 
 those who gladly listen to his words. If there were men to go forth 
 in great numbers preaching Christ it would seem all Italy might easily 
 be reformed and led to embrace the religion of the Gospel. And 
 here is the great want: Christians abroad must help create here in 
 Italy a native agency ; raise up and qualify a host of young men and 
 women, who will become the evangelizers of the country. Nothing 
 to my mind is more evident than the fact that the duty of the Chris- 
 tian Church in America and England lies here; that is, in applying 
 her power, aid, sympathy, and prayers to accomplish this work. It 
 can be done. The material is here that can be worked into an 
 agency that will overthrow superstition and set up the kingdom of 
 
730 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Christ through the whole extent of this beautiful land. May the 
 Church awake to her mission in Italy and nobly perform it." 
 
 In the early part of 1864 Rev. Theodore Meyer, a Protestant 
 minister, residing at Ancona, had a novel and interesting experience 
 in a monastery. The superior of one of these institutions had ex- 
 pressed to a friend of Mr. Meyer his desire to see an evangelical 
 preacher. Knowing that Mr. Meyer was about to visit the southern 
 part of Italy, this friend informed the superior when the evangelist 
 would reach the depot nearest the monastery. The monk was there 
 with a donkey to convey the visitor to the building, which was 
 two hours distant among the mountains. He entreated Mr. Meyer 
 to go with him, declaring that for years he had prayed the Lord to 
 bring him in connection Avith a Gospel minister. The evangelist 
 consented, and spent two days there, preaching the first evening 
 from a window to some members of the monastery, and a company of 
 laymen from the neigborhood, who hearing of his arrival had come 
 to serenade him with music. His text was John viii, 32, "If the 
 Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." The 
 sentiment of this text, illustrated and enforced, struck the right 
 chord. The people cried, "Long Hve the Gospel! " and the superior 
 clasped the preacher in his arms, while tears of joy streamed down 
 his cheeks. 
 
 To the regret of Mr. Meyer, the people went to the house of the 
 principal priest in the district, and cried not only, "Long live the Gos- 
 pel!" but added, "Down with the pope — down with superstition!" 
 On account of this demonstration, the evangehst declined a serenade 
 which they wished to give the second night. During his visit he 
 was almost constantly engaged in conversation with those who desired 
 to know more about the Gospel of Christ, and especially with the 
 superior, who dated his conversion from that time. The latter, after 
 the arrival of Mr. Meyer at his home, addressed him the following 
 letter. 
 
 " Dearest Brother in Jesus Christ — many, many thanks to you that 
 you have been so kind to honor this monastery with your presence, 
 and have thus become as it were, the first apostle into these regions. 
 Not many days will elapse, and the people of Abruzzi, freed from their 
 superstitions, will publicly confess Jesus in the. light of the Gospel; 
 and then your name will be blessed by the people, and your memory 
 dear to them like that of Paul. ... I hate and abominate the 
 abject falshoods of the Church of Rome, which are an insult to human 
 reason and an offense to God. I have always shuddered in my 
 
THE SUPERIORS LETTER. 73 1 
 
 heart on account of these impostures; I have always made conscious 
 of them my students, and spoke of them to all those persons of 
 education with whom I came into contact. I have done so amidst 
 unspeakable persecutions^ But now I have got faith publicly to 
 confess Jesus and his infallible doctrine, and neither hunger, nor 
 nakedness, nor thirst, nor sword, nor life, nor death shall separate 
 me from the evangelical Church, in which is Jesus our only Savior. 
 What do I care about the persecutions which the Roman priests are 
 preparing and raising against me? They have already conspired 
 against me, and think of burning me alive, solely because I have 
 received you, who are a minister of our Jesus, who is humble, and 
 meek, and lowly in heart. Not wishing to grieve you, I will not 
 speak of the terrible vexations which I have to suffer. 
 
 "Besides other cruelties, they have now ordered me to leave the 
 monastery. Yes, I shall leave it, and shall walk, begging from 
 door to door, till our gracious Lord brings me into your arms, being 
 sure that the same Lord who made you the means of my conversion 
 will also indicate to you some way in which I may gain a livelihood. 
 I see very well that I have lost my social position and all the advan- 
 tages flowing from it. But what matters it? I have instead found 
 Christ and his precious faith, which are much better than all the 
 treasures of the world. Without regret, yea, full of spiritual joy, I 
 shall leave the monastery, not taking any thing with me but the pov- 
 erty of the cross. The providence which clothes the lilies and pro- 
 vides food for the birds will take care of me also ! Poor and lonely, 
 but full of faith and with Jesus in my heart, I shall come to you. The 
 Lord, who has used you as the instrument for my conversion to the 
 holy law of the Gospel, will also through you open up to me some 
 way for gaining a livelihood. Meanwhile I close, thanking the Lord 
 Jesus Christ for the grace he has shown to me in revealing himself 
 to me in his Gospel, and enabling me to confess him publicly. I 
 am sure that by my example many will be induced to join the evan- 
 gelical Church. There are here many seeds promising abundant 
 fruit. ... I shall stay here a few days more and then I shall 
 at once come to you. You need not write to me, as your letters will 
 not find me. All your brethren here greet you especially." 
 
 Rev. E. E. Hall, of Florence, in a letter written on the 15th of 
 January, 1864, referred to the death of Mr. T. Meek, a young man, 
 who attended lectures at the Theological Seminary in that city, and 
 who, though not permitted to preach the Gospel himself, exerted a 
 great influence on one who expected soon to enter the field as a 
 
732 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 minister of Christ. He recognized Mr. Meek as instrumental in 
 awakening that love of truth in his heart which is so necessary in 
 one called to preach the Gospel. Hence it could be said of the 
 young man, that being dead he yet speaketh. 
 
 Mr. Hall received encouraging accounts from the various laborers 
 employed by the "American and Foreign Christian Union," stating 
 that God's blessing attended the efforts made to give the light and 
 knowledge of salvation to those who sit in darkness and in the 
 region and shadow of death. The refusal of a monk publicly to 
 discuss some religious questions with one of the colporteurs directed 
 the attention of many persons to the Bible, and almost every day 
 some one requested instruction; Many expressed surprise that a 
 simple colporteur and Bible reader should have such a knowledge of 
 the Word of God as to be prepared for a discussion with a monk, 
 who was learned in Roman theology. The humble servant of Christ 
 informed them that the wisdom of God — not human wisdom — con- 
 quers error, and that the Lord can use weak instrumentalities to 
 beat down the strongholds of Satan. 
 
 Another colporteur had an interesting conversation with a Roman 
 Catholic priest, who was convinced of the errors of the Church of 
 Rome and of the infallible truths of the Gospel, but, while he hoped 
 that the people of Italy would soon awake to the necessity of a 
 reformation, he hesitated, perhaps on account of age and poverty, 
 openly to embrace the Protestant cause. In a certain family the 
 husband obeyed the teachings of the priests, but the wife was 
 inclined to be a Protestant. This disagreement threatened to pro- 
 duce a final separation, but the husband, having been induced to 
 attend the meetings of the colporteur, was soon converted, and 
 immediately all discord disappeared from his household, in which the 
 peace of the Lord subsequently reigned. The minister at Como 
 reported that the meetings there were well attended, and that the 
 audience was generally composed of workmen, who in the stations of 
 evangelization are the first to be reached by the truth. In their hum- 
 ble, and often difficult, position they deeply feel the need of spiritual 
 consolations, which the Gospel alone can give. Hence at Como they 
 opened their hearts to the Word which imparts strength for the trials 
 of life. Meetings were held regularly on Sunday, Monday, Tues- 
 day, and Wednesday evenings. On Thursday the evangelist visited 
 Argagno, a little village some hours from Como, where about twenty 
 Protestants assembled for worship, some from neighboring places 
 often uniting with them. Returning to Como, the evangelist held 
 
THE SCHOOL A T MHAN. 733 
 
 a meeting on Friday evening, and on Saturday evening he gave a 
 familiar exposition of the Bible, interspersed with sacred music, to a 
 class of thirty or forty young people. This programme indicates 
 how earnestly the work of evangelization was prosecuted in Italy at 
 that time. 
 
 Mr. Clark, writing on the ist of February, refers to the girls' 
 school in Milan, which was connected with the *'Free Italian Church," 
 and had been under the care of Mrs. De Sanctis, of Genoa. This lady 
 addressed a letter to Mr. Clark, stating that the school depended en- 
 tirely upon voluntary contributions, and that, in view of the great 
 inconvenience which attended this irregular mode of support, she was 
 anxious to have it placed upon a more certain and permanent basis. 
 She earnestly requested Mr. Clark to make better provision for it, 
 and he urged the mission committee at New York to become respon- 
 sible for its support, inasmuch as the "American and Foreign Christian 
 Union" desired to commence the work of female education in North- 
 ern Italy. He declared that female Christian teachers were greatly 
 needed there, and that while the one then in charge was faithful and 
 efficient, yet an American lady of energy and piety would make the 
 school a real evangelizing agency by training the Italian females to 
 become teachers. Mr. Clark also stated that among the causes which 
 had operated against it were the want of constant superintendence, as 
 Mrs. De Sanctis resided in Genoa, its connection with the boys' school, 
 and its unfavorable location ; but he expressed the belief that with 
 liberal aid and good supervision it could be made largei": and of a 
 higher grade. He estimated the cost for the first year, to secure the 
 necessary changes, pay the teacher, rent the room, and provide for 
 contingencies, at the small sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 In urging the committee to accept the school, Mr. Clark prom- 
 ised to obtain aid from various individuals in Milan, and mentioned 
 the important consideration that such a course would give the society 
 a great advantage in that city. The field was comparatively unoccu- 
 pied, but would not remain thus very long, because its promising 
 character would attract other agencies, and these might not har- 
 monize with those already at work. He deprecated the introduction 
 of new sectarian movements, which would produce jealousies and di- 
 visions, but advocated *'a working agency energetically sustained by 
 Christians abroad." While conceding that important assistance had 
 been rendered by various societies and individual Christians, yet he 
 asserted that no one society or association had taken hold of the 
 work in Italy as vigorously as the case demanded. After stating that 
 
734 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 no more inviting field than Lombardy could be offered to the Chris- 
 tians of America through the "American and Foreign Christian 
 Union," Mr. Clark said: **If the Christians in America will now- 
 come forward to aid the Waldensian and Free Evangelical agencies, 
 now so well at work, a greater blessing than can be told will be con- 
 ferred upon this land. . . . These two agencies are sufficient in 
 number, and any new foreign sectarian instrumentahty introduced 
 would be most unfortunate. Then let all the sympathy and aid pos- 
 sible be given to these two, and it is just now they greatly need all 
 that can be given. The work of evangelization they have before 
 them is immense, and they loudly call for help." 
 
 In March, 1864, a favorable report was received from Sienna. 
 After months of prudent preliminary labor, a place of reHgious wor- 
 ship had been recently opened in that city under the direction of 
 Rev. W. G. Moorehead, who had charge of that field. Two faithful 
 men, Signor De del Bono, an evangelist, and his companion, a col- 
 porteur, for more than two months visited the people to become 
 acquainted with them, and to win their confidence. This personal 
 effort proved a most important preparation for the more public 
 preaching of the Gospel. At length, after many discouragements, a 
 suitable room for public services was secured, and those who, by 
 means of private conversations had become interested in the Gospel, 
 were ready for a more open manifestation of their interest, and at 
 once connected themselves with the assemblies for religious worship. 
 From the beginning the place of meeting was filled to its utmost ca- 
 pacity, and if a room capable of holding a thousand persons could 
 have been obtained it would undoubtedly have been filled. While 
 the opening of evangelical meetings attracts a variety of characters, 
 many of whom cease to attend when their curiosity has been satisfied, 
 yet the interest at Sienna continued to increase. The work was com- 
 menced with prayer, and a weekly prayer-meeting was maintained 
 with special reference to the success of the Gospel in that city. 
 
 Sienna is somewhat celebrated for its university and high-schools. 
 Its inhabitants, being generally intelligent and more thoroughly re- 
 ligious than those in other parts of Tuscany, were more likely to 
 remain steadfast in the faith of the Gospel after embracing it. The 
 priests and some others were deeply excited on account of the evan- 
 gelical services. Some threatening messages were, sent to those in 
 charge, but they did not anticipate any serious interference, because 
 the laws protected them. The government allowed a large degree 
 of reHgious liberty ; so that the bloody violence of other ages and the 
 
CAS ALE AND LIVORNO. 735 
 
 prisons of the late grand duke were no more to be feared. More 
 than three hundred and twenty years had passed away since Ochino 
 preached at Sienna, and became the instrument in the conversion of 
 many souls. Paleario, another eloquent preacher, and one of the 
 most eminent of the Italian reformers, proclaimed the doctrine of jus- 
 tification by faith in the same city with great success. Having pub- 
 lislied at Venice, A. D. 1543, his book on the "Benefits of the 
 Death of Christ," he was accused of heresy, and compelled to leave 
 Sienna. But these old methods of opposing the progress of the 
 Gospel were not tolerated by Victor Emmanuel, who maintained sub- 
 stantial freedom of thought and speech in Italy. As former efforts 
 to establish an evangelical service in Sienna had been unsuccessful, 
 the aspect of things in the Spring of 1864 was highly encouraging. 
 During four months the efficient and faithful colporteur sold a large 
 number of Bibles, Testaments, and religious books, though there had 
 been other colporteurs there more or less of the time for three years. 
 The evangelist at Casale informed Mr. Hall that he was still 
 laboring to revive the work which had been abandoned two years 
 previous. A small number had remained faithful, and continued to 
 meet for reading the Scriptures and mutual edification. By the 
 efforts of the evangelist the number was gradually increasing, and 
 there were indications that a prosperous and permanent mission could 
 be established in that city. The evangelist was encouraged by invi- 
 tations to preach the Gospel in two neighboring places. There were 
 some persons in Vercelli who had been reading the Bible, and de- 
 sired a Protestant minister to instruct them. At Livorno there was 
 a Christian brother, around whom ten or twelve persons had gathered 
 to receive the bread of life. The evangelist resolved to visit both 
 places every week, and also continue his work at Casale. In the 
 valley of Aosta meetings were held in four or five places, and the 
 regular laborer there preached to about sixty persons, besides super- 
 intending a school of twelve children. The field was a difficult one 
 to cultivate, but many professed to be greatly benefited by the serv- 
 ices. The report of religious progress in the island of Elba was 
 gratifying. The Church, consisting of three stations, had an increase 
 during the preceding year of forty-nine members and twenty catechu- 
 mens ; and the schools were attended by fifty-four children, who 
 also received instruction on Sabbath mornings. The minister per- 
 formed two marriages, baptized six infants, and attended two funeral 
 services. He reported that the temple at Rio, which was com- 
 menced in May, 1863, would soon be opened, and also that he had 
 
736 ITAL V 6-77? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 secured two cemeteries, one at Longone and the other at Rio. The 
 capacity and simplicity of the new place of worship at Portoferraio 
 were favorably mentioned, and the Christian benevolence of the con- 
 gregation highly commended. After subscribing more than twelve 
 hundred francs for their temple, the people contributed largely and 
 cheerfully to the expenses of worship, to the relief of the poor, and 
 to the expense of printing some tracts in defense of the truth. The 
 children also made an offering of their little savings, amounting to 
 thirteen francs, and desired it to be used by Mr. Revel at Florence 
 for the Sabbath-school paper and for Italian evangelization. 
 
 On the 30th of April Mr. Hall received some additional facts 
 from the island of Elba, indicating still more significantly the pros- 
 perous condition of the mission there. New faces were visible in the 
 new temple every Sabbath, and the meetings on Thursday evening 
 particularly were well attended, many women, under one pretext or 
 another, escaping from their houses and coming with their heads cov- 
 ered to hear the Word of God, and to sing his praises. In connec- 
 tion with this Church at Rio Marina there was a Sabbath-school of 
 thirty children and a day-school of thirty-four. After repeated appli- 
 cations to the authorities, and after renewed promises by them to 
 arrange a cemetery for the Protestants, the latter resolved to construct 
 it themselves, looking to the municipality for the small pecuniary aid 
 promised. The members of the Church and generous friends, for- 
 getting the sacrifices they had made for their house of worship, at 
 once subscribed more than three hundred francs for the cemetery. 
 The loth of April was an interesting day in the new church at Por- 
 toferraio. Six persons, four women and two men, were received as 
 members, and there were thirty communicants at the celebration of 
 the Lord's-supper. The place of worship was crowded with friends 
 who manifested a deep interest in the services. The school formerly 
 had twenty-two children, lost some through the intrigues of the 
 priests, but, having an excellent, zealous Christian teacher, it was 
 destined to prosper. At Campo, a new missionary locality, some 
 earnest friends of the truth had been found, and many religious books 
 distributed among the people. The inhabitants of Longone were 
 rejoicing in the establishment of an evangelical school among them, 
 and the civil authorities had also nearly completed a cemetery for the 
 non-Catholic population. 
 
 In the early part of April a petition was sent from Grosse to Mr. 
 Hall at Florence, asking for an evangelical pastor. It was signed by 
 fifty-two persons, among whom were many proprietors and men of 
 
GROSSETO, COMO, AOSTA. 'J2>7 
 
 influence, and one of the parish priests favored and approved the 
 movement. The petitioners declared that the preaching of the 
 Gospel by a Protestant minister would be a blessing to them and to 
 their community. In response to this call a laborer was sent, a 
 place of worship rented, and regular religious services established. 
 The people appeared to be well-disposed, and there were no indica- 
 tions of serious opposition or persecution. The inhabitants also ex- 
 pressed a desire to have a school organized there. Grosseto is near 
 the Mediterranean Sea, on the railroad between Leghorn and Civita 
 Vecchia, and had at that time a population of three or four thou- 
 sand. From Como good reports continued to be received. The 
 influence of the mission was felt in the neighboring villages. In spite 
 of many discouraging obstacles, the meetings in Como were attended 
 by from sixty to one hundred persons, and often the place of wor- 
 ship would not accommodate the audience. "We can only express 
 our gratitude," said the minister in charge, ''for the many reasons 
 we have for encouragement, both here and in the Valley of Intelvi, 
 where the two congregations of Argegno and San Fedele are increas- 
 ing, and developing an earnest Christian spirit. We count among 
 our friends in this valley, besides a number of employes of the gov- 
 ernment, the syndic of Dizzasio, who exerts a very good influence 
 in that region. I hope we may soon establish a congregation in this 
 village, and for this purpose I go there every week." Even from 
 the Valley of Aosta the intelligence was cheering. On the first Sab- 
 bath of April the members from different localities assembled to- 
 gether for the celebration of the Lord's-supper — about twenty at 
 Carema and thirty at Baia. A meeting held at Bourg by the evan- 
 gelist was attended by over twenty-five persons. 
 
738 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 EVANGELICAL WORK IN ITALY. 
 
 IN a letter of the 24th of January, 1865, Mr. Clark, of Milan, 
 reported that the people of Sondrio, in the Valtellina, desired 
 the appointment of an evangelist and the opening of a chapel in that 
 city. The Valtellina is one of the richest and most charming valleys 
 in Europe, situated at the foot of the Alps, in Northern Italy, and 
 leading from the Lake Como to the Tyrol. It almost unites the 
 products of Sicily with those of the North, combining the severe 
 beauties of the Alps with the mild sky of Italy. The snowy Bernina 
 separates it from the Swiss Engadina on the north, and in its varied 
 climate are found the chestnut, the almond, the fig, olive, and mul- 
 berry ; and the Valtellina grapes in ancient times were so sweet that 
 it is recorded that the Emperor Augustus had them brought to 
 Rome for his table. The people of this lovely valley, always noted 
 for their intelligence, at an early period manifested a remarkable in- 
 terest in the Gospel. Indeed, during the persecutions of the Italian 
 Protestants in the sixteenth century many from the central and the 
 southern parts of the Peninsula sought refuge in the Valtellina ; and 
 afterwards, A. D. 1620, scores of families — men, w^omen, and chil- 
 dren — Avere massacred for their attachment to a pure Christianity. 
 "Carlo Borromeo, the saint," said Mr. Clark, "who now lies a hid- 
 eous corpse in a crystal coffin in the vault of the beautiful cathedral 
 at Milan, was the chief cause of this butchery. Sondrio is the largest 
 city of this charming valley ; and here are found many families who 
 are continually entreating our colporteur to urge me to come to their 
 help, and they have waited so long their last message was: 'Are 
 we forgotten? are we abandoned? We have called so long, and no 
 help has come; we are almost discouraged.'" 
 
 After referring to this state of painful suspense in many parts of 
 Northern Italy, Mr. Clark declared that a great increase of effort and 
 expenditure was absolutely demanded to furnish evangelists and open 
 places of worship. He also expressed the opinion that the colpor- 
 teur must give place to a stronger and more permanent agency, and 
 
CATHEDRAL AT MILAN. 
 
740 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 that if twelve or fifteen thousand dollars could be expended In the 
 next twelve months untold blessings would be conferred upon Italy 
 for generations to come. An intelligent Italian professor said to 
 him : "If America and England would give Italy their religion, and 
 make her a living nation in Europe, it must be done and it can be 
 done Nov^; and if not done a dark and fearful conflict is before us. 
 All moral and religious elements in society are to be terribly shaken, 
 if not altogether swept away, by infidelity. We beseech you, give 
 Italy the Gospel immediately." Other intelligent and serious-minded 
 Italians stated that the people were being forced by the pope and his 
 encyclicals to despise and reject the papacy^ and that if a true spirit- 
 ual faith was not soon given them they would reject all religion. 
 
 The efforts of the colporteurs to circulate the Bible and other 
 religious books were generally successful, though in Lugano and 
 Belinzona, towns in Canton Tessin, severe opposition was encoun- 
 tered. At the time of the great annual fair, which continued for 
 many days, and always brought together a great crowd of people 
 from the country around, an evangelist and his brother, a colporteur, 
 placed their Bibles and tracts upon a table in the public square of 
 Lugano, in common with all other articles exposed for sale. S^o 
 many Bibles and religious books, however, were bought by the 
 people that the priests became enraged, and day after day besieged 
 the authorities, demanding that the sale of such pernicious books 
 should be stopped. At first their protests were in vain ; but finally, 
 by bribes and entreaties, they persuaded two members of the mu- 
 nicipality to send an order of prohibition. The evangelist and col- 
 porteur quietly removed their table, protesting, however, and appeal- 
 ing at once to the grand council of state, then in session. Two of 
 the principal lawyers of the city volunteered to present and, if nec- 
 essary, advocate their cause. The trial at once occurred, and resulted 
 in the censure of the two members of the municipality, who gave no 
 other reason for their prohibitory order than that the priests opposed 
 the sale of the books because they were injurious to their Church. 
 The evangelist said to the council that he was ever ready to yield to 
 the laws, but not to the priests. After an examination, which excited 
 great public interest, the governor of the council not only gave the 
 evangelist and colporteur liberty to sell during the fair, as before, 
 but pubhcly ordered the pohce to protect them. He also took 
 occasion to issue by his secretary a public order, causing it to be 
 published in the principal journal of the city, granting permission to 
 these Protestant laborers to sell their books freely in every part of 
 
THE MISSION IN CARRARA. 74I 
 
 the canton. The evangeHst was cordially welcomed in Lugano, even 
 by many families of influence, among which he did an excellent 
 work. Not having a hall for public services, he visited the people 
 in the city and in the region around, holding private meetings as 
 opportunity offered. 
 
 The colporteur had almost precisely the same experience in Be- 
 linzona as he had in Lugano. A table was hired from the cafe, and 
 placed in the public square of the town. The priests informed the 
 vice-mayor that Bibles were displayed on the table, and he immedi- 
 ately sent the police to prohibit their sale. The colporteur resisted, 
 declaring that he had the law on his side. A crowd assembled, and 
 soon became tumultuous, half being in his favor and ' half against 
 him. The vice-mayor also appeared, with three large, fat priests as 
 his body-guard, and was greatly enraged that his orders had not been 
 obeyed. The colporteur in the mean time, however, had appealed 
 to the mayor, whom he knew to be friendly, and the latter sent an 
 order not only permitting him to sell as long as he pleased, but also 
 that he should be protected in so doing. The vice-mayor, who was a 
 mere tool of the priests, was exceedingly angry, and at once began 
 to denounce the colporteur in vile and abusive language. While 
 thus doing he turned suddenly to leave, but, making a wrong step, 
 he fell with his face violently striking the pavement. His nose was 
 broken, and when he rose his face was covered with blood. Thus 
 rebuked, he and the priests left the field, humbled and vanquished. 
 
 On the 23d of January, 1865, Rev. W. G. Moorehead wrote that 
 his little Church at Carrara was in a flourishing condition, the meet- 
 ings being well attended, and composed of some Roman Catholics 
 and '* indifferents, " besides those who were interested in evangelical 
 religion. A small Sabbath-school had been organized three weeks 
 previous, and was held in a side room of the chapel. On the first 
 Sabbath nine children and two men were present ; on the second, 
 fifteen children and four men ; and on the third, nineteen children 
 and eight men. Mr. Moorehead had charge of the school, and his 
 wife, though she had been in Italy only six weeks, and had but a 
 limited knowledge of the language, assisted in the instruction of an 
 interesting class of poor, ragged, ignorant children, who could not 
 read. The scholars were annoyed by urchins of their own age, who, 
 no doubt sent by the priests for that special purpose, laughed and 
 hooted at them, often gathering around the door of the school- 
 room and shouting, "Protestant! scomunicati " (excommunicated 
 Protestants), etc. The Italians are exceedingly sensitive of the name 
 
742 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Protestant; and on this account do not call themselves by that name, 
 but always by the appellation of '' Evangelici." They have been 
 educated from infancy to regard the name Protestant as synonymous 
 with Satan. Hence some of the children keenly felt the taunts of 
 their bigoted companions, but did not leave. 
 
 Mr. Moorehead also held evangelical meetings at Torano, a small 
 village near Carrara ; and on Wednesday evenings and Sabbath after- 
 noons the room was crowded with a deeply interested audience, 
 sometimes every nook and corner being filled to overflowing, and 
 many standing closely around the little stand erected for the speaker. 
 The people manifested their anxiety to hear the truth by hiring the 
 room themselves, and fitting it up at their own expense with seats 
 and lights, a very unusual circumstance in the work of evangelization 
 in Italy. Another encouraging feature" of the mission was the pres- 
 ence of many women at the meetings, who listened to the preaching 
 of the Gospel with wonderful interest. Generally speaking, the 
 women are the last, except the priests, whom evangelical truth 
 reaches in Italy; but in Torano nearly one -third of the audience 
 were women. The people there asked for schools, daily and Sab- 
 bath, for the organization of a Church, and for the circulation of 
 Bibles and other religious literature. Mr-. Moorehead, after speaking 
 of his encouragements, closed his letter by saying: "May the Lord, 
 who hath in his mysterious providence led us to this place, bless 
 and multiply more and more his own work. We ask your prayers, 
 for ourselves, for our brother and fellow-laborer, Signor Perazzi, and 
 for our work." 
 
 In the Summer of 1865 the evangelist at Como, in his report to 
 the ''American and Foreign Christian Union," stated that eighty 
 persons composed the congregation, of whom forty-seven were com- 
 municants. Ten children attended the day-school, thirty the evening, 
 and all were members of the Sabbath-school. This important agency 
 strengthened and established the work of evangelization by instruct- 
 ing the young in the knowledge of the Gospel, and thus preparing 
 them to become at some future day faithful witnesses for the truth. 
 In the Val d ' Intelvi there were between fifty and sixty who called 
 themselves evangelical, and twenty-eight of these were communicants. 
 At St. Fedele the Sabbath -school had fifteen scholars; but these 
 statistics do not truly indicate the real strength of evangelical religion 
 at that time. The Divine Word had penetrated the hearts of multi- 
 tudes ; and the good seed, under the quickening influence of the 
 Holy Spirit, was growing, though not many persons openly identified 
 
IMPOR TANT MISSION FIELD. 743 
 
 themselves with the Protestant movement. Besides the evangelist 
 of the ''American and Foreign Christian Union," the Geneva Com- 
 mittee also sustained an evangelist and a colporteur in Como, who 
 not only conducted the regular services of preaching to a congrega- 
 tion of one hundred and forty persons in the city, but also visited 
 several towns and villages near the lake, where many were inclined 
 to accept the Gospel and follow its simple teachings. Thus, after 
 two years of more or less regular evangelistic effort, the two congre- 
 gations in Como had made substantial progress. 
 
 In all that region around the lake, as well as in most parts of 
 Lombardy, the common people gladly received the Gospel, and 
 there appeared to be less indifference and skepticism in that portion 
 of Italy than in Florence and elsewhere in Tuscany. The selfishness 
 of the priests, and the worldliness and unbelief of the laity caused 
 some of the more intelligent and moral of the community to 
 renounce the Roman Catholic Church. An incident published in 
 a political journal issued in March, 1865, indicates the prevaiHng 
 spirit of the priesthood. A woman in Cagliari, the mother of two 
 little children, poor and dependent on charity for the necessaries of 
 life, was called upon to mourn the death of one of her boys after a 
 short illness. She sent for the parish priest to bury him, but this 
 so-called Christian minister absolutely refused to do so unless the 
 poor mother should first give him a dollar and a half She told him 
 that it was impossible for her to pay this amount, and entreated 
 him to bury her dead child. He would not do it, and she was com- 
 pelled to solicit from friends and strangers, in small contributions, 
 the amount demanded. After receiving it, the priest performed the 
 usual funeral rites. A few days subsequently the other child died, 
 and the mother went again to the priest beseeching him to conduct 
 the customary service, saying that she was not able to give him 
 the regular fee. "If you do not pay me," he exclaimed, "I will 
 not bury your son." She begged him for pity's sake to grant her 
 request, and, in reply to his demand for money, said: "Oh, sir, I 
 can not; I have but one dollar, which alone remains to save me from 
 starving, is not that enough for you? Is not one dollar enough? do 
 you demand more of me? To her continual pleading and weeping, 
 he said at last, "Bring me the dollar; as you are so poor, I will 
 bury your child for one dollar." The editor of the paper, in com- 
 menting on this incident, rema^'ked : "We could wish not to believe 
 this fact; and for the honor of human nature we wish it had not 
 occurred. O priests! why do you pretend to preach the Gospel? 
 
744 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 why do you pretend to teach charity? You are unworthy of the 
 name of priests, which you usurp. You are hars and hypocrites; 
 you are the shame and disgrace of humanity." 
 
 Considerable excitement was produced in the cities and towns of 
 Italy by the visits of an eccentric priest, Don Ambrogio, who exer- 
 cised the functions of a preacher and colporteur at one and the same 
 time. This extraordinary man continued to preach and suffer impris- 
 onment by turns. He moved about from place to place, and 
 harangued the multitude, who flocked around him, drawn by his 
 eloquence, from market places and from the steps of cathedrals and 
 churches. In Milan he preached to the people from the door 
 of the cathedral and intended to leave the city. A rumor was, 
 however, circulated that he would speak again. A great crowd 
 collected, and he was entreated to deliver an address, though unpre- 
 pared. While he was speaking, the roar of cannon at a distant 
 review was heard, and he could not refrain from uttering a word 
 or two about liberating Rome. He was immediately arrested and 
 imprisoned. At Ivrea the people were so charmed that they lifted 
 him on their shoulders and set him down in the pulpit of the parish 
 church, from whence, at their earnest solicitation, he preached a 
 thrilling discourse. The priests sued for fifteen hundred francs and 
 a long imprisonment, but the Court granted only fifty francs and 
 three days of confinement. The priests appealed. The higher court 
 reversed the sentence, and they not only lost the small sum, but 
 had all the costs to pay. At Varsena, on St. Bartholomew's day, he 
 entered the church, and placed himself opposite the priest, who 
 through fear, dared not go on with his tirade against Protestantism. 
 Ambrogio then invited the congregation outside, and preached to 
 to them from the parapet of the church. 
 
 The colporteurs that every-where followed him made large sales, 
 as he called upon every one to read and study the Bible. The 
 priests dreaded him, for he constantly cried out, "Don't give your 
 money to the priests, but to the poor, for Christ, by his death, has 
 brought us the pardon of our sins." The writings of Ambrogio 
 were numerous, and had an extensive circulation. One of these 
 half-penny fly-sheets had a drawing of himself, or of the Free Italian 
 Church, represented by a female with the Bible in one hand, and 
 the cross in the other, at the top of the page. One series was 
 entitled "Plagues of Italy" — the first mentioned being the pope- 
 king — the second, the monks and nuns, the celibacy of the priests — 
 the fourth, the retrograde upper clergy. Another series con- 
 
GA VAZZI IN MILAN. 
 
 745 
 
 sisted of hand-bill dialogues between a priest of the Italian Church 
 and a priest of the Papal Church. Then followed in order the 
 headings, ** 160,000 Priests too Many," ''The Brigand Priests," 
 "Purgatory, Confession, etc." Each one closed with an appropriate 
 prayer, and so large was the sale of these series that the citizens 
 could be seen reading them as they walked along the streets. While 
 these documents attacked in a fearless manner the errors of popery, 
 they did not in the least countenance skepticism, but were sound in 
 their reference to the Bible as the only rule of faith, and the Lord 
 Jesus Christ as the only Head of the Church, and his atoning sacri- 
 fice as the only ground of hope for sinners. The aged father of 
 Ambrogio, with the promise of great reward, was sent to bring him 
 back to Romanism. He stood the test, but acknowledged that it was 
 the severest ordeal through which he had ever passed. 
 
 In May, 1865, Gavazzi visited Milan, and preached every evening 
 to very large audiences, multitudes being unable to gain admission 
 to the hall. He de- 
 livered two sermons 
 on the Bible, one 
 showing that it alone 
 revealed the way of 
 salvation, the other, 
 that while it was the 
 oldest book in the 
 world, it contained 
 no principles op- 
 posed to modern 
 science, but in ex- 
 act accordance with 
 it. This eloquent 
 advocate of the truth 
 also addressed a 
 lengthy letter to Dr. 
 De Sanctis on the 
 subject of a union of 
 the Churches, deeply 
 regretting the divisions existing among the Christians of Italy. He 
 expressed the opinion that the cause of these unhappy strifes could 
 not be found among the Itahans themselves, but among the foreign 
 agencies that had been introduced into the country. All intelligent 
 and religiously inclined Italians, he affirmed, had almost precisely the 
 
 GAVAZZI. 
 
746 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 same views and wishes with regard to the evangeHzation of their 
 native land. All felt its necessity, all desired it, and nearly all enter- 
 tained remarkably clear and harmonious opinions as to the manner in 
 which this great work might be accomplished, but they firmly believed 
 that the introduction of any foreign religious system or denomina- 
 tion into Italy would retard the progress of the Gospel. 
 
 An American clergyman, after a residence of nearly two years 
 in Milan and a careful study of religious reform in Italy, communi- 
 cated similar views in his letters to a friend at home. '*It has been 
 a great obstacle," he declared, "as well as a misfortune, in the work 
 of religious reform in Italy that foreign societies and committees 
 have not been satisfied with simply proclaiming the Gospel, but 
 have sought in addition to bring their Church systems. This has 
 given great offense to Italians and has led them to regard with sus- 
 picion all foreign agencies. It is frequently asserted that the Italians 
 are jealous of foreigners and of their assistance. Nothing is more 
 unjust. Never have I met with a people more cordial or generous, 
 or that could better appreciate assistance, or felt more grateful for it 
 when received, than the Italians. They have, however, a remarkable 
 love of liberty and independence, and wish to be left free to adopt 
 such forms of Church organization as they may choose. 
 They greatly desire and pray for assistance, and feel truly grateful 
 for it ; but are strongly opposed to any attempts to force upon them 
 a peculiar denominational system. They say, *we want the Gospel 
 and not denominations. We ask Christians and Churches to give 
 us the Gospel of Christ, but not their Church systems.' The Italians 
 are exceedingly sensitive upon this point. ... If denomina- 
 tions or societies will consent to be only assisting agencies to the 
 Italians, bringing to them the Gospel, preaching Christ and Him 
 crucified, the work of evangelization will go forward gloriously ; 
 but if evangelization is secondary and ecclesiasticism primary, the 
 truth will not make progress and all effort and expense will be 
 in vain." 
 
 The same writer also stated that while the Waldensian and Wes- 
 leyan agencies were sustained with great liberality and zeal, yet 
 unfortunately they did not throw themselves into the current of Ital- 
 ian sympathy by lowering their denominational standard before the 
 standard of a common evangelism. The result was that separate 
 Churches were formed, called Evangelical, or Free Italian Churches. 
 At first they received but little foreign assistance, and struggled on in 
 the midst of poverty, opposition, and contempt, at home and abroad. 
 
THE FREE NATIONAL CHURCHES. 7^7 
 
 Their evangelists were poorly educated, poorly supported, and with 
 many little esteemed ; and yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties 
 and discouragements, their Churches had become in 1865 quite 
 numerous, and their evangelists rapidly won the sympathy and 
 esteem of the people. They were represented by their enemies at 
 home and abroad as Darbyists, Plymouthists, and even Rationalists ; 
 but the American clergyman, already mentioned, who was acquainted 
 with every phase of religious thought in Italy, said : ' ' Having seen 
 and heard many of their principal evangelists, I know them to be truly 
 sound, faithful, and godly men. They preach the Gospel, for they have 
 experienced its power in their own hearts ; they eloquently preach 
 Christ as the only Savior, and the people, who thirst for the waters of 
 hfe, flock to hear them." 
 
 These Free Italian Churches, some with and some without evangel- 
 ists, were scattered over various parts of Italy, and soon became more 
 numerous than those of other organizations. After ascertaining the 
 true character of their work, many English Christians contributed 
 liberally to its support, the funds, when directed by the donors, being 
 transmitted by a committee of gentlemen in Geneva and by a similar 
 one at Nice. In connection with these Churches there was, in 1865, 
 a spiritual movement of wonderful power, indicating that they were 
 destined to be a great instrumentality in the regeneration of Italy. 
 Already, with the very little assistance they had received from 
 abroad, they were in a far more prosperous condition than those of 
 any other agency. In Milan alone the "Free Italian Church" had 
 about eight hundred members, and among these were some twelve or 
 fifteen promising young men, who greatly desired to become evangel- 
 ists, but were too poor to educate themselves. 
 
 Mr. Clark, of Milan, in his report of evangelical work in that city 
 during the Summer of 1865 gave some strong proofs of its marked 
 progress. The Roman Catholic authorities acknowledged that there 
 had been a falling off in Milan of seventy thousand during the preceding 
 year of those who regularly came to mass and to confession. This 
 was a loss of a little more than one-fourth in a population of two hun- 
 dred and seventy thousand. Another significant circumstance was the 
 almost total failure of the festival of "Corpus Domini," one of the 
 most solemn and magnificent of the Roman Catholic Church. At first 
 the authorities were inclined to restrict the celebration of it that year 
 to the brotherhood, but at length they decided that the public might 
 participate. The citizens, however, almost entirely neglected it, the 
 procession being composed of the clergy, some peasants from the 
 
748 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 country, and a few of the rabble. Nothing could better indicate the 
 growth of liberal ideas and the decay of Romanism at that time. 
 Another sign of progress was the increased access of the evangelical 
 agents among the Roman Catholic families. The few Bible-women 
 in Milan, supported by friends in America, did a noble work among 
 that class, and also those who had not openly declared themselves 
 Evangelical. They were constantly invited to visit families that they 
 had never before seen, and when they entered these homes, sometimes 
 they were constrained to spend the whole day in answering questions 
 eagerly put to them, and in explaining the principles of the Evangel- 
 ical religion. There were so many who desired to know the truth, 
 and yet would not venture to the place of public meeting, that the 
 Bible-women seemed indispensable to this large and interesting class. 
 These faithful women were truly evangelists, who went from house to 
 house preaching the Gospel, and from whose labors much pre- 
 cious fruit was gathered. Many, through their instrumentality, were 
 brought to Christ, and many, very many who, when taken sick, were 
 bigoted Roman Catholics, gladly listened to the prayers and instruc- 
 tions of these Bible-women and died rejoicing in Christ, their only 
 and all-sufficient Savior. 
 
 The number of those in the educated class in Milan who were 
 favorable to reform appeared to be large, and constantly increased. 
 The teachers and professors of the colleges and schools were, in 
 many cases, firm and sincere friends of the truth, and expressed a 
 desire to leave their employment, and consecrate themselves directly 
 to the evangelization of their country. But unfortunately this class 
 of professors and teachers in Italy embraced very few who were rich. 
 The great majority were poor, their compensation, whether by the 
 government or municipality, being so small that often with difficulty 
 could some of the best and most learned professors in Italy support 
 their families, or rise above actual want. One of them said to Mr. 
 Clark: ''We want pecuniary assistance from England and America 
 to carry on this religious reform in Italy. We evangelists are all 
 poor, yet we have talent, ability, and heart to work. Let but Eng- 
 land and America enable us to woi'k in this reform, and we will gladly 
 bear the burden of faithful and successful labor. But we want 
 means. We have no money with which to rent or build school- 
 rooms and chapels, no money to buy our own bread while we give 
 ourselves to this work ; what shall we do ? Why will not England 
 and America help us?" 
 
 Mr. Hall, of Florence, received encouraging facts from nearly all 
 
PREACHING IN THE VILLAGES. 749 
 
 the colporteurs and evangelists under his supervision. One of them 
 reported that he was often permitted to converse with country people, 
 who generally received religious instruction with pleasure, and lis- 
 tened attentively to the reading of the Word of God. He endeav- 
 ored to make them understand the differences between the disci- 
 ples of Christ and the disciples of the pope, informing them that 
 those who put their confidence in man would perish, but that those 
 who trust in God and obey his Word, should find peace on earth and 
 eternal blessedness in heaven. He also declared that no power of 
 the priests could deprive their hearts of the joy of believing on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Another laborer stated that, having entered a 
 house filled with people, he began to speak to them of the Church 
 of Christ ; but, discovering that he was an Evangelical, some com- 
 manded him to leave, and others urged him to continue his discourse. 
 This difference of opinion produced great excitement, and the mis- 
 sionary, fearing some serious results, proposed to offer prayer. They 
 all became silent, and he called upon God to direct them in the light 
 of the truth. When the prayer was ended, all appeared to be 
 changed — there was no more opposition, and he was requested by the 
 entire audience to proceed with his remarks on the subject first 
 presented, or some other religious topic. He sold many tracts, 
 the most of which were purchased by those who had opposed 
 him. Another evangelist, who had been laboring in the neigh- 
 borhood of Ivrea for three and a half years, said: **It is for 
 me a subject of real joy, and a reason for encouragement to see 
 that the Lord is working in the field intrusted to my care." He 
 preached in a number of small villages and visited families somewhat 
 isolated in the surrounding country. According to his ability and 
 his opportunities he faithfully scattered the seed of truth, and perse- 
 vered in his work amidst many difficulties. \\\ a letter to Mr. Hall 
 he referred to two persons recently admitted to Christian fellowship 
 and communion. One of them gave great satisfaction to the assem- 
 bly by a simple, but clear, statement of his faith, and the reasons 
 which at length led him to abandon the Roman Church. The other, 
 also a Romanist, after a regular attendance at the meetings in Borgo- 
 franco for several weeks, expressed a fixed determination to enter 
 into communion with the Evangelical Church. Her decision and con- 
 fession of the truth greatly encouraged the little brotherhood of 
 that place. 
 
 At Torano, a village near Carrara, which has already been men- 
 tioned as a new but hopeful field, Mr. Moorehead organized a Sab- 
 
750 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 bath-school, consisting of twenty-four pupils, all young men, who 
 seemed deeply interested in the study of the Bible. The evangelist 
 stationed at Vercelli had a congregation numbering from sixty to one 
 hundred persons, and of these between twenty-five and thirty publicly 
 professed faith in Christ, and became members of the Church. Four 
 services were held during the week. There were also three small but 
 interesting congregations — distant from Vercelli, one an hour, and 
 the other half an hour by the railroad. At Livorno the religious 
 services were regularly attended by from forty to fifty persons, and 
 of these fifteen united with the Church. Others were gradually 
 overcoming their timidity, of whom the missionary said: "I have 
 good hope, and those who really know the Lord Jesus are, in their 
 sphere, true evangelists." About twenty made a profession of their 
 faith at Casale, and when the evangelist could not be present they 
 held meetings for mutual edification, reading the Scriptures, exhor- 
 tation, and prayer. 
 
 The evangelical cause at Milan was greatly strengthened by the 
 efforts of Professor Oddo, a literary celebrity and a popular speaker 
 of remarkable power. His lectures on the history of Italy made 
 a profound impression, and the enthusiasm of his audiences was ex- 
 cited to the highest degree when he discussed the differences between 
 the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. He arraigned the pa- 
 pacy as the enemy of Italy, and declared that he had no faith in any 
 pretended reform of that ecclesiastical system. This eloquent lec- 
 turer also expressed his opinion concerning the school of atheism, 
 affirming that few in Italy advocated it, and fewer still believed it, 
 because the Italians are a people of religious habits, and the Italian 
 philosophy itself is, in a certain sense, always Christian. Yet skep- 
 ticism, resulting from want of faith in the Romish doctrines, pre- 
 vailed, and the legitimate fruit was indifference, which Professor Oddo 
 called the "true religious wound of Italy." 
 
 In 1865 the English Wesleyan missions in Italy made some prog- 
 ress, notwithstanding the unfavorable condition of the country relig- 
 iously. Rev. H. J. Piggott reported fifty members in Milan, sixty 
 communicants, and one hundred and fifty regular hearers at Cara- 
 vaggio, a new station, and the organization of day and even- 
 ing schools at these points. Among the preaching places were 
 Intra, Varese, Asolo, Parma, Monza, and Florence. Mr. Pig- 
 gott commenced the publication of the Evangelical Gatherer, a bi- 
 monthly magazine, and issued one thousand copies every two 
 weeks. He also established the first regular class-meeting, and was 
 
POLITICAL A GITA TION. 75 1 
 
 encouraged by the liberality of the members, who, though poor, 
 contributed cheerfully to the support of God's cause. Several native 
 converts offered their services as exhorters, and six converted priests 
 applied for admission into the Protestant ministry. Rev. T. W. S. 
 Jones, who preached in Naples and at the outlying stations, Salerno, 
 Foggio, Barletta, Bari, Messina, and Reggio, was greatly aided in his 
 work by the publication of a bi-monthly paper called Letture di Faniig- 
 lia. The Italian press generally favored the Protestant movement, 
 and the intelligent middle class of people manifested some sympathy. 
 
 The political condition of Italy in 1865 was one of agitation, re- 
 sulting from the conflict between the papacy and the government, 
 which strongly developed itself in the month of January, when the 
 papal encyclical of December 8, 1864, was issued. Not Avishing to 
 intensify the prevailing excitement, the government, on the 13th of 
 February, authorized by a decree the circulation of the encyclical, its 
 accompanying syllabus, and Cardinal Antonelli's circular — reserving, 
 however, the rights of the state and crown, and without admitting 
 the propositions contained in those documents which might be con- 
 trary to the institutions and legislation of the country. The proceed- 
 ings of the parliament, Avhich was in session on the opening of the 
 year, did not present many points of interest. The bill introduced 
 by the government for the suppression of religious corporations was 
 withdrawn ; but the ministry at the same time announced that the 
 concession of the exequatur to ecclesiastical benefices would be sus- 
 pended, and that the government would soon bring in another bill 
 for the reform of the religious bodies. 
 
 On the 6th of March Pius IX addressed an autograph letter to 
 Victor Emmanuel, requesting the latter's consideration of three 
 points ; namely, the return of the bishops to their sees, the nomina- 
 tion of other ecclesiastics to fill the vacant sees, and the admission 
 of the titular ecclesiastics already appointed by the Holy See without 
 the consent of the Italian government. In compliance with the 
 pope's request, a layman, the Commander Xaverio Vegezzi, was 
 sent to Rome, with the Cavalier Advocate Giovanni Maurizio as col- 
 league, to confer upon the three points above mentioned, and to se- 
 cure, if possible, an agreement. The negotiators arrived at Rome in 
 April, and held several conferences with the papal government; but 
 the latter raised various difficulties, and Vegezzi and Maurizio returned 
 home to obtain new instructions. They again visited the papal cap- 
 ital in June, but were unsuccessful, and immediately resigned their 
 mission. On the 8th of July the prime minister. La Marmora, pre- 
 
752 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 sented to Victor Emmanuel the official report of the progress and 
 failure of the proposed negotiations, predicting the early separation 
 of Church and state. 
 
 A royal decree issued on the 7th of September dissolved the 
 Italian parliament, ordered new elections to take place on the 29th 
 of October, and convoked the Chambers for the 15 th of November. 
 The minister of the interior addressed a circular to the prefects, an- 
 nouncing that shortly after the assembling of parHament the ministry 
 would bring forward a measure for the suppression of religious bodies 
 and the readjustment of ecclesiastical property. A notable feature 
 in the electoral campaign of 1865 was the active participation of the 
 "Catholic Party," who were called by their opponents ''Black Party," 
 *'Codini," and other names. They had generally abstained from 
 voting at former elections, at least so far as the annexed countries 
 were concerned. One section would not be reconciled to the exist- 
 ing order of things, while the other directed their efforts to the sal- 
 vation of the papacy, its remaining fragment of temporal power, and 
 to the cause generally of the Church in Italy. The advanced liber- 
 als, who were called ''Party of Action," "Radicals," "Reds," etc., 
 advocated the use of violent and immediate means for the completion 
 of Italian unity and independence by the acquisition of Rome and 
 Venice. This party was also divided into two elements. The ex- 
 treme "Reds," the men of the " Unita Italiana," or the friends of 
 Mazzini, abominated monarchy, and denied that the independence 
 of Italy could be secured under the house of Savoy. While they 
 abstained from voting, the other and more important section 
 of the Left accepted the prevailing order of things, participated 
 in the elections, and labored to secure a republic by peaceable 
 means. 
 
 The government party, or "Moderate Liberals," contained a 
 number of factions, distinguished by preferences for individual lead- 
 ers, Ricasoli, Rattazzi, Minghetti, had, as might be expected, special 
 friends and supporters. At the election the Catholic party was de- 
 feated, only about a dozen of their members being elected ; but the 
 radicals were eminently successful, having chosen one hundred and 
 twenty members to the new parliament, or an increase of seventy. 
 Garibaldi was elected in three places, Naples, Andria, and Corleto; 
 and three of his officers, Generals Bixio and Fabrizzi and Colonel 
 Cairoli, were also returned, each for three colleges. Nicotera, an- 
 other of his followers, and his former dictators in Sicily, Crispi and 
 Mordini, were elected for two districts each. Mazzini, notwithstand- 
 
THE PARLIAMENT. 753 
 
 ing his avowed hostility to the monarchical principle, came near being 
 elected in Genoa. 
 
 The session of the new parliament was opened on the i8th of 
 November by King Victor Emmanuel in person, who delivered a 
 patriotic address. On the 6th of December the Chamber of Deputies 
 elected Signor Marini, the candidate of the government, to the office 
 of president, by one hundred and forty -one votes out of two hun- 
 dred and seventy-three members voting, after two ballots between 
 him and Signor Mordini, the candidate of the Left. The ministry, 
 finding that they could not control, in all important questions, a ma- 
 jority of the house of deputies, tendered their resignation, which was 
 accepted by the king. On the 31st of December the following new 
 cabinet was appointed : General Delia Marmora, president and min- 
 ister for foreign affairs ; Signor Chiaves, minister of the interior ; 
 Signor Scialoja, minister of finance ; Signor Defalco, minister of 
 public worship and justice ; Signor Jacini, minister of public works. 
 The Chamber of Deputies consisted, in 1865, of four hundred and 
 forty-three mem'bers. The Italian government, upon the withdrawal 
 of the first of the French troops from Rome in November, declared 
 its determination not to attack the papal territory, or suffer it to be 
 invaded, because France was carrying out the September convention 
 in evacuating the city. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXVL 
 
 THE DEFEAT OF AUSTRIA— ITALY ANNEXES VENETIA. 
 
 ON the nth of January, 1866, a dispatch from General La Mar- 
 mora to the Austrian government declared that the re-estab- 
 lishment of regular relations could not be admitted except as a 
 starting-point toward the solution of the Venetian question. The 
 complications between Austria and Prussia naturally led to negotia- 
 tions by Italy with Prussia for the conclusion of a defensive and 
 offensive alliance. On the 9th of March the Italian government gave 
 to its representative in Berlin instructions to sign the alliance with 
 Prussia ; and on the 29th of April General La Marmora issued a 
 circular dispatch stating that, while Italy was enjoying perfect quiet 
 
754 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and the army was on a peace footing, Austria had made threatening 
 armaments in Italy, and had thereby compelled the government to 
 make the necessary preparations for war. On the 30th of April the 
 Chamber of Deputies, by an unanimous vote, save one, authorized 
 the government, until the end of July, to meet all the expenses 
 which were necessary for the defense of the country by extraordinary 
 means. This was supplemented on the 9th of May by another reso- 
 lution authorizing the government, until the end of July, to provide 
 by royal decrees for the defense and safety of the state. 
 
 The government, besides putting the army on a regular war 
 footing, authorized the enrollment of volunteers and the mobilization 
 of the national guard. The volunteers were placed under the chief 
 command of General Garibaldi, who in a letter written at Caprera, 
 on the nth of May, 1866, accepted the appointment: "I accept 
 with true gratitude the dispositions which you have' taken and his 
 majesty has sanctioned relative to the volunteer corps. I am thank- 
 ful to you for the trust you manifest in me in giving me the command, 
 and you will be good enough to express to the king my sentiments. 
 I hope soon to co-operate with our glorious army in accomplishing 
 the destinies of the country. I thank you for your courtesy in mak- 
 ing this communication to me." 
 
 Italy declared war against Austria on the i8th of June, 1866, and 
 on the 20th Victor Emmanuel issued the following manifesto : 
 
 ** Several years have already passed since Austria attacked my 
 states because I had supported the common cause of the country In 
 the councils of Europe. I took up the sword to defend my throne, 
 the liberty of my people, the honor of the Italian name, and to fight 
 for the rights of the nation. Victory was in favor of right. The 
 valor of the army, the aid of the volunteers, the concord and wisdom 
 of the people, and the assistance of a magnanimous ally, gained the 
 almost complete independence and liberty of Italy. Supreme reasons 
 we were obliged to respect prevented us at that time from accom- 
 plishing that just and glorious enterprise. One of the noblest prov- 
 inces of Italy, united by the desires of the population to my crown, 
 and which its heroic resistance and continual protest against foreign 
 dominion rendered especially dear and sacred to us, remained in the 
 hands of Austria. Though sorrowful at heart, I abstained from trou- 
 bling Europe, which desired peace. My government occupied itself 
 with improving the work of interior organization, opening sources of 
 public prosperity, and fortifying the country by land and by sea, await- 
 ing a favorable opportunity to accomplish the Independence of Venetla. 
 
THE KING'S PROCLAMA TION. 755 
 
 "Although waiting was not without danger, nevertheless we un- 
 derstood how to keep shut within our hearts our feelings as Italians, 
 and our just impatience ; and thus were preserved intact the right of 
 the nation, and the dignity of the crown and of parliament, in order 
 that Europe might understand what was due to Italy. Austria, sud- 
 denly re-enforcing her troops upon our frontier, and provoking us by 
 her hostile and threatening attitude, has come to disturb the pacific 
 task of the reorganization of the kingdom. I have replied by again 
 taking up arms, and you have afforded the world the grand sight of 
 hastening with promptitude and enthusiasm into the army to enlist 
 among the volunteers. Nevertheless, when friendly powers endeav- 
 ored to settle the difficulties by a congress, I gave a last pledge of 
 my feelings to Europe, and hastened to accept the proposal. Austria 
 again refused, this time rejecting negotiations and all agreement, 
 affording thus a fresh proof that if she confides in her strength she 
 does not rely equally upon the goodness of her cause and of her 
 right. You, also, Italians, may trust in your strength, looking with 
 pride upon your valiant army and strong navy; but you may rely 
 still more firmly upon the sacredness of your right, whose triumph is 
 henceforth infallible. We are supported by the judgment of public 
 opinion, and by the sympathy of Europe, which knows that Italy, 
 independent and secure in her territory, will become a guaranty for 
 peace and order. Italians, I hand over the government of the state 
 to Prince Carignan, and again take up the eagles of Getta and Ma- 
 rengo, of Palestro and San Martino. I feel that I shall accomplish 
 the vows made at the tomb of my high-minded father. I wish once 
 more to be the first soldier of Italian independence." 
 
 The king also issued a proclamation to the national guard, say- 
 ing : '*I leave the regency of the kingdom to the prince of Carig- 
 nan, to fight anew the final battles for the liberty and independence 
 of Italy. While our forces by land and sea secure the rights of the 
 nation against threats and provocations of Austria, you will keep the 
 nation organized and arranged, in order that it may strengthen her 
 liberties and secure respect for the laws, thus preparing itself worthy 
 for the glorious future which awaits us. It is you Avho have consti- 
 tuted the nation by your will. Preserve it intact now by discipline 
 and arms. Citizens, — I confidently intrust to you the guardianship 
 of public security and order. I go where the voice of Italy calls." 
 
 At the commencement of the war, the following new Italian 
 ministry, appointed on the 20th of June, was in power: Ricasoli, 
 president of the ministry; Baron Bettino, interior; Emilio Visconti 
 
 49 
 
756 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 \ 
 Venosta, foreign affairs ; Francesco BorgattI, worship and justice ; 
 
 war, Sciajola ; public instruction, Domenico Berti ; public works. 
 Dr. Stefano Jacini ; navy, Agostino Depretis; commerce, industry, 
 and agriculture, Filippo Cordova. In August, Effusio Cujaia was 
 appointed minister of finance. The Italians responded with enthu- 
 siasm to Victor Emmanuel's call for troops. The army of the king 
 crossed the Mincio, and on the 24th of June was defeated by the 
 Austrians; but the great victory of Prussia at Sadowa, on the 3d 
 of July, reduced Austria to such extremities that she was compelled 
 to concentrate all her energies for the defense of her home territory. 
 Unable to hold Venetia, she relinquished it to the emperor of the 
 French, by whom it was to be transferred to Italy. On the 20th of 
 July, the Austrian fleet inflicted a terrible defeat upon the Italian 
 fleet off Lissa. The war was brought to a close by the Peace of 
 Nicholsburg, on the 30th of August. In spite of her reverses, 
 Italy gained the objects for which she fought, thanks to the vigor 
 and success with which Prussia fought. 
 
 In accordance with the treaty between Austria and Italy, a pop- 
 ular vote took place in Venetia in October, on the question of the 
 annexation of the latter province to Italy. The result showed a 
 remarkable unanimity; 641,755 votes being cast in favor of and only 
 69 against the proposition. On the 4th of November, the king, 
 surrounded by the princes, the ministers, the dignitaries of the state, 
 and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, received the Venetian 
 deputation, which communicated to his majesty the result of the 
 plebiscituin. After the ceremony the national guard, the troops and 
 the various corporate bodies defiled before the king amid loud cheers 
 from the assembled multitude. General Menabraea delivered a 
 speech to his majesty in placing in his hands the iron crowm of 
 Lombardy. Upon receiving the result of the plcbiscitinn from the 
 Venetian deputation, King Victor Emmanuel said: ''This day is 
 the proudest of my life. Eighteen years ago my father proclaimed 
 from this city the war of independence, and to-day you bring to 
 me the manifestations of the popular will in the Venetian province, 
 which, united with Italy, declare my father's wish to be accom- 
 plished. You confirm by this solemn act what Venetia did up to 
 1848, and has maintained up to the present day with admirable 
 constancy and abnegation. I therefore pay a grateful tribute to 
 those generous patriots who upheld their faith in the destinies of the 
 country by every kind of sacrifice and by their blood. To-day 
 foreign domination ceases forever. Italy is constituted, if not 
 
THE KING 'S ADDRESS. 757 
 
 accomplished. Italians must now defend and make her great. The 
 iron crown is also restored to Italy; but to that crown I prefer the 
 one which is dearer to me, made by the love of my people." 
 
 A royal decree was issued on the 5th of November declaring 
 that the provinces of Venetia shall henceforth form an integral 
 part of the kingdom of Italy. The government also appointed 
 sixteen senators for Venetia, and ordered the election of deputies. 
 On the 15th of December the Italian parliament was opened by 
 the king, who delivered the following address from the throne : 
 
 ''Signors Senators, Signors Deputies, — Our country is henceforth 
 free from all foreign domination. It is with profound joy that I 
 declare this to the representatives of 25,000,000 Italians. The 
 nation had faith in me and I in them. This great event, by 
 crowning our common efforts, gives a fresh impulse to the work 
 of civilization, and renders more stable the political equilibrium of 
 Europe. By her promptitude in military organization, and by the 
 rapid union of her people, Italy has acquired the credit which 
 was necessary to enable her to attain independence by herself; and 
 with the aid of efficacious alliances, Italy has found encouragement 
 and support in this laborious work in the sympathy of civilized 
 governments and peoples, and has been further sustained and 
 strengthened by the courageous perseverance of the Venetian 
 provinces in the common enterprise of national emancipation. 
 The treaty of peace with the empire of Austria, which will be laid 
 before you, will be followed by negotiations which will facilitate 
 exchanges of prisoners between the two states. The French govern- 
 ment, faithful to the obligations which it contracted by the Sep- 
 tember convention, has withdrawn its troops from Rome. On its 
 side, the Itahan government, observant of its engagements, has 
 respected and will respect the pontifical territory. Our good under- 
 standing with the French emperor, to whom we are bound by friend- 
 ship and gratitude, the moderation of the Romans, the wisdom of 
 the pontiff, and the religious sentiment and right feeling of the 
 Italian people, will aid us to distinguish and conciliate the Catholic 
 interests ; and national aspirations, which are interwoven and con- 
 tending with each other in Rome, attach us to the religion of our 
 ancestors, which is also that of the great majority of Italians. 
 
 "I nevertheless respect the principle of liberty which breathes 
 through our institutions, and which, broadly and sincerely applied, 
 will remove the causes of the old differences between Church and 
 state. This disposition on our part, by reassuring Catholic con- 
 
758 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 science, will accomplish, I hope, the wishes which I form that the 
 sovereign pontiff may remain independent at Rome. Italy is secure, 
 now that, besides the valor of her sons, which through all the changes 
 of fortune has never belied itself, either by land or sea, nor in the 
 ranks of the army, or the volunteers, she possesses as the ramparts 
 of her independence the very bulwarks which served to oppress her. 
 Italy can, therefore, and now ought, to turn her efforts to increasing 
 her prosperity. As Italians have shown admirable concord in the 
 affirmation of their independence, so now let all devote themselves 
 with intelligence, ardor, and indomitable constancy to the develop- 
 ment of the economic resources of the Peninsula. Several bills will 
 be laid before you with this object. In the midst of the labors of 
 peace, favored by a secure future, we shall not neglect following the 
 lessons of experience, to perfect our military organization, in order 
 that, with the least possible outlay, Italy may not be destitute of 
 the forces necessary to maintain her in the place which belongs to 
 her among great nations. 
 
 "The measures recently taken relative to the administration of 
 the kingdom, and those which will be proposed to you, above all, 
 respecting the collection of the taxes, and the accountability of the 
 state, will contribute to ameliorate the management of public affairs. 
 My government has provided in advance for the expenditure of the 
 year about to open, and for extraordinary payments of every kind. 
 They will ask of you the continuation in 1867 of the financial meas- 
 ures voted for in 1866. The legislative bodies will also maturely dis- 
 cuss the bills which will be laid before them to ameliorate the assess- 
 ment of the taxes, and to equalize them among the different provinces 
 of the kingdom. If, as I am fully confident, the people of Italy will 
 not fail in that activity which created the wealth and power of our 
 ancestors, it will not be long before the public exchequer will reach 
 its definitive equilibrium. Italy is now rendered to herself. Her 
 responsibility is equal to the power and the full liberty she enjoys in 
 the use of her strength. The great things we have done in a short 
 space of time increase our obligation not to fail in our task, which 
 is to know how to govern ourselves with the vigor required by the 
 social condition of the kingdom and the liberality demanded by our- 
 institutions. Liberty in our political institutions, authority in the 
 government, activity in the citizens, and the empire of law upon all 
 and over all, will carry Italy to the height of her destiny, and fulfill 
 what the world expects from her." 
 
 One of the main questions to be solved by parliament was the re- 
 
RICASOLrS CIRCULAR. 759 
 
 lation of the state to the Church. The government, beHevIng that 
 their complete separation would remove the pending difficulties, re- 
 solved to propose such a measure. Before the meeting of parliament 
 on the 22d of October, the prime minister, RIcasolI, addressed a cir- 
 cular to the prefects permitting the return of all the bishops to their 
 sees, excluding those residing In Rome. This circular was followed 
 by another dated November 15th, and likewise addressed to the pre- 
 fects. The prime minister also wrote a letter to the exiled bishops 
 living in Rome, in which he discussed the relations existing between 
 Church and state, and the bishops replied to it. RIcasolI answered 
 them on the 26th of November, directing their attention to the 
 United States, where liberty Is ** professed and respected by all, in 
 principle and in fact, in its amplest application to civil, political, and 
 social life." After showing, at great length, the causes which pro- 
 duced the conflict between the ecclesiastical and civil power, he asked 
 how this deplorable and perilous contest could be terminated, and 
 then answered the question by saying: ''Liberty can alone bring us 
 to that happy state of things which your lordships consider so envi- 
 able In America. Let us * render unto Caesar the things that are 
 Csesar's, and unto God the things that are God's,' and peace be- 
 tween Church and state will be troubled no more." 
 
 The negotiations of the Italian government with the pope for 
 obtaining a recognition of the annexation of the larger portion of the 
 papal dominions to Italy, and a regulation of the Church affairs in 
 the kingdom, were unsuccessful. Pius IX deemed it his duty to de- 
 fend the integrity of the temporal possessions of the papacy. On 
 the 30th of October, 1866, in the usual consistory of the cardinals, 
 he gave a solemn utterance of his views in ah allocution, which was 
 In perfect harmony with his ** Encyclical" of December 8, 1864. 
 He denounced the Italian government for banishing bishops, impris- 
 oning priests, closing diocesan schools, suppressing religious corpora- 
 tions, and establishing a law respecting civil marriage. The pope was 
 also grieved by the departure from Rome on the 4th of December 
 of one regiment of French troops in accordance with the treaty be- 
 tween Italy and France. 
 
76o 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Seventh Decade, Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXVIL 
 
 THE ROMAN QUESTION— PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 
 
 IN May, 1867, the financial situation had become so critical that 
 King Victor Emmanuel, in a message to parliament, gave up his 
 own share of the civil list, and proposed the sale of Church lands and 
 the reduction of the public expenditure. A few days afterwards 
 French capitalists advanced eighty-six millions of dollars, and in 
 August a bill was passed legalizing the proposed sale. These and 
 similar measures, inaugurated chiefly under the Lanza cabinet, helped 
 to maintain the national credit ; but the political situation consequent 
 upon the presence of French troops and other foreign soldiers in Rome 
 
 continued to be more 
 and more embarrassing. 
 Garibaldi resolved to in- 
 vade the pontifical ter- 
 ritory, on the frontiers 
 of which his volun- 
 teers, the *'red shirts," 
 gathered in September. 
 While he was on his way 
 to the city of Rome, 
 on the 2 2d of the same 
 month, he was arrested 
 at Sinalunga. A slight 
 revolution occurred, 
 and the people endeav- 
 ored to break open ar- 
 senals, armories, etc., 
 to obtain arms for the 
 purpose of rescuing 
 Garibaldi, but, without 
 a serious riot; he was 
 taken by the government authorities and conveyed to his home at 
 Caprera. In the mean time his volunteers crossed the Roman fron- : 
 
 GARIBALDI. 
 
THE R OMAN Q UESTION. 76 1 
 
 tier without being checked by the Itahan government. Rattazzi, who 
 had returned to office, secretly encouraged the movement, hoping to 
 find in it a chance for winning Rome for Italy, without incurring the 
 risk of a war with France. He managed the affair badly. 
 
 On the 14th of October Garibaldi was allowed to escape from 
 Caprera and rejoin his forces. The sympathy of the Italian govern- 
 ment Avas so open that he hoped to be supported by the royal troops. 
 This open sympathy, however, had induced the Emperor Napoleon 
 to inform the* Italian government that he should regard any further 
 action against the papal dominions as a declaration of war against 
 France. The previous correspondence between the two powers 
 concerning the Roman question is exhibited in the official ''Green- 
 book," which was distributed to the Italian Chamber of Deputies on 
 the loth of December, 1867. It contains twenty-seven documents 
 exchanged between the governments, from the 2d of June, 1865, to 
 the 7th of September, 1867; while the documents relating to the 
 Roman question are sixty-six in number, their dates running from 
 the 20th of December, 1866, to the 3d of December, 1867. In this 
 collection is a dispatch dated the 8th of August, 1867, from the 
 Italian charge- d'affaires at Paris, communicating to his government a 
 declaration of the French minister for foreign affairs that the Antibes 
 Legion (the French volunteers in Rome) was independent of any 
 foreign influence or control. Not only did the French government 
 recognize this principle, but it was determined to conform thereto. 
 With regard to the mission of General Dumont to Rome, who was 
 reported to have addressed the Antibes Legion as forming a part of 
 the French army, the French minister said: "I do not disavow, but 
 deny it." In a note of the 2d of September the French government 
 stated that the emperor, while reserving to himself the right of 
 authorizing French officers to serve in the papal army, as in other 
 foreign armies, intended that thenceforth the Antibes Legion should 
 contain none but soldiers free from all obligations towards France. 
 A telegram from the Italian government of the 5th of September 
 ^expressed pleasure that every difficulty was removed that might dis- 
 turb good relations between the two countries. 
 
 The communications relative to the Roman government com- 
 menced with a telegram from the Florence cabinet to the Chevalier 
 Nigra, Italian minister at Paris, on the 30th of September, which 
 said that, in the event of a revolution at Rome, the Italian govern- 
 ment would necessarily be compelled to intervene in order to pre- 
 serve public tranquillity and guard Italian institutions. The French 
 
762 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 government replied, that in case of such events it would not act 
 without previously communicating with the Italian government, and 
 insisted upon the frontier being loyally watched. On the 14th of 
 October the Italian government protested against the violation of the 
 September convention by France, and declared that if the French 
 troops marched towards Rome, it would be compelled to intervene 
 and occupy pontifical territory without fail. Chevalier' Nigra ex- 
 pressed his opinion that the Italian government might avert a French 
 occupation by redoubled efforts- to repress the Garibaldian invasion 
 without occupying pontifical territory. A note from the Italian gov- 
 ernment, on the 17th of October, said: "That in the event of a 
 revolution taking place in Rome, the only efficacious means was the 
 intervention of Italy for the purpose of restoring order and protect- 
 ing the person of the pontiff, leaving the question of sovereignty 
 intact." On the same day the French government replied that it did 
 not, in any case, admit Italian intervention at Rome, since a revolu- 
 tion in that city would be considered at Paris as the consequence 
 of the invasion of pontifical territory. 
 
 In the mean time Garibaldi, having entered the Campagna, de- 
 feated the papal forces at Monte Rotundo on the 25th of October, 
 marched upon Rome, and prepared to enter it. A note from the 
 Marquis d' Azeglio, dated at London the 29th of October, stated 
 that Lord Stanley had declared that England would exert her, good 
 offices to prevent the entry of the Italian troops being considered by 
 France as a casus belli. The popular feeling in Italy was intensified 
 when Garibaldi returned to the head of forces on the 14th of Octo- 
 ber. It appears, from a closely printed volume of official documents 
 presented to the Chamber of Deputies on the 28th of December, that 
 Rattazzi had, previous to the 14th of October, outwardly at least, 
 endeavored to prevent the Garibaldian movement ; but, finding that 
 a large number of local officials of the grand proprietors and of the 
 national guard did not conceal their sympathy with it, he yielded to 
 the tide and declared the impossibility of successfully resisting the 
 invasion. As serious complications had arisen with France, Rattazzi, 
 on the 15th of October, tendered his resignation, which was accepted 
 by the king, who intrusted General Menabrea with the formation of 
 a new ministry. The latter, as constituted by him, and which was in 
 power when Garibaldi was approaching Rome on the 25th of October, 
 was as follows: President of the council of ministers, and minister of 
 foreign affairs. Lieutenant-general Count Louis Fred Menabrea ; min- 
 ter of the interior, Marquis Gualterio ; minister of grace, justice, 
 
A PROPOSED CONFERENCE. 'j6z 
 
 and worship, Adrian Mari; minister of war, Major-general Hector 
 Maria Bertole Viele; minister of finance, Count Cambray Digny; 
 minister of public instruction, Emil Broglio ; minister of public works. 
 Count Cantelli ; minister of the navy. Counter-admiral Provana. 
 
 On the 2d of November Chevalier Nigra wrote that the French 
 government did not consider the entry of the Italian troops into the 
 pontifical territory as a castis belli, and had ordered the French troops 
 to avoid all collision with the Italian army. A dispatch from the 
 Spanish minister for foreign affairs, on the 2d of November, stated 
 that the sending of a Spanish frigate was in no way intended as a 
 hostile step toward Italy, but had only been taken to offer a refuge 
 to the Holy Father in case he might wish to leave his states. On 
 the 9th of November Chevalier Nigra sent a dispatch announcing that 
 the French government absolutely rejected the idea of the conference 
 for settling the Roman question, which had been proposed by Italy, 
 consisting only of CathoHc powers.^ Baron Beust had stated to the 
 Italian minister at Vienna that Austria declined to take part in a 
 conference where none were present but Catholic powers, and in ad- 
 hering to the proposal of a conference assumed no initiative. A 
 note from General Menabrea, on the 14th of November, declared 
 that Italy rejected the proposed conference if it consisted only of 
 Catholic powers, and only consented that the representatives of the 
 great powers should deliberate upon the Roman question, as in the 
 case of other questions of general interest. The Italian government 
 could not take part in any deliberation that might establish a still 
 worse position of affairs between Italy and the ''Holy See." In reply- 
 ing to the invitation to the conference Prince Gortschakofif said that 
 it was not necessary to engage Italy to resist revolutionary move- 
 ments, and that Russia could not accept a conference for the settle- 
 ment of the Roman question without knowing its basis. A dispatch 
 from General Menabrea on the 19th of November announced that 
 the Italian government, while reserving the inalienable right of the 
 independence and unity of the kingdom, did not hesitate to accept 
 the conference in principle, certain that the powers would be favora- 
 ble to Italy. He asked what would be the position of Italy in the 
 conference, whether it was expected that she should attend only to 
 declare her rights — a position suitable to a great state which sub- 
 mitted a great question to friendly governments — or whether the 
 resolutions of the conference would have authority, or be confined to 
 offering counsels? In the latter case, General Menabrea inquired 
 whether the French government would insure their sanction. The 
 
764 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 Italian government would not admit any retrospective consideration 
 of the facts by which the kingdom had been constituted. The de- 
 liberations of the conference should be confined to removing the 
 difficulties between Italy and the **Holy See." 
 
 The Italian parliament reassembled on the 5th of December, 
 1867. General Menabrea announced the composition of the new 
 ministry, and explained its policy. After alluding to the difficulties 
 which the new cabinet had encountered, he went on to maintain the 
 right of Italy to intervene in the pontifical states when the interven- 
 tion of France took place. He said : ' ' It was the right and duty of 
 the government to arrest Garibaldi, who had violated the laws of his 
 country. The conduct of the ministry, in spontaneously withdrawing 
 the troops of Italy when all danger had ceased, prevented the arrival 
 of other foreign soldiers, and facilitated the departure of a portion 
 of those who had entered the papal territory." After justifying the 
 acts of repression which had been exercised during the recent state 
 of things, General Menabrea stated that the king had resolved to 
 grant amnesty to all persons compromised by the late events. With 
 regard to the Roman question, he said that it required very little to 
 thwart the diplomatic action of the government. Referring to the 
 rights of Italy, General Menabrea maintained that Rome, being in an 
 isolated position in the center of Italy, was an impediment to the 
 freedom of communication between the provinces of the Italian king- 
 dom. He said: ''Supposing France had a foreign government at 
 Paris, how could she exist? The Roman question is not to be solved 
 by violence. The ^Holy See* will be respected; and the pope will 
 find his strongest support in Italy, and not from abroad." 
 
 On the 6th of December the Chamber of Deputies elected Signor 
 Lanza, the candidate of the government, president of the Chamber 
 by one hundred and ninety-four votes against one hundred and fifty- 
 four, which were given to Rattazzi. On the 22d of December Signor 
 Bonfordini proposed an order of the day affirming Rome to be the 
 capital of Italy, deprecating the attainment of that object by illegal 
 means, and approving the conduct of the ministry. General Mena- 
 brea accepted the order of the day. The result of the vote was one 
 hundred and ninety-nine in favor of the motion and two hundred and 
 one against it, defeating the ministry by a majority of two. 
 
 During 1867 the Protestant missions in Italy were in a prosperous 
 condition, estimating them not so much by the number of commu- 
 nicants as by their religious status. The Rev. W. G. Moorehead, in 
 his report to the ''American and Foreign Christian Union," stated 
 
VARIOUS EVANGELICAL MISSIONS. 765 
 
 that the following laborers under his. direction in Central Italy were 
 supported by that society : Evangelists — S. Bernalto, G. Gallegari, E. 
 Volpi, E. Zati, G. Martinelli, G. Rovillo, G. P. Luquet, B. Brachetto ; 
 Colpoiieurs — E. Rocca, G. P. Gardiol, G. Barsant; Teachers — B. Ber- 
 natto, Mrs. Rutigni, Mr. and Mrs. Suquet, C. Petrella, Miss Bonis ; 
 Students — Domenico Beisso, Adele Galazzo. The stations occupied 
 were Torano, Carrara, Miseglia, Spezia, Casano, Sarzana, Foiano, 
 Prato, Portoferraio, Longone, Terni, Bari, and Lecce. Mr. Moore- 
 head visited the latter city, which is situated in the extreme south of 
 Puglie, on the Adriatic side of the Apennines, and contained about 
 thirty thousand inhabitants. He described it as being far in advance 
 of the great majority of Neapolitan cities in general intelligence and 
 refinement. In writing of the obstacles to be overcome there and 
 elsewhere before missions can be successfully established, he expressed 
 his belief in the ultimate triumph of truth. "Multitudes of famish- 
 ing souls," he declared, *'are earnestly seeking the bread of life. In 
 every city, town, and village of the Italian Peninsula are some, few or 
 many, who are longingly waiting for the true light to illumine their 
 hearts. To carry the Gospel to such was the 'American and Foreign 
 Christian Union ' originally formed ; to this end it labors to-day in Italy. " 
 
 The intolerant spirit of the papacy was manifested in Rome toward 
 the Rev. Mr. Lewis, an English Presbyterian minister, who, having 
 been prohibited from holding religious meetings within the walls of 
 the city, secured a room outside. In the Autumn of 1867 the priests 
 labored hard to induce the proprietor to break his engagement, and 
 thus prevent the Protestants from assembling on his premises; but 
 they were unsuccessful. The hall was a dining-room of an old hotel, 
 which was built for strangers, who, arriving after the gate was closed, 
 spent the night there. It was difficult of access, but, despite the ob- 
 stacles, the congregation steadily increased. The American residents, 
 also, were compelled to worship outside the walls in the same building. 
 
 During 1867 Signor D. Bolognini, an evangelist of the Free Itahan 
 Church, visited many cities and villages, preaching the Gospel and 
 organizing Sabbath-schools. The English Wesleyan missions passed 
 through trials similar to those of the preceding year. Some stations 
 were abandoned for want of support, and others were weakened by 
 rival agencies. Yet five new colporteurs were appointed, and 
 ** Wesley's Sermons" extensively distributed. This aroused the op- 
 position of a priest at Salerno, v.'ho gathered Methodist books and 
 tracts, and burned them in his cathedral before a statue of the 
 Virgin Mary ! 
 
'j66 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Seventh Decade Continued, 1860-1870. 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN PARIIAMENT— EVANGELICAL MISSIONS— PAPAL 
 
 COUNCIL 
 
 ON the 5th of January, 1868, a new Italian cabinet was formed, 
 consisting of General Menabrea, president and minister of for- 
 eign affairs ; Senator Cadorna, minister of the interior ; Count Cam- 
 bray Digny, minister of finance ; Major-general Bertole Viale, minister 
 of war; Deputy De Filippo, minister of justice; Signor Brogho, 
 minister of public instruction and commerce ; Count Cantelli, minis- 
 ter of public works ; and Admiral Ribotti, minister of marine. In 
 September Count Cantelli was appointed to the ministry of the inte- 
 rior, and Signor Pasini in his place to the ministry of public works; 
 and on the 9th of October Signor Vicenza received the appointment 
 of minister of agriculture and commerce. The different financial 
 measures proposed by Count Cambray Digny engaged the almost 
 exclusive attention of parliament for more than six months, and that 
 body adopted the plan of the government with but slight modifica- 
 tions. Among the various items of interest were the statements that 
 the Garibaldian movement of the previous October had cost the state 
 about eighteen millions of lire, and that the sale of ecclesiastical 
 property realized over forty millions of lire. 
 
 The parliament reassembled after the Autumn vacation on the 
 24th of November, and on the following day Signor Mari was elected 
 president of the Chamber of Deputies by one hundred and eighty-five 
 votes against ninety -three given to Signor Crispi, the candidate of 
 the Left. Signor Mordino, the candidate of the Right, was chosen 
 vice-president. Signor Curti asked the government what course it 
 intended to take after the fresh defiance by the papacy to Italy, given 
 by the execution of Monti and Toguetti on the 24th of November. 
 Menabrea, in reply, said that he did not disguise the political signifi- 
 cance of the unjustifiable act of the pontifical government, and added, 
 "The Italian government made every possible effort to avert it; but 
 for the present I can not reply, or accept the discussion upon the 
 question raised by Signor Curti." General Bixio said that one of the 
 
THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT. 'j6'J 
 
 condemned men was an Italian citizen, and that the execution should 
 have been prevented at any cost. A vigorous and decided policy, 
 he added, was necessary to restrain the papacy, and to compel France 
 to cease imposing her dominion at Rome. General Menabrea, while 
 sharing the general indignation felt by the country and the parlia- 
 ment, protested against the assertion that Italy suffered humiliation 
 from any foreign power, and deprecated further discussion as inexpe- 
 dient. A warm debate followed ; and the speeches condemning the 
 papacy and protesting against the French intervention at Rome were 
 loudly applauded by the members of the Chamber and the public in 
 the galleries. SIgnor CorrentI proposed the following motion: ''The 
 Chamber, fully concurring in the censure passed by the government 
 upon the acts of the papacy, passes to the order of the day." The 
 first part of this motion was unanimously approved, and the Chamber 
 then passed to the order of the day by one hundred and forty-seven 
 votes to one hundred and nineteen. 
 
 During the year 1868 the Protestant mission work in Italy made 
 considerable progress. Rev. W. G. Moorehead the efficient repre- 
 sentative of the ''American and Foreign Christian Union" at Car- 
 rara, In a letter, written on the 3d of February, to the official organ 
 of the United Presbyterian Church of America, says: "Of course, 
 as in all mission fields, there are here also many obstacles and diffi- 
 culties which discourage and dishearten us ; but there are times when 
 our hearts are consoled and rejoiced. I have no doubt whatever as 
 to the extent and depth of the evangelical movement in Italy ; nor 
 do I doubt the future results of faithful Gospel work in this land. 
 Here and there little churches are springing up and throwing their 
 light far into the .surrounding darkness." Mr. Moorehead refers to 
 the abandonment of Sarzana as a place of preaching. For almost 
 three months a constant audience ranging from sixty to one hundred 
 and.^wenty, assembled five times every week to hear the Gospel, but 
 improper means employed by the Romanists enticed away all the 
 people except two or three. The diocese of Sarzana had been va- 
 cant for fourteen years, but in June, 1867, the bishop previously 
 appointed by the government took possession of his chair. This 
 step filled the priests with fresh courage and zeal, and they privately 
 visited those who had attended the Protestant meetings, and per- 
 suaded them, it is said, by the use of money to cease hearing the 
 heretics, thus illustrating the proverbial conduct of the Pharisees — 
 "They will neither go in themselves, nor suffer them that are enter- 
 ing to go in." 
 
'j6'i ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. ^ 
 
 In letters written to the *' American and Foreign Christian 
 Union," in the early part of 1868, Mr. Moorehead gives some inter- 
 esting facts concerning the work in that part of Italy which was 
 under his personal supervision. About the beginning of the year 
 religious services were commenced in Prato, a small city situated a 
 half hour's ride on the railway from Florence. Signor Ferretti, the 
 director of a large and important school in Florence, passed Prato 
 every Sabbath on his way to Pistoia, where he ministered to a flour- 
 ishing little Church. He concluded, therefore, to preach the Gospel 
 in this new field. After much difficulty he secured a place of meet- 
 ing, to which twenty-two persons came on the first Sabbath, and 
 about forty on the second, several women being among the attend- 
 ants. From time to time both men and women could not abstain 
 from such exclamations as *' Amen !" ''Certainly !" "It is the truth 
 indeed !" ''What a difference between these meetings and the mass!" 
 etc. Mr. Ferretti declared that his object was "not to make Prot- 
 estants, but, with the blessing of God, sincere believers in Jesus 
 Christ." Avoiding controversy, he followed the example of Paul, 
 and preached Christ and him crucified. The priests denounced him 
 from their pulpits, but he disregarded their diatribes. Mr. Moore- 
 head reported the organization of a mission in Terni, a city of about 
 fifteen thousand inhabitants. The evangelist and colporteur held 
 private meetings, which were largely attended, and many persons pur- 
 chased books and tracts. The inhabitants seemed exceedingly anx- 
 ious to hear the truth, and four or five individuals were found who 
 had possessed the Bible for years, and gave clear evidence of being 
 real Christians. The intelligence from Carrara, Lecce, Bari, Foiano, 
 and other places in Central Italy, was also encouraging. 
 
 Rev. W. Clark, who had charge of the missions in Northern 
 Italy, sent earnest appeals to the "American and Foreign Christian 
 Union" for the necessary means to extend the work of evangeliza- 
 tion. In various places the Italian converts, having heard that there 
 was a training school at Milan for evangelists, requested men to come 
 and preach the Gospel. Since the organization of the theological 
 class in 1866 more than sixty Italian young men applied to be 
 received as pupils; and while, therefore, laborers could be obtained, 
 the want of money prevented the opening of new stations. The 
 reports from the Churches already established indicated prosperity. 
 Signor Secundo Musso, who had recently returned from the United 
 States, where he had conducted an Italian colony, was the evan- 
 gelist at San Mauro, a town of two thousand inhabitants, one hour 
 
REPOR TS FR OM NOR THERN ITAL K ^ 769 
 
 distant from Turin and opposite Superga, where are the tombs 
 of the Sardinian kings and of the members of the royal family. He 
 first began to teach there in 1850, and in 1852 married the daughter 
 of the mayor. She and her three brothers abandoned the papal 
 Church, and the authorities, fearing the growth of the new religion, 
 suspended Mr. Musso from his labors as teacher; but he opened a 
 private school, which became a means of evangelization. In 1854 
 and 1855 he was accused of teaching things contrary to the religion 
 of the state. As San Mauro could be supplied from Turin, he left 
 there and went to the city of Asti, having organized a society of 
 fourteen communicants, a small day-school of twelve, and a large and 
 flourishing evening school. After an absence of many years, Mr. 
 Musso returned to San Mauro and found eight of the original mem- 
 bers of the Church, not one of whom had proved unfaithful. He 
 Avas cordially welcomed and opened a place of worship in his own 
 house. 
 
 At Caravaggio, Professor Peccenini, of the theological school in 
 Milan, diligently labored among the people ; but as the brethren de- 
 sired an evangelist to reside in their midst, Signor Giovanni B. Zuc- 
 chi was sent to them. He belonged to the theological class, and 
 accomplished a good work in the field to which he was appointed. 
 Encouraging reports were also received from the missionaries who had 
 visited Bellaggio, Porlezza, Menaggio, and Lecco, all villages, situated 
 on the lake of Como. In Venice the only evangelizing agency was 
 the Waldensian mission. Signor Gavazzi, while in the city, awak- 
 ened a deep religious interest by his eloquent sermons, which attracted 
 large congregations, not less than seven Jmndred persons being pres- 
 ent at each service. 
 
 The evangelical teacher at Favale, Signor Stephano Cereghini, 
 reported that the friends of the Gospel continued steadfast in the faith. 
 This village is situated about twenty miles from Genoa in the district 
 Fontanabuano, and is shut in by mountain fastnesses. The people 
 were ignorant and superstitious previous to 1852, when a Protestant 
 mission was established, and had been taught by the priests that 
 Protestants had the ''very image and cloven foot of Satan." During 
 the Summer the grassy hills yielded the inhabitants and their cattle a 
 scanty subsistence, and when dreary Winter brought its days of 
 gloominess and want, the young men with their violins and flutes 
 made a musical tour over the land. One of these wandering Favale 
 ministrels, Stephano Cereghini, bidding his family and friends farewell 
 for the Winter, started with his violin under his arm for the thriving 
 
770 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 districts of Piedmont. When he arrived at Pignerol, the entrance of 
 the Waldensian valleys, and ascertained that the dreadful Protestants 
 inhabited that region, he resolved to return home, but before leaving 
 he expressed a desire to see one of the abominable heretics. An 
 innkeeper pointed out to him one of the Vaudois, when Cereghini, 
 raising both hands in astonishment, exclaimed, *'He is a man, has 
 no mark or sign of Satan about him." Now he determined to go 
 forward and become better acquainted with these despised people. 
 
 On the following morning, with his violin as his companion, he 
 proceeded to La Tour, and while passing along the street, beheld a 
 benevolent-looking woman standing in the door of her cottage. He 
 halted, tuned his violin, and soon the streets echoed with his songs, 
 which attracted a large and delighted crowd. The woman invited 
 him into the house to partake with them their evening meal, and he 
 gladly accepted, but was filled with terror when he learned that she 
 was a Protestant. Instead, however, of hearing impious and blas- 
 phemous words, he was surprised at the godly conversation of the 
 devout lady, who asked him questions concerning his soul's salva- 
 tion. His heart was moved, and he requested an introduction to 
 the Waldensian evangelist in that vicinity. The result was that 
 Cereghini entered into the light, and wrote to his parents, saying, 
 * * / have found tJie Bible, and when I return home I will read it to 
 you." This intelligence stunned the family and friends, and prayer 
 was offered three times a day that the young man might be rescued 
 from destruction. When Spring opened, the converted minstrel 
 hastened back to Favale; but instead of being welcomed with joy 
 and gladness, he was shunned as though he had the plague. He 
 gradually won their confidence by relating Biblical stories, and when 
 they asked him where he had learned them, he replied that they 
 were contained in a book which he owned. They were delighted, and 
 continued to meet together from evening to evening, listening eagerly 
 to Cereghini's Bible-readings. 
 
 In answer to the prayers of the faithful young Christian, his 
 brothers and sisters, and several of his relatives, about twenty-five 
 in all, were hopefully converted to the truth. The priests were ter- 
 ribly enraged, and from the pulpit, the altar, and the confes- 
 sional denounced the heretics. On the 13th of November, 1852, ten 
 officers of the government surrounded the house of the so-called 
 Protestants, arrested three brothers and two sisters, and conducted 
 them to the town of Chiavari, where they were imprisoned sepa- 
 rately in miserable cells, and where they remained four months suf- 
 
MILAN THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL. 77 1 
 
 fering pains, physical and spiritual, hardly to be described. Finally, 
 after three day's trial in court before thousands of persons, they were 
 released. Joseph died soon after from injuries received in prison, 
 and Agostine was seriously crippled. Stephano spent three years in 
 the Protestant college at La Tour, and then returned to Favale to 
 instruct the people. In 1862 the Protestants there had a small 
 chapel, a membership of sixty persons, and an interesting school. 
 
 During the year 1869 the Protestant cause in Italy gradually 
 advanced, and the laborers there were encouraged by evidences of 
 spiritual prosperity. Rev. W. G. Moorhead, the ''Missionary Direc- 
 'tor" of the American and Foreign Christian Union, resident at Flor- 
 ence, employed nine evangelists, and four teachers and colporteurs. 
 The number of stations and out-stations occupied was fourteen. Rev. 
 W. Clark, the ** missionary director" of the same society, residing 
 in Milan, employed thirteen evangelists, two Bible-women, and one 
 teacher. There were fourteen stations and eleven out-stations. The 
 Milan Theological school reported three professors and twenty-two 
 students. This institution was organized in the Spring of 1866, and 
 opened with thirteen students. It received liberal donations from 
 several American philanthropists, and during the first two years 
 the number of students ranged from thirteen to twenty. Professor 
 Paulo Bergaglio, formerly professor of history and languages in the 
 Cavour Institute in Turin, and afterwards in the Ambrosian College 
 in Milan; Professor Francesco Gatti, formerly professor of philos- 
 ophy in, and president of the Municipal College of Altamura; and Pro- 
 fessor Melchiore Peccenini, for several years an evangelist of the 
 "American and Foreign Christian Union" — these able instructors 
 had charge of the three prominent departments of the Milan school. 
 Signor Francesco Lagomarsino, one of the first Italians converts, who, 
 with Mazzarela and others, long fought and suffered even imprison- 
 ment for the truth, trained the pupils in the practical and critical 
 study of the Bible. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1869, Dr. Luigi De Sanctis, the dis- 
 tinguished Italian theologian, died in Florence, after a severe illness. 
 He was born in Rome, December 31, 1808, and in early life felt 
 that he was called to the priesthood. After completing his studies 
 he was consecrated, and received the appointment of confessor from 
 the bishop of Viterbo. He obtained several positions of professor of 
 fine arts, belles-lettres, and philosophy, and was honored with the 
 degree of professor of divinity by the University of Viterbo. In 
 1835, when the cholera desolated Genoa and swept away many 
 
 50 
 
772 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 DE SANCIIS. 
 
 priests, young De Sanctis visited the hospital called Lazzaretto, and 
 manifested truly a benevolent spirit during thirteen months of inces- 
 sant labor in this work. His health becoming impaired, he received 
 permission from Padre Togni, the head of the order, to return to 
 Rome. In 1838, yielding to his religious impulses, he entered the 
 ministry, and was fully authorized to preach. In 1839 ^^ ^^^^ ^P" 
 pointed preacher of the ** Convent of the Conception," and in the 
 following year, on the 7th of February, by the special apostolic 
 
THE LIFE AND LABORS OF DE SANCTIS. 773 
 
 letter of Gregory XVI, he was constituted curate of Madelina alia 
 Rotunda. On the 15th of the same month the cardinal vicar con- 
 firmed the nomination, and De Sanctis became minister of Poltzzia, 
 such being the curate of Rome, a difficult and dangerous office, 
 because a word from the curate could Imprison any man. 
 
 In 1842 he was the preacher of Santa Croce del Lucchesi, and during 
 the following year held a similar position In Santa Maria de Monti. 
 At this time he was accused of speaking disrespectfully of the pope, 
 and was condemned by the Inquisition for disloyalty. In 1844 he 
 was again appointed to officiate In the "Convent of the Conception " In 
 Campo Martio, and was also chosen biographer of the order to which 
 he belonged. In 1845 ^^ preached to the convicts In the Castle of 
 St. Angelo; and the next year proved to be the most memorable 
 In his history. He received an unexpected visit from Rev. Mr. 
 Lownes, pastor of the Scotch Church in Malta, who had come to 
 see him in the name of his friend, Padre Achllli. The latter had 
 informed him of the opinions of De Sanctis, and during the Interview 
 the dissatisfied priest expressed his feelings, but declared that he 
 could not leave the Romish Church on account of family relations. 
 In writing theses on various religious subjects, he Avas convinced of 
 the errors and apostasy of the Church, and the conversation of 
 Mr. Lownes rendered his convictions more intense. In September, 
 1847, 1^^ ^vas again visited by this minister, whom he now recognized 
 as his hberator. De Sanctis, having resolved to abandon the priest- 
 hood, would have hastened to Civita Vecchia, and sailed for Malta, 
 but knowing that Imprisonment for life was the penalty in case of 
 arrest, he accepted Mr. Lownes's invitation to accompany him to 
 Ancona, where he would find an opportunity to reach Corfu, Greece. 
 He Informed the superior of his order that he desired to make an excur- 
 sion to Ancona, and probably to Venice. After considerable diffi- 
 culty, he obtained a passport through the influence of Mr. Lownes, and 
 having received from the superior testimonials of his standing In the 
 priesthood, he proceeded to Ancona on the nth of September. He 
 remained there until the 20th, burdened Avith anxiety, because he 
 feared arrest; but Mr. Lownes consoled him, and shortly before the 
 sailing of the steamer, conducted him to the residence of the EngUsh 
 consul, where he divested himself of his sacerdotal robes and hat, 
 exchanging his short pants for long ones. Disguised In the dress of 
 a citizen, De Sanctis seemed to be a different man, and when the 
 vessel moved out of port he breathed more freely, while gratitude 
 
774 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 to God filled his heart. Finding a rosary in his pocket, he desired 
 to throw it into the sea, but Mr. Lownes asked him for it as a 
 remembrance of his conversion to the Gospel. 
 
 From Corfu the refugee proceeded to Malta, where he resided 
 two years. When Pius IX heard of his escape he was enraged, 
 and Cardinal Ferretti dismissed the man who gave the passport, but 
 afterwards restored him. De Sanctis found many friends in Malta, 
 including Padre Achilli, who had left his order of monks, and had 
 preached several years to the Italians on the island. In 1844 the 
 ex-monk started a paper, called '^ Indie atore,'' to which De Sanctis 
 contributed. The latter also wrote letters to Padre Togni and Car- 
 dinal Patrizzi, giving his reasons for leaving the Romish Church. He 
 preached every Sabbath morning and evening in Padre Achilli's 
 church, and lectured on the Epistles of St. Peter. Tuscany having 
 granted religious liberty in 1848, De Sanctis proceeded to Italy, and 
 proclaimed the Gospel in the Swiss church at P'^lorence, the Scotch 
 church in Leghorn, and elsewhere; but the priests appealed to the 
 authorities to "prevent his preaching in the Italian language. He 
 returned to Malta, published the journal '' Indie atore,'' and established 
 another called '' Cattoliea Christiana,'' in which appeared his famous 
 letter to Pius IX, which has reached twenty editions. The bishop 
 of Malta condemned it, and anathematized its author. In June, 1849, 
 De Sanctis was married to Miss Martha Sommerville, an English 
 lady; and in March, 1850, arrived at Genoa, where he preached a 
 few months. He then made a missionary tour among the Italians 
 residing in Switzerland, and wrote a commentary on the Epistles of 
 St. Peter. On September i, 1852, the Waldensian Table invited 
 him to come to Turin, and after spending almost a year there he 
 was consecrated August 31, 1853. In April, 1854, he went to Geneva 
 and other places, laboring for the Waldenses; but in 1855 he with- 
 drew from that body on account of the difficulty concerning church 
 property. He then devoted ten years of his life to the work of organ- 
 izing ''Free Churches" in Genoa, Turin, and elsewhere. In March, 
 1864, he published a "Confession of Faith," in which he rejected 
 Plymouthism, and in 1865 issued his colossal work called "Roman 
 Papale." Removing to Florence, he became editor of ih^ Ami eo di 
 Casa, and died on the anniversary of his birth, December 31, 
 1869. For five years he had been professor of theology in the Wal- 
 densian seminary in that city, and also devoted some time to writing 
 and preaching. He passed away in the triumphs of faith, was buried 
 
NEIV CAB/NET. 775 
 
 in the English cemetery, and left behind him as sincere mourners the 
 Protestant Christians of Italy. In the following June a stone was 
 placed over his grave bearing this inscription: "To the memory of 
 Luigi De Sanctis, a herald of the Gospel, born in Rome, December 
 31, 1808; died in Florence, December 31, 1869. This monument 
 was erected by all the evangelical Christians of Italy. * I am the res- 
 urrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
 yet shall he live' (John, xi, 25). 'And behold I come quickly, and 
 ni}' reward is with me to give every man according as his work 
 shall be' — 'Even so, come. Lord Jesus' (Rev. xxii, 12, 20)." 
 
 The political condition of Italy in 1869 was comparatively tran- 
 quil. On the 5th of May the ministry resigned, and Menabrea, the 
 president, undertook to form a new cabinet, but soon retired in 
 favor of Count Cambray Digny. The crisis ended on the 13th of 
 May, and a new ministry constituted, as follows: General Mena- 
 brea, president of the council and minister of financial affairs ; 
 Signor Ferrari, minister of the interior; Signor A. Madani, minister 
 of public works ; Signor Bargoni, minister of public instruction ; Sig- 
 nor Minghetti, minister of commerce and agriculture. The minister 
 of finance, war, and marine remained the same. The administration 
 of Victor Emmanuel was generally popular, and when he visited 
 Venice in October, to welcome the Empress Eugenie, he was received 
 with great enthusiasm. In November he was so ill that his death 
 was expected, and the members of the royal family were summoned 
 to Florence. He recovered, however, and met with a hearty recep- 
 tion from the people on his trip to Turin and on his return to the 
 capital. 
 
 An interesting event in the ecclesiastical history of Italy was the 
 assembling of the famous CEcumenical Council at Rome, on the 8th 
 of December, the festival of the Immaculate Conception. The morn- 
 ing was ushered in by the booming of cannon, the ringing of bells, 
 and stormy, unpropitious weather. Yet St. Peter's was crow^ded with 
 more than a thousand cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, from every 
 part of the world, and an audience of ninety thousand people. The 
 chamber where the council held its sessions was in the north transept 
 of St. Peter's, which was well adapted for scenic display, but not so 
 well for speaking or hearing. At nine o'clock in the morning the 
 pope, dressed in white satin, glittering with diamonds, j.nd borne on 
 men's shoulders, entered the council-chamber, preceded by carclinals, 
 bishops, and ecclesiastics of every kind. A concealed choir sang the 
 
7/6 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ** Veni Creator," and as the cardinals, patriarchs, abbes, archbishops, 
 and bishops occupied their respective places, the pope led in the 
 chant, the whole body of ecclesiastics uniting in the chorus. Then 
 
 followed the ceremony of kissing the pope's foot. The council con- 
 sisted of seven hundred and sixty-four delegates, more than one-third 
 of whom were from Italy alone, thus giving to the Italian Romanists 
 and the Ultramontanes the control of the assembly. 
 
THE FREE CHURCH ASSEMBLY. J 'J J 
 
 EIGHTH DECADE, 1870-1880. 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 l^HE ''FREE CHURCH''— THE RING IN ROME— PROTESTANT 
 
 MISSIONS. 
 
 NO important event, religious or political, took place in Italy 
 during the early part of 1870. On the 22d of June, however, 
 an ecclesiastical body met in the city of Milan, whose deliberations 
 were destined to exert a great influence upon the moral character of 
 the nation. The representatives of the various Italian Free Churches, 
 in obedience to the call of a "committee" previously appointed, 
 assembled together for the purpose of securing unity of effort in the 
 work of evangelization. The first formal attempt in 1865 having 
 resulted in nothing practical, these scattered and isolated congrega- 
 tions resolved to make another trial, the Church in Milan taking the 
 initiative, and sending forth an earnest appeal. After the meeting 
 had been opened with prayer, the following delegates presented their 
 credentials and were enrolled : Florence — Salvatore Ferrati, Alessandro 
 Gavazzi, Angiolo Bagnoli. Bologna — Damiano Borgia. Pisa — De 
 Michelis, Ranieri Ciesti. Milan — P. Rossi, F. Lagomarsino, G. Ah 
 borghetti. Veivna — C. Canova. Brescia — A. Beria. Udine — A. 
 Girola. Treviso — L. Signorelli, A. Peruzzi. Terni — G. Martinelli. 
 Carrara — E. Volpi. Spezzia and Areola — G. D. Dassio. Como and 
 Fara — S. Contini. Treviglio and Caravaggio — G. B. Zucchi. Bassig- 
 nana — G. Balossini. Casale Monfeirato — C. Cocorda. San Giovanni 
 Pelliee — C. Cocorda, E. Jahier. Graglia — F. Lagomarsino. Livonio, 
 Vercellese, and San Mauro Torinese — S. Musso. 
 
 The above twenty-three Churches were represented regularly by 
 deputies. There were also present, from the Church of Genoa, D. 
 Bolignini and S. Bernatto, without credentials, who were unanimously 
 invited to take part in the proceedings of the assembly. Besides the 
 Churches above mentioned, the following had also given in their ad- 
 hesion to the appeal for the organization of the assembly ; namely, 
 Bari, Barletta, Lecce, Trani Novi-Ligure, Portoferraio, Tortonaio, and 
 Forano. Thirty-three Churches, therefore, adhered to this assembly, 
 
778 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and several others were expected to join. The assembly proceeded 
 to the election of officers; and S. Ferrati was chosen president; F. 
 Lagomarsino and De Michelis, vice-presidents ; and S. Bernatto and 
 C. Cocorda, secretaries. After determining that there should be three 
 sessions each day, the first session was closed with prayer. 
 
 At the second session the order of the day was the great question 
 for which the assembly was convened — the union of the Italian Free 
 Churches — which was freely and fraternally discussed. De Michelis, 
 Bernatto, Lagomarsino, Gavazzi, Bolognini, Musso, Cocorda, Jahier, 
 Zucchi, Rossi, Canova, Ferretti, and Volpi took part in this discus- 
 sion. The necessity of such a union was universally recognized, and 
 the propriety of establishing it upon a declaration of principles com- 
 mon to all the Free Churches, conformably to the appeal of the 
 Church of Milan. At the third session, after the reading of the 
 minutes of the previous session, a discussion followed upon the fun- 
 damental principles which should constitute the basis of union. The 
 principal speakers were Gavazzi, Lagomarsino, Cocorda, Bernatto, 
 Bolognini, and Jahier. As the result of this discussion, it was de- 
 termined that a clear distinction must be made between the general 
 interests of the evangelical work and the particular interests of indi- 
 vidual congregations, and the following paper was therefore adopted : 
 * * The assembly, considering that the union of the Churches ought 
 not to trespass upon the Hberty of individual Churches and congre-' 
 gations, affirm that the declaration of principles to be proposed as a 
 basis of union for the Churches be limited to the fundamental doc- 
 trines of faith." 
 
 Formulas of such doctrines having been prepared by the Church 
 of Florence and the commission of Milan, both were submitted to 
 the assembly, and a committee was appointed to examine and report 
 upon the two schemes — Bolognini, De Michelis, and Jahier being 
 selected to perform this duty. After a discussion of various matters 
 relating to the assembly of the Italian Churches held in Bologna in 
 1866, the assembly passed to the reading and examination of the 
 letter of the brethren of the Church of Florence (Via Maggio). 
 After a lengthy discussion upon the principles involved in said letter 
 at variance with and opposed to consummation of the union of the 
 Churches, a commission was appointed to reply to it in the spirit of 
 Christian love and charity. Gavazzi, Rossi, and Cocorda were chosen 
 to discharge this important duty. The sessions of the 23d and 24th 
 of June were principally occupied in the discussion of the declaration 
 of principles presented by the commission. The articles were taken 
 
■^ DE CLARA TION OF PRINCIPLES. yyg 
 
 up one by one, and faithfully discussed ; after which they were all 
 unanimously adopted, as follows : 
 
 *'L God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has manifested his 
 will in revelation, which is the Bible, the only perfect and immutable 
 rule of faith and conduct. 
 
 "11. God created man upright, in his own image and likeness; 
 but Adam disobeyed the word of God, sinned ; and so by one man 
 sin entered into the world, and death by sin. By which cause human 
 nature in Adam and by Adam has become corrupt and sinful ; and 
 we all in Adam are born with an inclination to do evil, and an inca- 
 pacity to do the good commanded by God. We are, therefore, by 
 nature all sinners, and under condemnation. 
 
 **IIL God wills not the death of the sinner, but that he should 
 come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. 
 
 *'IV. Salvation comes from the free and eternal love of the Fa- 
 ther, and is obtained by the expiatory sacrifice, by the resurrection, 
 and by the intercession of the Son, who justifies us. It is communi- 
 cated by the Holy Spirit, who, regenerating the sinner, unites him to 
 Christ by faith, comes to dwell in him, produces peace in his heart, 
 giving him the assurance of the remission of his sins, renders him 
 free, guides and comforts him by the Word that he himself has given, 
 seals and keeps him to the day of the appearing of our Lord and 
 Savior Jesus Christ. 
 
 " V. The Christian, redeemed at a great price, is bound to glorify 
 God in his body, soul, and spirit, which belong to God, walking in 
 holiness, without which no one can see the Lord. To do this he 
 obtains strength from him who has said, ' My grace is sufficient 
 for thee.' 
 
 ** VI. Believers regenerated in Chi'Ist form the Church, which can 
 not perish or apostatize, it being the body of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 **VII. Besides the universal priesthood to which all believers 
 appertain, God himself has established in the Church ministers for 
 the perfecting of the saints and the edification of the body of Christ, 
 which ministers ought to be recognized by the Church itself. 
 
 *^VIII. The Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, and 
 change our body of humiliation into a glorious body. In that day 
 the dead in Christ will rise first, and the living found faithful will be 
 transformed ; and so all will be caught up in the clouds to meet the 
 Lord in the air to be forever with him, and, after, all others will rise 
 to be judged. 
 
 "The General Assembly of the Free Christian Church in Italy 
 
780 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 considers these articles the expression of BibHcal Christianity; not 
 pretending, however, to say that there are not many other doctrines in 
 the Bible necessary to be believed — such, for instance, as the Lord's- 
 supper and Baptism. It lays no claim to infallibility. The Word 
 of God is alone infallible. The declaration of principles in the Church 
 is not the cause or the title of salvation, but the external bond of 
 the unity of faith and the banner of the Church itself" 
 
 This ''Declaration of Principles common to all the various con- 
 gregations that compose the Free Christian Church in Italy " was 
 then again read and voted by acclamation as a whole. The joy and 
 gratitude of the entire assembly at the great step taken was expressed 
 in a fervent prayer of thanksgiving by the evangelist Rossi. 
 
 At the ninth session, in view of the common declaration of faith 
 and the unanimity with which it was voted, the assembly adopted a 
 solemn declaration of the union of the Free Churches in Italy also, 
 for the work of evangelization, as follows: **Ail the Churches repre- 
 sented in the General Assembly in Milan, already united in faith and 
 love, do declare by their representatives that they are united in one 
 body, and bound together in agreement or compact for the great 
 work of the evangelization of Italy." And that this important act 
 should not be misinterpreted nor attributed to the spirit of sect, it 
 was voted that "the assembly declares itself to be united with all 
 Churches and evangelical Christians throughout the world in the 
 bonds of communion with our Lord Jesus." Then there followed a 
 discussion in regard to the "General Assembly," its composition, 
 powers, and convocation. Two projects or plans were presented, 
 one by the Church of Florence, and the other by the commission of 
 Milan. The latter, after a brief discussion, was adopted, embracing 
 the following articles : 
 
 "I. The assembly is composed of all the deputies of the united 
 Churches, and each Church shall have the privilege of sending from 
 one to three deputies. 
 
 "2. It shall be held annually, and determine the time of each 
 succeeding meeting. 
 
 "3. The powers of the assembly are the following: To establish 
 some general plan for the work of evangelization ; appoint its com- 
 mittee and examine the work of the same. It may modify, if neces- 
 sary, the declaration of principles at the suggestion or counsel of the 
 Churches ; it may accept new Churches that desire to form part of 
 this Union, and can judge in the last appeal controversies that may 
 arise in the bosom of the Union itself 
 
VARIO US RESOL UTIONS ADOPTED. >]% i 
 
 **4. The assembly shall appoint its treasurer, independent of 
 the committee, for keeping the funds of the Free Italian Church, 
 which treasurer shall be authorized to receive donations and leg- 
 acies in favor of said Church. He shall not be able, however, 
 to make any payments except by order of the committee, which 
 alone can establish all regulations in reference to said donations 
 and legacies." 
 
 The assembly then proceeded to the discussion of the rules for 
 the Committee of Evangelization, and, by a unanimous vote, adopted 
 the following articles : 
 
 ^*i. The Committee of Evangelization shall consist of not less 
 than five and not more than seven members, and elected annually by 
 the assembly, and its members can be re-elected. 
 
 "2. The office of this committee shall be to superintend the work 
 of evangelization, collect funds necessary for this work, and aid la- 
 borers in connection with it. 
 
 "3. This committee shall present an annual report of its work to 
 the general assembly." 
 
 At the tenth and last session, after various matters relating to the 
 interests of the Church were discussed, the assembly proceeded to 
 the election of the Committee of Evangelization. There Avere elected 
 for the Italian part of the committee : Gavazzi, Ferretti, and Lago- 
 marsino. For the foreign element there were elected : Rev. W. 
 Clark, Rev. A. R. Van Nest, D. D., and Rev. J. R. M'Dougall. 
 Messrs. E3're and Matteini, bankers, were elected financial agents of 
 the assembly. All the minutes of the various sessions were then 
 read and approved, and after a most affecting season of joyous inter- 
 change of thought and feeling at the glorious consummation of this 
 important work, prayer was offered, and the president declared the 
 present assembly closed. 
 
 While this small ecclesiastical body of plain, earnest Protestant 
 ministers was proclaiming its faith in the pure doctrines of an apos- 
 tolic Christianity, the Romish CEcumenical Council was denouncing 
 the progress of civil and rehgious liberty. What a contrast between 
 the assemblage at Milan and that at Rome ! The latter with impos- 
 ing pomp and ceremony conducted business in secret amid the grand- 
 eur of St. Peter's. Five hundred and thirty-three papal dignitaries, 
 from various parts of the earth, clad in their magnificent robes, had 
 been deliberating in solemn conclave since the 8th of December, 1869. 
 It is now the 14th of July, 1870. The real purpose for which the 
 council was called is about to be accomplished. For weeks a stormy 
 
782 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 discussion had characterized the proceedings, but the few prelates 
 who protested against the blasphemous dogma of infallibility lifted 
 up their voices in vain. The vote is taken — four hundred and fifty 
 responding placet, or yes ; eighty-eight non placet, or no ; and sixty- 
 two placet juxta niodiiin, or qualified approval. 
 
 Monday, the i8th of July, was selected for the promulgation of 
 the decree of infallibility. It was apparent to the careful observer 
 that the council did not close with the same pious enthusiasm which 
 greeted Its opening. The somber streets of Rome exhibited no elab- 
 orate decorations, and were not crowded with hurrying vehicles and 
 throngs of pedestrians. The city, instead of wearing the habiliments 
 of the carnival, appeared to be deserted, the heat of Summer having 
 driven nearly all the strangers away. The devout Romans regarded 
 the declarations of the council with cold indifference, and even the 
 deification of one of their own number by the "Mother Church" 
 failed to excite them. There was no solemn pageantry, no magnifi- 
 cent procession. The ecclesiastics came in one by one, or in little 
 groups of two or three. When, at length, the pope arrived, the 
 choir took up the opening chant, and the services commenced, but 
 nearly a third of the seats in the council chamber were still vacant. 
 The minority, after a dignified but unavailing remonstrance, had pre- 
 viously withdrawn from the council, so that of the august assemblage 
 which kneeled reverentially before the pope on the 8th of Decem- 
 ber, 1869, five hundred and thirty-five remained — two for the purpose 
 of recording their final non placet in the presence of the pope. 
 
 The decree of Infaniblllty was read in a shrill penetrating voice by 
 one of the secretaries of the council. As the reading proceeded a 
 strange darkness settled over the scene, and appeared even to the 
 stoutest and most skeptical hearts as almost supernatural. The very 
 air became thick and murky. The roll-call commenced, and the 
 ecclesiastics, rising In their places, responded with their assent to an 
 act of blasphemy which has had no parallel since the declining days 
 of the Roman Empire. Suddenly the long brooding storm broke 
 over the Vatican, and the council chamber was illuminated with an 
 unearthly glare by the sheeted lightning. The voices of the voting 
 delegates were drowned by continuous peals of thunder, but amidst 
 this scene of indescribable sublimity the vote continued to be taken. 
 At length the pope arose to declare the result, and to assume the 
 prerogative which, in the universal judgment of mankind, belongs to 
 God alone. But the darkness was too great for the failing eyesight 
 of the venerable pontiff, and he could not decipher the paper which 
 
READING THE DECREE. 
 
 783 
 
 contained the memorable formula. Hence a servitor was summoned 
 with a lighted taper, and the decree was announced. Thus closed the 
 great council, but its efforts to maintain the temporal power of the 
 
 papacy were ni vain. Already the first step toward the overthrow 
 of Babylon had been taken, though Napoleon III, the "Eldest Son 
 of the Church," designed to protect the interests of the papal See 
 
784 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 when he proclaimed, on the 15th of July, war against Germany, the 
 only Protestant nation on the Continent. 
 
 The victories of the German army reduced France to such an ex- 
 tremity that she was compelled to withdraw her troops from Rome, 
 and accordingly they evacuated the city on the 8th of August, 1870, 
 embarking at Civita Vecchia for their own country. The Roman 
 people were greatly excited because Mazzini threatened to take pos- 
 session of the metropolis ; but Victor Emmanuel would no% permit 
 him, as he considered himself still bound by the September conven- 
 tion, with France, and Mazzini was therefore arrested to keep him 
 quiet. On the 2d of September the Emperor Napoleon and the 
 French army surrendered to the German forces at Sedan. This act 
 was soon followed by the overthrow of the empire and the establish- 
 ment of the French republic, which declared the September conven- 
 tion no longer binding upon France. Victor Emmanuel was now 
 free from this alliance which so lon.g restrained him, and he at once 
 notified Pope Pius IX that he intended to preserve order in Italy — 
 a plain intimation that he Avas determined to be master of Rome. 
 The pontiff appealed to King William of Prussia to protect him, but 
 that sovereign declined to interfere in Italian affairs. The Italian 
 troops entered the papal territory, which readily submitted to the 
 king, and in a few days took position before Rome. Pius IX refused 
 to allow the city to be defended, but caused only sufficient resistance 
 to be made to show that he yielded to force. A small breach was 
 miade in the wall near the Porta Pia, and through this the Italian 
 troops entered Rome on the 20th of September. 
 
 On the 2d of October the Roman citizens, by the plebiscite, voted 
 fifty thousand to fifty for the government of the king, and against that 
 of the pope, and thus, by the decision of his own people, Pius IX, the 
 first of infallible popes, became the last of the sovereign pontiffs. 
 The revolution was accomplished peacefull}^ The Italian correspond- 
 ent of an American journal, who visited the polling-places, declared 
 that perfect order prevailed, the municipal council having adopted a 
 fair plan, and every class voted except the priests and those asso- 
 ciated with them. "I have seen," wrote the correspondent, ''the 
 carnival in Its best days, but I never saw In Rome a scene of so wild 
 hilarity and spontaneous joy." As the result of this change, the 
 papal arms disappeared rapidly from the public buildings, the Jesuits 
 began to leave the city, and new names were given to the streets. 
 On the 31st of December, 1870, Victor Emmanuel entered Rome, 
 and proclaimed it the capital of free and united Italy. The popular 
 
PROPOSED MISSION IN ROME. 785 
 
 sentiment was reflected In a speech delivered in the early part of the 
 year by Gattini, a member of the Italian parliament. His subject 
 was the "Papacy," and in the course of his remarks he said: "Civ- 
 ilization asks what share the papacy has taken in its work. Is it the 
 press ? Is it electricity ? Is it steam ? Is it chemical analysis ? Is 
 it free trade? Is it self-government? Is it the principle of nation- 
 ality ? Is it the proclamation of the rights of man ? Of the liberty of 
 conscience? Of all this the papacy is the negation. Its culminating 
 points are Gregory I, who, like Omar, burnt libraries ; Gregory VII, 
 who destroyed a moiety of Rome and created the temporal sover- 
 eignty ; Innocent III, who founded the Inquisition ; Boniface IX, 
 who destroyed the last remains of rnunicipal liberty in Rome ; Pius 
 VII, who committed the same wrong in Bologna ; Alexander VI, 
 who established the censorship of books ; Paul III, who published 
 the bull for the establishment of the Jesufts ; Pius V, who covered 
 Europe with burning funeral piles ; Urban VIII, who tortured Gali- 
 leo ; and Pius IX, who has given us the modern Syllabus.'' It is a 
 significant fact that when Victor Emmanuel entered the "Eternal City" 
 on the closing day of 1870, the tunnel through Mont Cenis was 
 opened, the work having been completed on the 26th of December. 
 Thus, when the brave king placed upon his head for the first time 
 the crown of a united nation, he was enabled to add to it another 
 star, prophetic of Italy's commercial greatness. The mighty barrier 
 of the Alps was pierced, and direct and uninterrupted railroad com- 
 munication with France and the rest of Europe secured just at the 
 moment when Italy became free, and was prepared to enter upon a 
 career of prosperity. 
 
 On the 24th of October, 1870, Rev. W. Clark, then in Milan, 
 addressed a letter to the secretary of the "American and Foreign 
 Christian Union," at New York, appealing for means to commence a 
 mission in Rome, so providentially opened to evangelical agencies. 
 He stated that many exiled Romans who had been for years scattered 
 among the other cities of Italy w^ere returning, some of them being 
 members of evangelical Churches, and constituting a nucleus for a 
 Church in that important center. Two evangelists from Milan, both 
 Romans, already were at work in their native city, and one of them 
 wrote to Mr. Clark, saying: "Thanks to God, there is every reason 
 to hope, if I am not deceived in respect to the spirit and tendencies 
 of this people, that very soon we shall see planted here a Church of 
 Christ. We have great difficulty in finding just now a hall for wor- 
 ship. The smallest shops are renting at a thousand francs a year." 
 
786 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 The evangelist was even asked to pay three thousand francs a year 
 for an apartment of ten rooms on the first floor; but he was not dis- 
 couraged, expecting that the Lord would send friends with the neces- 
 sary funds. Mr. Clark declared his intention to remove the theological 
 school from Milan to Rome whenever sufficient means were contrib- 
 uted for that purpose. Ten students had completed a three years' 
 course, but the class was dismissed on account of inadequate sup- 
 port. These young men had ability and experience, and needed 
 another year's training to make them efficient ministers of the Gos- 
 pel. *'The Catholics of the United States," wrote Mr. Clark, 'Mast 
 year contributed more than one hundred and seventy thousand dol- 
 lars to the American Catholic College at Rome, and the city of New 
 York itself forty-four thousand dollars, while all the Protestant Christ- 
 ians of America, for the work of evangelization throughout the whole 
 of Italy, contributed only about fifteen thousand dollars. Now, when 
 Rome is entirely opened to the truth, the time is most favorable and 
 opportune to establish there a Protestant theological school, where 
 pious Italian young men may be trained for the work of evangelizing 
 Italy." As will be seen in a succeeding chapter, the Protestants of 
 the United States donated in 1872 a large sum to the Free Italian 
 Church for the establishment of such a school. 
 
 In the latter part of 1870 the Rev. Francesco Sciarelli, of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist mission at Naples, commenced to hold religious 
 services in Rome, preaching, like St. Paul of old, in his own ** hired 
 house." The report of Rev. H. J. Piggott for the entire year shoAvs 
 that the work throughout Italy made some advancement, though the op- 
 position to it was very severe. The laborers were stationed as follows: 
 Northern Division, Padua, Giacomo Roland; Vicenza, Alberigo Bossi; 
 Parma, Bartolommeo Gaultieri; Mezzano, Giuseppe Moreno; Spezia, 
 Ferdinando Bosio ; Intra, Benedetto Lissolo ; Cremona, Donato Patu- 
 celli ; Pavia, Giovanni Annigoni ; Florence, to be supplied; Asola, 
 Gaetano Zocco. Southern Division, Naples, Thomas W. S. Jones; 
 Francesco Sciarelli ; Caserta, to be supplied; Capri, to be supplied; 
 Salerno, Giuseppe Carile ; Cosenza, Luigi Girone ; Messina (Sicily), 
 Giuseppe Spaziante. 
 
 In the early part of 1 87 1 Signor Gavazzi preached in Rome with 
 great success. Three halls were opened for religious worship, and 
 Signor Lagomarsino and Professor Peccenini rendered valuable aid in 
 ministering to the audiences, which constantly became larger. Serious 
 obstacles were encountered, and the Italian government did not have 
 the courage to fully protect the missionaries. It refused to give 
 
PERSECUTION IN ROME, 787 
 
 permission that the Gospel should be publicly preached, though 
 the sale of Bibles and tracts was tolerated. The Jesuits employed 
 spies and secret agents, and both Gavazzi and Lagomarsino on a cer- 
 tain night narrowly escaped faUing into the hands of these assassins. 
 
 On a beautiful Sabbath in May, 1871, the writer was in Rome, 
 and beheld the effects of Jesuitical wrath. He received a cordial 
 invitation from Signor Francesco Sciarelli, who had charge of the 
 Wesleyan Italian mission in that city, to attend the evening com- 
 munion service, but was prevented from enjoying the privilege by 
 the state of his health. One of his traveling companions, however, 
 the Rev. J. F. Hurst, D. D., now president of the Drew Theolog- 
 ical Seminary, was present at the meeting and afterwards described 
 the thrilling scene that he witnessed. About two hundred Italians, 
 men and women, had assembled in their little place of Protestant 
 worship in the very heart of Rome. At the conclusion of his ser- 
 mon Signor SciarelU administered the communion, and was offering 
 prayer, when an explosion occurred in the vestibule, breaking the 
 glass partition, extinguishing the lights, and filling the worshipers 
 with terror. A thick glass bottle containing powder and slugs had 
 been placed there, and the fuse ignited. For a time, all was confu- 
 sion and distress; but wonderful to tell, though the frame-work 
 around the doors and windows was shattered, no person was seri- 
 ously injured. On the following morning the pastor sent a telegram 
 to Naples in these words: **A bomb was exploded in our church 
 last evening, but we are all safe." The friend to whom the telegram 
 was addressed received the following: "A /<^/^r bomb was exploded 
 in our Church last evening." Thus the demons who contrived this 
 scheme of death, in some mysterious way managed also to manip- 
 ulate the telegraphic, wires and mutilate the message. The Italian 
 government made every effort to discover the perpetrators of the 
 maHcious deed, and the papers severely denounced it. 
 
 In the Italian senate, the debate on the papal guarantee bill was 
 closed on the 3d of May, and the measure was adopted by a vote 
 of 105 to 20. It abolished the right of the pope to grant exequaiurs 
 to consuls of foreign powers, and was an important step towards the 
 removal of the last vestige of the temporal power. The bill pro- 
 vided for the payment of the liabilities of the "Holy See," and was 
 passed by the Chamber of Deputies on the 9th of May. The triumphal 
 entry of Victor Emmanuel into Rome occurred on the 1st of July, 
 and was an event of thrilling interest. Thousands of people, defy- 
 ing the rays of a scorching sun, stood along the thoroughfares, and 
 
 51 
 
788 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 patiently awaited the arrival of the royal hero. About the middle 
 of the day the thundering of the cannon announced his arrival at the 
 railway station. The news flashed like lightning from one end to 
 the other of the Eternal City. * * From the Piazza di Termini to 
 the Piazza di Spagna it seemed as though a general convulsion had 
 taken possession of the thousands who crowded the streets. King 
 Victor Emmanuel, who wore the uniform of a general, was received 
 at the railway station by the Prince Pallavicini, the mayor of Rome; 
 Prince Humbert; the Premier Lanza, and the rest of the ministers, the 
 Commandatore Vigliani, the president of the senate ; the Commanda- 
 tore Bianchieri, president of the Chamber of Deputies ; most of the 
 mayors of the principal Italian towns, and by all the civil and military 
 authorities. The royal party, consisting of Victor Emmanuel, Pallav- 
 icini, Lanza, and Prince Humbert, proceeded through the streets in an 
 open carriage, all the other ministers and high authorities following 
 in state carriages. The whole coHege was preceded by a squadron 
 of mounted National Guards, and a numerous and brilliant staff^ 
 came next in the the procession. There were no official prepara- 
 tions, no arches of triumph, and no inscriptions, but flags were so 
 abundant that the walls of the houses were hardly visible. The 
 residences of the rich and poor were decorated with beautiful flowers, 
 and in many places the busts or the pictures of Victor Emmanuel 
 replaced the image of a saint or a Madonna. This ovation was a 
 grand tribute to a noble ruler, and an appropriate recognition of 
 the unity of a nation long dissevered and oppressed." 
 
 The occupation of Rome and the liberal policy of Victor Em- 
 manuel encouraged the Protestant workers throughout Italy. A 
 new agency also appeared in the field, and prepared to gather its 
 part of the harvest. In November, 1870, the General Missionary 
 Committee of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States 
 resolved to establish a mission in the Peninsula. On the 14th of 
 March, 1871, Rev. Leroy M. Vernon, D. D., of the St. Louis 
 Conference, was appointed superintendent, and, with his family, sailed 
 from New York in the latter part of June. He was instructed to go 
 directly to the city of Genoa, and make his temporary headquarters 
 there, and was advised to seek the counsel of Rev. O. M. Spencer, 
 D. D., an able minister of the M. E. Church, and the consular 
 representative of the United States. The committee also requested 
 Dr. Vernon to visit the prominent places, and canvass each before 
 selecting a permanent center of operations, "taking care not to 
 encroach on the fields already occupied by other Protestant mis- 
 
AMERICAN METHODIST AND BAPTIST MISSIONS 789 
 
 sionarles, especially those occupied by the Wesleyan Church/' On 
 the 2d of October the superintendent made his first report from 
 Genoa, announcing his settlement there, and the valuable services 
 rendered by Dr. Spencer. In a letter to the committee, written 
 on the 28th of November, Dr. Vernon stated that he had visited 
 Bologna, Leghorn, Pisa, Ferrara, Verona, and Padua, and at the 
 latter place, then the headquarters of the Wesleyan missions, was 
 cordially received by Rev. H. J. Piggott, the active and efficient 
 superintendent. During this tour of observation important informa- 
 tion was obtained, and the peculiar character of the difficulties to 
 be overcome carefully noted. 
 
 In the Summer of 1870 the Southern Baptist Convention of 
 the United States organized a mission in Italy under the direction 
 of W. N. Cote, M. D., who inaugurated the work by distributing 
 Bibles in Rome and the neighboring cities. At the close of 1871 
 Dr. Cote reported that sixty members belonged to his Church in 
 the *' Eternal City," and gave the following statement of the whole 
 Italian mission: Civita Vecchia — Colporteur, Paolo Gardiol, twenty- 
 two members; Bari — EvangeHst, B. Montinari, seventy-five mem- 
 bers; Bologna — Evangelist, G. Giannini, sixty members; Modina, 
 twenty members; La Tour (Waldensian valleys) — Evangelist, Fer- 
 raris, thirty-four members. Dr. Cote held large meetings in the 
 Trastevere, but, the room being too small for the congregation, 
 an excellent hall was secured in Piazza Navona, in the center of 
 Rome. This splendid square is always full of people, and not less 
 than two hundred men and women attended the Protestant service. 
 The priests were alarmed, and, by instigating the proprietors of the 
 hall to prosecute the tenant >vho rented it, they succeeded in obtain- 
 ing an, injunction. While the formal proceedings of forcible occu- 
 pation by the authorities were going on the multitude in the Piazza 
 Navona loudly and unequivocally expressed their disapprobation. 
 
790 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 THE GREAT DEBATE— WALDENSIAN CONFERENCE— 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 
 
 AN event of great significance occurred in the city of Rome on the 
 evenings of February 9th and loth, 1872. The distinguished 
 Canon Fabiani and two priests Cipolla and Guidi, representing 
 Romanism, and Sciarelli, a Wesleyan Methodist missionary, once a 
 Franciscan monk, Ribetti a pastor of the Waldensian Church, and 
 Gavazzi, the celebrated orator and pastor of the Italian Free Church, 
 representing Protestantism, lield a discussion in the hall of the Ponti- 
 fica Academia Tiberina. The question was concerning the primacy of 
 Peter, which involved the accuracy of tradition relative to the actual 
 presence of the apostle in the "Eternal City." The meeting was pre- 
 sided over by Prince Chigi, of Campagnano, and De Dominicis Tosti, 
 the advocate commendatore, both appointed by the Roman Catholic 
 Church, and Rev. Henry J. Piggott, the superintendent of the Wesleyan 
 missions in Italy, and Dr. Herman Phillip, representatives of the Prot- 
 estant Church of Italy. Two sets of reporters were employed, those 
 of the QEcumenical council for the Church, and those of the Italian 
 parliament for the Protestants. The hall was crowded, and hundreds 
 went away unable to get inside the door. 
 
 Sciarelli commenced the argument by showing from the Acts of 
 the Apostles, the apostolic letters, and the Fathers of the age nearest 
 the apostles, that St. Peter never was in Rome. Fabiani replied to 
 Sciarelli by attempting to confuse the chronology that even his own 
 Church had received by stating that Peter's apostolic mission was gen- 
 eral as was that of all the apostles. He declared that Rome had been 
 the great place of assembling, where the fathers and martyrs had 
 congregated, and disputes with the heretics had occurred. Tradition 
 transmitted to future ages what the Scriptures failed to give, and the 
 Roman Catholic Church believed the statements concerning Peter 
 which came through this channel. Sciarelli said that the Bablyon 
 from which Peter wrote his epistles was Rome, and he would risk 
 the prophetic term, ''Bablyon the Great," as applied to the Holy 
 
THE GREA T DISCUSSION. 
 
 7gl 
 
 City. Ribetti, the Waldensian pastor was the next speaker, and in 
 the beginning of his address he accused Fabiani of introducing insin- 
 uations and traditions, instead of facts. Taking up the argument of 
 his opponent, that Rome was called Bablyon, he turned it against 
 him in the most scathing manner, and concluded by saying that the 
 religion of Christ is not local, but universal; that it had no capital 
 or center here on earth as the Mosaic law and Jerusalem, but that 
 it was like its founder, infinite, spiritual, and universal. 
 
 Cipolla followed Ribetti, endeavoring to strengthen the arguments 
 of Fabiani and to refute those of Ribetti. The weakness of his voice 
 prevented a large part of the audience from hearing the address, but 
 it was given to the reporters. He showed the difference between 
 allusion and insinuation, and considered the number and the nature 
 of the testimonies adduced. The speaker defended Clement, Irenaeus, 
 and Papias, and affirmed that there was abundant time for the Apos- 
 tle Peter to visit Rome and form the pontificate there, considering 
 the time, the distance, and the modes of travel. At the close of 
 Cipolla's argument Gavazzi proceeded to attack with great force, and 
 in his own burning eloquence, the positions taken by the advocates 
 of Romanism, and showed that the ''Acts of the Apostles" con- 
 tained a true, official, and authentic account of the life, labors, and 
 teachings of the apostles. He declared, therefore, that if Peter had 
 preached in Rome and founded a pontificate there Luke, the historian, 
 would have recorded the fact ; for he described Peter's labors at Jeru- 
 salem, Antioch, and Caesarea, but not at Rome. Guidi replied to 
 Gavazzi, reviewing the whole discussion, and commending the argu- 
 ments of his colleagues, Fabiani and Cipolla. He asserted that the 
 coming of Peter to Rome was "a fact, great, solemn, and universal," 
 and that the life of the Church depended upon it ; and in concluding 
 this remarkable debate he referred to the testimony of the Fathers 
 of the fifth and sixth centuries and the silence of heretics and schis- 
 matics in the early ages. The opinion generally prevailed among 
 the crowds that listened to the discussion that the Romish cause was 
 damaged, and Pius IX virtually conceded it by prohibiting any fur- 
 ther public controversies with Protestants. He also appointed a 
 triduum, or office extending through three successive days, with a 
 view to ' ' offer reparation for the horrible blasphemies with which in 
 these latter days infidels have denied the presence and death of St. 
 Peter in Rome." 
 
 On the 4th of March the first anniversary of the Italian Bible 
 Society was held in the saloon of the Argentina Theater, a building 
 
792 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 in the very heart of Rome, a i^^ hundred feet directly south of the 
 Pantheon. Admiral Fishbourne presided, and there were several 
 English speeches, which were interpreted in Italian. But the great 
 feature of the evening was the delivery of eloquent addresses by Fa- 
 ther Hyacinthe and Signor Gavazzi. The former affirmed that the 
 Bible was the common ground of sympathy between him, as a liberal 
 Roman Catholic, and the Protestants; w^hile the latter speaker, in his 
 usual fervent, dramatic, and fluent manner, declared that the historic 
 Church of Rome had been founded by St. Paul, and should be re- 
 stored to its true character. Ribetti, Sciarelli, and others, spoke 
 with great force. 
 
 Signor Alessandro Gavazzi visited the United States in the Sum- 
 mer of 1872, to raise funds for the planting of a Biblical college in 
 Rome. He reached New York on the T7th of April, accompanied 
 by Rev. J. B. Thompson, D. D., an American clergyman, Avho had 
 been in Italy, and was interested in the work of the Free Italian 
 Church. This deputation was tendered a public reception by the 
 ''American and Foreign Christian Union," and on the 9th of May, at 
 the twenty-third anniversary of that society, Gavazzi delivered a pow- 
 erful address. By his earnest appeals before the General Conference 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and other ecclesiastical bodies, 
 he awakened a deep interest in behalf of the evangelization of Italy, 
 and in a short time secured from the Protestant Churches a large sum 
 for that purpose. In 1852 he was an exile from his native land, and 
 stirred the hearts of the American people by his matchless eloquence ; 
 in 1872 he came as a free citizen of a united Italy. 
 
 On the loth of March, 1872, Joseph Mazzini, the Italian patriot, 
 closed his remarkable career. Since the previous November he had 
 resided in Pisa under an assumed name, seeking in the mild climate 
 of his native land the restoration of his health, broken by study and 
 fatigue after forty years of unwearied activity. He had been in exile 
 for a long period, but lived pleasantly in a small house in West 
 Brompton, a remote suburb of London, occasionally meeting his 
 friends in the parlor of Madame Venturi, his steadfast friend and 
 admirable translator. His arrival in Pisa was known only by his 
 relatives and the authorities, and he occupied a few modest rooms in 
 the Via della Madalena, dining in the evening with the Roselli family, 
 who resided in the vicinity. 
 
 In February he was prostrated by a severe bronchial attack, from 
 which he recovered ; but on the 6th of March he was again troubled 
 with an oppression of breath, which his physician, Rossini, attrib- 
 
THE DBA TH OF MAZZINI. 793 
 
 uted to the congestion of his lungs. He became worse, entirely lost 
 his voice, and in a few days ceased to live. "He died," says one 
 who was present, '*in a room on the second floor, looking toward 
 the south, over a little garden where are a few straggling, sickly 
 plants. Extended on the bed of death, covered with a linen coverlet 
 with alternate fine stripes of white and lilac, the waxen features re- 
 tained the traces of the calm resignation which had never abandoned 
 him in the days which preceded that of his death. He did not 
 appear as if dead, but like a profound thinker who had fallen asleep 
 after excessive intellectual fatigue. In the morning, before the news 
 had spread throughout the city, came Corte, Bertani, Campanella, 
 Saffi, and Quachio. I saw crossing the threshold of the little house 
 the venerable Enrico Meyer, weeping as he went to give the last kiss 
 to the friend of his distant youth." 
 
 The death of Mazzini awakened a feeling of sorrow in every 
 patriotic heart, and the funeral honors paid to him were national. 
 His devoted personal friends accompanied the bier to Genoa, and 
 deputations from societies and towns followed, swelling into a vast 
 procession of eighty thousand mourners. Commemorative services 
 were also held in Rome, the whole length of the Corso being filled 
 with sorrowing thousands, who beheld the bust of their departed 
 champion, by whose side stood a colossal figure of Italy in the act 
 of placing a laurel crown upon his head. The land which he had 
 loved so passionately, from which he had been an exile, to which he 
 had returned again and again when he saw an opportunity for her 
 liberation, now so far on its road to liberty received back her great 
 son and gave him burial. The ideas which crowned his life did not 
 go down with him into the grave, but abide for the further emanci- 
 pation of the nation which witnessed their birth and development, 
 and the steadfast integrity of their great apostle. 
 
 The various Protestant agencies in Italy were rewarded with an 
 encouraging measure of success. In April, 1872, the Waldenses held 
 a missionary conference in Florence, which continued four days. 
 None but mission stations were embraced, and the design was to 
 discuss subjects in their interest. Thirty -seven posts were repre- 
 sented, and the number of working delegates was sixty-four. They 
 presented a fine appearance, showed great zeal, and awakened hopes 
 for the regeneration of Italy. Clergymen of the Free Churches of 
 Scotland and Italy, and of other religious bodies, were also present. 
 Interesting papers, relating to various departments of Church and 
 Sabbath -school work, were read by Signori E. Comba, A. Revel, 
 
794 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 A. Malan, B. Pons, A. Meille, and Ribetti. The discussions were 
 able, and a delightful spirit of harmony prevailed. 
 
 The Fourth General Assembly of the Free Italian Church opened 
 its sittings on Wednesday morning, December 4, 1872, at No. 9 Via 
 Corallo, in the city of Rome. After praise and prayer the inaugural 
 discourse was delivered by Signor Lagomarsino, the president of last 
 year's assembly in Florence, and pastor of one of the largest Churches 
 in Italy, that of Milan, containing about five hundred members in 
 full communion. The text was Ephesians iv, i-io, from which a 
 most correct exhortation to Christian humility was addressed to the 
 membership as well as the pastorate of the Church. The assembly 
 Avas very strict in examining the credentials of the deputies, and 
 twenty-nine were enrolled, representing twenty-eight Churches. The 
 evangelist at Turin could not be present because a revival was pre- 
 vailing in his Church, the meetings being crowded night after night 
 with people eager to hear the Word of God. Professor de Michelis, 
 of Pisa, was chosen president of the assembly; Signor Jahier, vice- 
 president ; and Signori Cocorda and Jahier, secretaries. No more 
 fitting selection of men could have been made. Signor de Michelis 
 is not only an able evapgelist of the cross, and a man of great elo- 
 quence and deep spirituality of mind, but he has had the advantage 
 of a legal education and long experience in presiding over large soci- 
 eties of artisans in Pisa, where flourishing schools attest his intelligent 
 devotion to the cause of Christ. He presided with dignity, and by 
 his promptness and genial spirit won the esteem of all. 
 
 A large number of foreigners attended the meetings, and addressed 
 the assembly in words of kindly sympathy and encouragement. 
 Among those who were introduced and made speeches, which were 
 translated by Signor Gavazzi and others, were the Rev. Mr. Ashton, 
 of the Evangelical Continental Society, of London ; Rev. R. B. 
 Campfield, of the American and Foreign Christian Union, of New 
 York; Rev. Mr. Alexander, of the American Board of Commission- 
 ers for Foreign Missions ; Rev. Dr. Waddington, of London ; Rev. 
 H. J. PIggott, of the Wesleyan missions in Italy ; Rev. W. C. Van 
 Meter, of Rome ; Rev. Mr. Mourges, of the Central Protestant So- 
 ciety of France; Rev. E. H. Johnson, of the American Baptist 
 Church, and others. The Rev. John Ker, D. D., and Mr. Donald 
 Miller, of the Scotch Church in Rome, and the Rev. Mr. Walte, of 
 the American Church in Rome, were also present on several occa- 
 sions. A number of letters were read from other societies and gen- 
 tlemen, expressing deep regret at their inability to be present at so 
 
POLITICAL EVENTS. 795 
 
 unique and historic a gathering, the first assembly of evangehcal 
 preachers in the ''Eternal City" since the days of the apostles. 
 
 On Thursday, December 5th, a school festival was held — a large 
 number of parents, members of assembly, and Christian strangers 
 being present. The two hundred children connected with the Free 
 Church schools were examined, prizes distributed, and religious serv- 
 ices conducted. On the following Sabbath the Rev. A. R. Van 
 Nest, D. D., and Signor Gavazzi preached in the American Church 
 in Rome, and the Rev. J. R. M'Dougall occupied the pulpit of the 
 Scotch Church. 
 
 After the adjournment of the assembly many of the deputies 
 carried to their homes a photograph of Aonio Paleario, taken from 
 an original painting which a photographer of Rome found in the 
 Communal Library of Veroli. 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880, 
 
 Chapter XXXI. 
 
 VARIOUS RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL EVENTS. 
 
 WHILE serious obstacles continued to impede the progress of 
 the Protestant cause in Italy, there were many promising indi- 
 cations of the future triumph of evangelical Christianity. Even in 
 Rome, some who had been only soldiers of a temporal king enlisted 
 under the banner of Christ. In the early part of 1873 Henry Day, 
 Esq., an intelligent, philanthropic American, visited the "Eternal 
 City," and attended a night service for soldiers, organized about the 
 first of the previous October by Rev. Mr. Waite of the American 
 Union Chapel. Soon after the commencement of the enterprise a 
 young man, by the name of Luigi Capellini, who had once been a 
 soldier and a Roman Catholic, was employed to conduct it. He had 
 a fair education and some theological training, and found easy access 
 to the soldiers in the barracks. By his daily visits, conversations, 
 and distribution of tracts, he succeeded in attracting many of the 
 young men to his class, which met every evening. After two months 
 he had daily at his rooms from fifty to eighty persons. 
 
 Mr. Day, in an interesting letter to the New York Observer^ de- 
 
796 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 scribes the scene which he witnessed not far from the spot where 
 tradition represents the "hired house" to have stood, in which Paul 
 dwelt two whole years and received all that came in unto him, and 
 where the very pillar is pointed out to which the aged apostle, they 
 sa}', was chained. A short distance from this very house is a narrow 
 street called Via Gallinacia. Accompanied by Rev. Mr. Waite, the 
 American visitor "mounted a dark, dirty, winding- stone stairway for 
 three stories. They rang a bell, a soldier opened the door, and 
 they were ushered into a dimly lighted, brick-paved room, about 
 twenty feet square, filled with soldiers, all in clean uniforms of gray 
 pantaloons and blue coats with brass buttons." About forty strong, 
 honest, good, intelligent looking young men, all under twenty-five 
 years of age, were assembled for the purpose of studying the Bible. 
 Some were corporals and sergeants, with small side arms. Many 
 were compelled to stand and others were seated on rude chairs. 
 "There was a pine table at one end, and in front stood the colpor- 
 teur. Each soldier had a Bible, and all were studying the lesson 
 together, which was the first two of the Ten Commandments. The 
 missionary first read the Ten Commandments, and then read from 
 the New Testament our Savior's summary of them. In the course 
 of the lesson he had occasion to mention the images of the saints 
 and the Virgin Mary, so much venerated by the Catholics, and he 
 gave them the views of the Protestants on that subject. After the 
 lesson prayer was offered, and then came a free conversation with the 
 soldiers. They were encouraged to ask questions about the Bible 
 and the Protestants' views of it." 
 
 Opening his Bible, one of the soldiers desired to know how Prot- 
 estants explained the saying of Christ contained in the sixteenth 
 chapter of Matthew and eighteenth verse, "Thou art Peter and upon 
 this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not pre- 
 vail against it." The missionary was prepared to answer this ques- 
 tion, which involves the great fundamental truth or error of Roman- 
 ism. He requested the soldier to read in the sixteenth verse of the 
 same chapter the declaration of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son 
 of the living God." Then said he, when Christ is speaking in the 
 eighteenth verse of a rock he refers not to Peter, but to Peter's con- 
 fession in the sixteenth verse. "This confession that Christ is the 
 Son of God," said he, "is the rock on which the church is built, 
 and to which Christ referred." This was evidently a new idea to 
 the young soldier. Through an interpreter Mr. Day addressed the 
 audience, and told them that the Americans were deeply interested 
 
THE ITALIAN MISSIONS. 797 
 
 in Italy, and desired its inhabitants to have the Bible, not caring 
 what name they assumed if they read God's Word and obeyed its 
 precepts. The speaker directed their attention to a card on the wall 
 on which was printed the verse, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
 and thou shalt be saved," and stated that this was the whole of relig- 
 ion. The soldiers were pleased with the address, and in the most 
 touching manner expressed their thanks when Mr. Day informed 
 them that they should have a larger room. As they went out each 
 one came up and, after saluting him, shook his hand heartily. 
 
 At another meeting on Sabbath, a Roman Catholic priest, in his 
 black robe and wide-brimmed hat, came in and sat near the door. 
 Mr. Day's interpreter, believing that he was a spy, informed him that 
 he was not allowed there. He then retired to the hall, followed by 
 Mr. Day, who invited him to remain at the service, saying that all 
 were welcome. At the close of the exercises the priest was asked 
 whether he had any objection to such a study of the Bible. He said 
 to Mr. Day: "I am a Catholic priest; I have this morning officiated 
 at the mass ; but I have no objection to such a service as this. I am 
 not in full sympathy with the Catholic Church, but I can not leave 
 it; I have no other means of support." When asked whether he 
 would leave the Church and engage in Protestant missionary work if 
 he were supported, he said that he was almost prepared for even 
 this step. Mr. Day expressed the opinion that other priests would 
 become dissatisfied with the papal system. 
 
 In the Summer of 1873 the "American and Foreign Christian 
 Union" ceased to make regular appropriations to the Free Italian 
 Church, because the "American Board of Commissioners for For- 
 eign Missions," having resolved to operate in Roman Catholic lands, 
 desired to assume the support of that native organization in Italy. 
 The report of the evangelization committee of the Free Italian 
 Church for the year 1873 shows that about thirty thousand dollars 
 were received and expended. The Rev. J. R. M'Dougall describes 
 the general features of the mission work in the north of Italy, which 
 he observed during a ten days' tour among some of the Churches. 
 He was accompanied by four Protestant ministers, representing as 
 many denominations — Established and United Presbyterian Churches 
 of Scotland, the Irish Presbyterian Church, and the Congregational 
 Union of America. Mr. M'Dougall, who belongs to the Free 
 Church of Scotland, states that the minds of the Italian converts 
 were profoundly impressed when they found this deputation "one in 
 Christ and one in sympathy with them, and all speaking the same 
 
798 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 language of Christian consolation and encouragement." The visitors 
 witnessed various phases of Christian experience and every degree 
 of Church progress, and were greatly encouraged. They were con- 
 vinced of the necessity of having central, commodious, and comfort- 
 able places of worship in every community where services were held. 
 The native brethren were annoyed by the landlords who, at the insti- 
 gation of the priests, closed the rooms on some pretext. Many 
 property-holders refused to rent their halls for religious purposes ; 
 and this was not strange, when it is remembered that so large a pro- 
 portion of the real estate of the kingdom is in mortmain. 
 
 Mr. M'Dougall purchased a suppressed Roman Catholic church 
 in Florence for ten thousand dollars, and converted it into a place 
 of worship for the members of the Free Italian Church. The con- 
 ventual buildings connected with it were transformed into a school- 
 house for the use of the evangelical schools of Santa Croce. The 
 evangelist of the Free Church in Rome, Ludovico Conti, reported 
 progress in that city. Three stations were occupied, the first, or 
 principal one, being in the Via del Corallo, situated between the 
 Piazza Navona and the bridge of St. Angelo ; the second in the 
 Rione Regola, a little further south, close to the Farnese palace and 
 the Compodi Fiore, where Aonio Paleario and so many other martyrs 
 were burned at the stake ; and the third in the Rione Monti, in the 
 eastern part of the city, not far from the basilica of Santa Maria 
 Maggiore. At the Corallo station thirty-six persons were added to 
 the Church during 1873, making the total membership one hundred 
 and six. On Sabbath morning the average attendance was from forty 
 to sixty, and in the evening between one hundred and one hundred 
 and fifty. About two hundred were present on every Wednesday 
 evening to hear the public discussion, and when Gavazzi was ex- 
 pected to speak the numbers usually reached three hundred. The 
 two Sabbath- schools contained about two hundred scholars, and 
 the six day-schools more than three hundred children and adults. 
 Among the many conversions were those of a very learned Roman 
 Catholic priest, and of a preacher of the order of Conventual Friars, 
 both of whom became valuable laborers in the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 The new college or theological seminary established in Rome, 
 mainly by the efforts of Gavazzi, was opened under favorable auspices. 
 At the end of two months nine students attended the recitations, 
 receiving instruction from four teachers. In the early morning Beria 
 taught the many branches of Pedagogia to enable the young evangel- 
 ists to obtain their diplomas, so as to be the legal directors of their 
 
DECREES OF PARLIAMENT. 799 
 
 schools in the kingdom of Italy. Borgia followed Beria, and alter- 
 nately gave lessons in Greek and English. Then came the double 
 course of lectures by Conti in dogmatic and polemic theology, to- 
 gether with an explanation of the fundamental principles of the Free 
 Italian Church. Gavazzi closed the daily exercises with instructions 
 in "Rational Theology" and ** Homiletics. " He was the controll- 
 iiig spirit of the ** College," and soon after commencing his labors, 
 said: '*I can not but bless God for the resolution arrived at by our 
 Italian committee not to lose any more time in opening such a training 
 school for our future evangelists, seeing that the result has actually 
 surpassed our most sanguine expectations. . . . One of the first 
 fruits we have reaped is the weekly preaching of the students in our 
 different places of worship in Rome — and, let me say, to the edifica- 
 tion of the hearers." 
 
 A significant political event in Italy was the passage of the bill 
 by both houses of the Italian Parliament abolishing religious corpo- 
 rations. On the 17th of June, 1873, in the senate, sixty-eight votes 
 were cast in favor of it and twenty against it. The royal ministry 
 struggled in vain to exempt the city of Rome from its operafion. 
 The majority in the Chambers determined to abolish even the great 
 conventual establishments of the "Eternal City," in which the gen- 
 erals of the fifty-two religious orders were domiciled, and this deter- 
 mination was so clearly the reflection of the public sentiment of the 
 nation that the conservative ministry yielded the point. The generals 
 of the orders — always with the exception of the head of the order 
 of Jesuits — were allowed to remain in their former houses, occupying 
 so much of the edifices as was absolutely necessary, until death 
 removed them. The rest of the property of the establishments was 
 ordered to be sold and the avails secularized. The Italian govern- 
 ment also prohibited the making of pilgrimages, alleging that there 
 was danger of spreading disease during that season of the year 
 when cholera usually prevailed ; but the priestly party asserted that 
 sanitary reasons were not those which weighed most in the minds of 
 the Italian ministry. When the latter caused the prohibition to be 
 issued, the faithful children of the "Holy Father" had already made 
 extensive arrangements to visit the most celebrated of the shrines of 
 the Virgin and the saints, throughout the Peninsula. The real object 
 of these pilgrimages was a political one. Under the pilgrim's cloak 
 the form of the conspirator against established order was plainly visi- 
 ble, and his staff might easily be laid down for a musket. The priests 
 were enraged at the order of the government, and at first made a 
 
800 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 slight effort to disregard it, but failed. The populace, smarting under 
 the wrongs of centuries inflicted by the priesthood, could scarcely ab- 
 stain from treating with personal violence the ignorant devotees who 
 were lending all their influence to elevate the clerical party again to 
 power. The patriotic Italians greeted the pilgrims with derisive 
 laughter and coarse invective, while the king's gens d' annes arrested 
 the deluded men and sent them back unharmed to their homes. 
 
 Among other interesting events in Italy during 1873 were the 
 publication of an "Encyclical" by Pius IX, on the 21st of Novem- 
 ber, and the appointment of twelve new cardinals, among wdiom were 
 the Jesuit Father Tarquini, and the Augustine Father Martinelli. On 
 the 22d of December this important ceremony occurred in the hall 
 of the Vatican, where the consistories are usually held. Death had 
 reduced the number of cardinals from seventy to forty-two, and, not- 
 withstanding his declaration that he would not confer the crimson on 
 any new ecclesiastic until freed from his pretended "captivity," Pius 
 was induced to fill a few of the vacancies. 
 
 In the early part of 1874 Signor Matteo Prochet visited Messina, 
 in Sicily, and opened a new Waldensian church. It was a neat 
 edifice, and was crowded every evening for a week by many who, 
 though Roman Catholics, listened attentively to the proclamation of a 
 free Gospel. On the 12th of May the first general conference of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church of Italy was held in the city of Rome. 
 As the congregations were widely scattered, there had not been any 
 direct communion between those in the northern and the southern 
 parts of the Peninsula. To come together required more time and 
 expense than the poor Churches could well afford. This first eccle- 
 siastical gathering was, therefore, an interesting epoch in their his- 
 tory. Rev. Francesco Sciarelli was elected secretary, the same per- 
 son w^io challenged the Roman priesthood to discuss the question 
 whether St. Peter was ever in Rome. Rev. L. Wiseman, M. A., 
 ex-president of the British Wesleyan Conference, presided. The 
 names of seventeen Italian ministers and three evangelists were on 
 the roll. Six new persons were recommended as candidates for the 
 ministry. The statistical reports showed a membership in the Italian 
 Methodist Churches of one thousand and seven, besides one hundred 
 and eleven catechumens — an increase of one hundred and thirty-seven 
 communicants over the number reported the preceding year. 
 
 It is not surprising that so few embraced the Protestant faith, 
 when it is remembered that an almost universal skepticism, resulting 
 from the attempt to enforce incredible dogmas, prevailed in Italy. The 
 
SKEPTICAL JOURNALISTS. 8oi 
 
 avarice, worldliness, and dissoluteness of the priests had inspired the 
 people with a distrust for all religion ; and hence, the Protestant min- 
 isters were also suspected of being influenced by interested motives. 
 The skeptical journalists easily persuaded their readers that they were 
 consulting their liberties in opposing the Gospel. The Popolo Ro- 
 mano, in speaking of the anniversary of the Bible Society, recently 
 held in Rome, and of Signor Gavazzi's brilliant address on that 
 occasion: "The Roman population, not unlike in this the popula- 
 tions of all Italy, makes no great distinction between Catholics and 
 Protestants, knowing that they are all of the same nature {d' una 
 stessa farina). The Protestants are not, it is true, in accord with the 
 Vatican. But what of that? Is there any intelligent and disinter- 
 ested person in Italy who is in good faith in accord with the Protest- 
 ants? We think not, and the reason is clear. In Italy there is no 
 religious sentiment ; the papacy has accustomed us to get along with- 
 out religion (a fare a meno della religiojie), and Protestantism finds 
 among us only paid followers, like the actors of the theater." Ar- 
 tidoro Beria, replied to this article, saying: ''That the Italian press 
 should go down into the mire to collect the weapons of Jesuitism 
 wherewith to strike Protestantism is a thing worthy of other times. 
 Let the Popolo Romano know that Protestantism is too proud of itself 
 to undertake making merchandise of souls and bodies. As to intel- 
 ligent and disinterested persons in Italy who are in good faith in 
 accord with Protestantism, Popolo Romano, w^e could name them to 
 thee by hundreds. If thou pretendest to be truly the voice of the 
 Roman people, become not the mouth-piece of a priestcraft which 
 is the wound and cancer of our native land." 
 
 On the 17th of May, 1874, Rev. L. Wiseman, M. A., of London, 
 assisted at the dedication of a New Wesleyan church in Naples, sit- 
 uated in the Largo S. Anna di Palazzo. He preached in English to 
 a large congregation a solemn discourse on the words, ' ' For we 
 preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." (2 Cor. iv, 5.) 
 Exercises in Italian followed, with crowded audiences on this and 
 the successive days. The services extended over a whole week. 
 On the evening of the 21st a lecture was delivered by Rev. Mr. 
 Ragghianti, of Viareggio, on the celebrated Arnoldo da Brescia. 
 More than seven hundred respectful listeners heard it with evident 
 satisfaction, and frequently interrupted the speaker with their lively 
 applause. Professor di Sienna, Signori Sciarelli, Morano, Di Pretoro, 
 and others, took part in the public exercises, and in the visitation 
 of the interesting schools. The Protestant cause in Florence was 
 
8o2 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 greatly promoted by the opening of "the old "and historical parish 
 church and cloisters of San Jacopo tra Fossi." whose purchase has 
 already been mentioned. Rev. J. R. M'Dougall, in a letter published 
 \\\ \h.Q. Christian World o( ]une, 1874, says: 
 
 "One of the handsomest churches in Italy has been economically 
 put in order for evangelical worship, and I am happy to say that it 
 has been crowded at every diet of worship since it was opened, on 
 the 1st of January last, proving how true it is that with respectable 
 places of worship in the leading towns of Italy we may expect the 
 Gospel more readily to reach the middle and upper classes of 
 society. . . . The church occupies a large space in the annals 
 of old Florence. It dates from the year 800. Dante refers to it, 
 and tjie histories of the town give many interesting particulars. 
 
 "The church and the convent were once the abode of the 
 fine arts ; but all the valuable paintings are claimed by the govern- 
 ment when selling such ecclesiastical property. There was but one 
 large painting left in the center of the roof of the church, and great 
 fear was entertained that the subject of it might be so pagan or 
 popish that it would have to be removed before our dear Italian 
 Christians, who have swung away to the other extreme from popery, 
 as we ourselves did at the Reformation, would consent to worship or 
 to preach in it. But, while removing the eight confessional boxes 
 and the huge stone altar, the painting has been left, as it is found to 
 a very fine representation of St. Augustine, open Bible in hand, 
 confuting heresy, which is seen falling headlong into the abyss of 
 perdition." 
 
 The cloisters were spacious enough to furnish eleven rooms on 
 the first floor for the use of the evangelical schools under Signor 
 Ferretti's charge, and twenty-eight on the second and third floors for 
 the evangelists, teachers, and other Christian workers, and were in a 
 desirable location, being distant from all other Protestant stations, 
 and in the midst of a dense Italian population. 
 
 In the same letter Mr. M'Dougall says: "The great event of my 
 life is accomplished, and I hasten to acquaint you and other Chri:5- 
 tian friends. I have just returned from Rome, where I have secured, 
 through God's mercy, a central and commodious building, in a most 
 populous neighborhood, for all the operations of our young evangel- 
 istic Free Itahan Church. I rather needed rest after securing and 
 vefitting the old historic parish church and cloisters of San Jacopo 
 here, and seeing them, to my immense satisfaction, full of Christian 
 activity from one end to another, and free of debt. But the laborers 
 
VAL UABLE MISSION PREMISES. 803 
 
 are so few, and the v/ork to be done so great, that our only rest con- 
 sists in a variation of toil. And I lately had this in an apostolic 
 visit to the infant Churches in the North; in attendance on the 
 annual assembly of evangelists in Pisa, where the presence of the 
 great Master of Assembhes was sensibly felt ; in sending out by post 
 to all the evangelists and evangelical Churches in Italy detailed^ 
 printed notices of the blessed work of grace in Newcastle and Edin- 
 burgh ; and in visiting our three flourishing Churches and schools in 
 Rome, conversing with the two Bible-women, and making the more 
 intimate acquaintance of our eight students of theology. . . . The 
 building I have secured at a public sale, and after brisk competition, 
 belonged to the ecclesiastical property seized by the government, and 
 is near the most prosperous of our three Churches and schools in 
 Rome, so that we conserve the results of the last three years' labors. 
 It is also distant from all other missionary brethren, who, like our- 
 selves, are laboring to promote God's glory in Italy. It consists of 
 five stories and one hundred and twenty rooms, looks on three 
 streets, has two inner courts, plenty of light and fresh air, two good 
 staircases, and a superb situation, facing the bridge of St. Angelo, zvhich 
 leads to St. Peter s and the Vatican. It will be admirably seen by 
 priests and prelates, foreigners and common people, who come and 
 go in throngs along this bridge-thoroughfare. It is our very fit, and 
 will take in Church, depot, schools, medical mission, and even 
 printing-office on the ground -floor and part of the first floor. Up- 
 stairs there is a hall for the Biblical college and library, and houses 
 for four professors, three evangelists, five teachers, and a large num- 
 ber of students in the attics. Our two Bible-women, who work in 
 the prisons, hospitals, and abodes of the people, will also find ac- 
 commodation." The amount paid for this valuable property was 
 about forty thousand dollars — not a large sum, considering its central 
 location and the high price of buildings in Rome. 
 
 Rev. Luther H. Gulick, in the Summer of 1874, published in the 
 Evangelical Christendom^ of London, an interesting article describing 
 the position of the various Protestant agencies in Italy. In North 
 Italy (inclusive of Piedmont, the kingdom of Sardinia, and Liguria) 
 there were, according to his report, twenty -four Churches of the 
 Brethren, eighteen of the Waldensian, ten each of the Free Italian 
 and Wesleyan Methodist bodies, two of American Baptist, and one 
 each of the English Baptist and Methodist Episcopal denominations, 
 making a total of sixty-six. In Central Italy (Emilia, Tuscany, the 
 
 Marches, Umbria, and Comarca) there were thirteen of the Free 
 
 52 
 
804 ITAL V STR UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Italian, eight each of the Waldensian and the Brethren, seven of the 
 American Methodist Episcopal, five of the Wesleyan Methodist, five 
 of the American Baptist, and one of the English Baptist, making a 
 total of forty-seven. In South Italy (the Neapolitan provinces and 
 Sicily) there were twelve Wesleyan Methodist and ten Waldensian 
 Churches, a total of twenty-three. 
 
 A closer examination of the field showed that one-half of the 
 thirty-six Waldensian mission Churches were in North Italy, in the 
 valley of the Po. In the same region two -thirds of the thirty -two 
 Churches of the Brethren, and more than a third of twenty -seven 
 Churches of the Wesleyan Methodists, were located. More than 
 one -half of the Churches of the Free Italian, and all those of the 
 American Methodist Episcopal denomination, with the exception of 
 one in Venetia, were in Central Italy. Five of the eight American 
 Baptist Churches were also in this part of the Peninsula. In South 
 Italy the Waldensians and ' the Wesleyan Methodists of England, 
 with the exception of one American Baptist Church at Bari, were 
 the only workers in the field. It appears, therefore, that in 1874 
 Protestant services were held at one hundred and thirty-six stations 
 and twenty-three out-stations in Italy. While fifty-six of these sta- 
 tions, occupied by the denominations already mentioned, were estab- 
 lished in twenty-one communities, causing thereby clashing and com- 
 petition, yet ten of the cities had a population of about one hundred 
 thousand or over, three about two hundred thousand, and another, 
 Naples, over four hundred thousand. Making the necessary deduc- 
 tion of thirty-five stations and out-stations that did not represent un- 
 occupied places, there were still one hundred and twenty -four cities 
 and villages where the Gospel was regularly preached. At least 
 seven different denominations were at v/ork in Rome, six in Milan, 
 five in Florence and Bologna, three in Turin, and two in fifteen 
 other cities. The Waldenses reported thirty-six pastors and evan- 
 gelists ; the Free ItaHan Church, twenty-six ; the Wesleyan Method- 
 ist, twenty-four ; the American Methodist Episcopal, eleven, and the 
 American Baptist, seven, — making a total of one hundred and four. 
 And by estimating one each for the thirty -two Churches of the 
 Brethren the entire clerical Protestant corps amounted at that time to 
 one hundred and thirty -four active men, or, on an average, one la- 
 borer for each station. In this description of Protestant missions 
 the sixteen mother Churches of the Waldensian faith in the Pied- 
 mont ** Valleys" and Turin have not been included, and only 
 approximate figures were given to indicate the strength of the 
 
ROMAN CATHOLIC CONGRESS. 805 
 
 Brethren, who are opposed, on principle, to statistics and reports in 
 religious work. 
 
 While this body of earnest men devised the best methods to 
 advance the true religion, the Romish Church resorted to various 
 means to counteract these evangelical movements. The more intel- 
 ligent and zealous members, and particularly the Jesuitical leaders, 
 were conscious of the waning power of their cause, and endeavored 
 to arrest the process of decay by infusing life, warmth, and activity 
 into it. The prominent Roman Catholics of Italy, therefore, assem- 
 bled in a "congress" at Venice, to consider what measures should 
 be adopted. At the opening meeting, on the 12th of June, 1874, 
 addresses were delivered by Cardinal Trevisanato, patriarch of 
 Venice, Dr. John Baptist Acquiderni, and Duke Salviati, the pres- 
 ident of the congress. The sessions were held in the Madonna 
 dell ' Orto, a very remote church, whose doors wxre carefully closed 
 against every one who did not enjoy the confidence of the leaders, 
 or, in other words, was not known to be a genuine clerical. The 
 subjects to be considered were divided into four or five sections, and 
 assigned to appropriate committees or commissions, who were to do 
 their work at very secret meetings in the house of Dr. Castagna, 
 and make their reports to the congress at its so-called public sessions. 
 The reports of the various committees were adopted at these general 
 meetings, after very little discussion, and with the slightest, if any, 
 amendment — the latter being treated as rather out of order. Among 
 the important subjects before the congress were, Religious Works, 
 or Orders, Associations, Works of Charity, Education, and the 
 Press. Action was taken in favor of establishing more branches 
 of religious orders, and especially those of the **Sons" and the 
 ''Daughters of Mary" among students and youths belonging to the 
 more wealthy classes of society, also in favor of employing more 
 efficient means to promote pilgrimages to the Holy Land and various 
 noted shrines in Italy. 
 
 The congress passed resolutions urging the more general and 
 strict observance of the Church holidays, the more regular and pro- 
 ductive contribution of ''Peter's pence," the more liberal support of 
 impoverished ecclesiastics, the finer ornamentation of their plainer 
 churches, and the greater enlargement of their processions, especially 
 that of Corpus Domini. The assembly earnestly recommended the 
 establishment of a Ronian Catholic university, and the organization 
 of academies, seminaries, and colleges as preparatory schools. Res- 
 olutions were also adopted, strongly urging the laity to give a more 
 
8o6 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT 
 
 liberal and generous support to the clerical journals already existing, 
 and favoring the publication of other religious papers for gratuitous 
 distribution among the laboring classes and the poor. A special 
 commission was appointed to prepare an address of congratulation 
 and pledged fidelity to the pope, to be presented to him on the 2 1st 
 of June, the twenty-eighth anniversary of his coronation. The con- 
 gress adjourned on the i6th of June, to meet again in Florence in 
 September, 1875. 
 
 At the close of 1874 Rev. L. M. Vernon, D. D., the superin- 
 tendent of the Methodist Episcopal missions in Italy, made an en- 
 couraging report of the work under his care, saying: ''From the 
 vine-clad mountains and plains of Italy come grapes of a spiritual 
 Eshcol. Laborious planting, watering, and pruning has been the 
 work of the year, and God has given the increase. ... In the 
 stations already established our cause has become more firmly rooted, 
 and in most cases encouraging progress has been made. Our mission 
 has made its way to recognition as an institution of the country, and 
 has acquired a consideration and influence not to be despised. 
 Some are looking to it for consolation, for instruction as a spiritual 
 home. Still others see in it a field of useful labor, more congenial 
 and promising than they find elsewhere. Thus we are called both of 
 the people and of providence to bravely maintain and prosecute our 
 apostolate amid the tottering temples and waning ranks of the Ro- 
 man apostasy." 
 
 At Brescello, a town on the banks of the Po, near Parma, a room 
 was secured and religious services commenced by the missionary, B. 
 Malan. But this movement alarmed the priests and the faithful, 
 and they presented an address, numerously signed, to the syndic, 
 or the mayor, asking him to forbid the entrance of the Protest- 
 ants, and the erection of a "pulpit of pestilence." The official was 
 willing, but the law restrained him. The populace became excited, 
 called the proprietor of the hall hard names, threatened to mob him, 
 to burn the house and the preacher, and to club all who attended 
 the meetings. Despite the bitter opposition tracts and Bibles were 
 distributed, many heard the Gospel, and a few were actually con- 
 verted. The congregations were not large, but earnest. The mis- 
 sionary at Ravenna, D. Lantaret, reported a few hopeful believers in 
 that place, and some hearers of the Word in Bagnacavallo and Lugo. 
 At Faenza, a city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants, on the rail- 
 road between Bologna and Ancona, Dr. Vernon rented and repaired 
 a small church, disused since the time of Napoleon I, who suppressed 
 
OPPOSITION IN FLORENCE. 807 
 
 it. The inhabitants were very bigoted and intolerant, but the gov 
 ernment cheerfully protected the missionary, B. Godino. The latter 
 also preached at Imola and Castle Bolognese, places not far distant. 
 
 In the early part of 1874 Julius C. Mill opened two preaching 
 stations in the large and beautiful city of Milan. The first is in the 
 Via Pasquirolo, in the center of the city, near the famous cathedral, 
 and the second in the Via PoiI:a Ticinese, a densely thronged thor- 
 oughfare, and near one of the city gates. The congregations were 
 small, but composed of a good class of people. Mr. Mill, the ear- 
 nest and laborious evangelist, was encouraged by various omens of 
 good. Some interesting conversions occurred at Bologna, under the 
 ministry of Enrico Borelli, *'a man of years, of rich attainments, 
 and a very instructive preacher." Among the converts was a major, 
 who battled with Garibaldi through all his campaigns, and who, after 
 a life of incredulity, became a devout Christian at sixty years of 
 age. Another, of nearly seventy years, a doctor of laws, and Vv^ell 
 related, gave himself to God, and faithfully attended the Protestant 
 services. Several entire families were received into the Church. . In 
 the suburbs of Florence, at Le Cure, the preacher, Signor Antonio 
 Arrighi, proclaimed the Gospel to a fair audience; but, at the instiga- 
 tion of the priests, he was mobbed, and his service on one occasion 
 broken up, with damage to the house and furniture. The next day 
 six of the rioters went to jail, and he went on his way rejoicing. Mr. 
 Arrighi formed a hopeful society of about thirty-five members, and, 
 after the disturbance, selected a much better place of worship for 
 them. Leaving them to the pastoral care of Signor Bassanelli, he 
 obtained a suitable room in the Via Giglio, in the very heart of Flor- 
 ence, and, remote from all other evangelical congregations, inaugu- 
 rated a new and separate movement. Dr. Vernon reported that Mr. 
 Arrighi had ** rapidly recovered his native tongue, and preaches 
 with much spirit and fluency." 
 
 More than one hundred probationers were enrolled, and forty 
 received into full membership in the Church of the Roman Forum at 
 Rome, of which Teofilo Gay is pastor. The Military Church, to 
 Avhich Luigi Capellini and O. Ottonelli ministered, continued to pros- 
 per. Services were held daily in two different places, and more than 
 a hundred soldiers listened to the preaching of the Gospel. Many 
 of these young men were converted and a large number led to study 
 the Bible. Two noble-looking members of the royal guard, who 
 stand nearest to the king's person and at the doors of the royal 
 palace, belonged to the Church. "Thus again," says Dr. Vernon, 
 
8o8 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 ''among the Roman Christians that sakite 'Phihppians,' Americans, 
 and the Christian world, are chiefly they that are of ' Caesar's house- 
 hold!" Efforts were made to find an eligible position for a preach- 
 ing station In the vicinity of Piazza Trevi, a central and famous spot 
 in the Eternal City. Dr. Alceste Lanna, the missionary, had been 
 "Professor of Philosophy" in the Vatican Seminary, but renounced 
 Romanism and became a ''genuine, pronounced, and intelligent 
 evangelical Christian." The evangelist, A. Guigon, who labored at 
 Forli and at Dovadola, eleven miles distant, was favored with some 
 indications of prosperity. 
 
 During most of the year an industrious and faithful colporteur 
 distributed Bibles and tracts in the Romagna and at the stations of 
 Forli, Ravenna, and Faenza. Another pious young man devoted 
 himself to this work among the soldiers in Rome, in co-operation 
 A\'ith the soldiers' Church. In August a small but able volume, 
 AM'itten by Mr. Borelli, the pastor at Bologna, was published by Dr. 
 Vernon. It was entitled "The Altar and the Throne {L Altare ed 
 il Trono) : or, the Two Powers combined against the Liberty of 
 Thought and Belief" Books, pamphlets, papers, and tracts were sold 
 at a very low price, and when persons were not able to purchase 
 them, donations were made. Four promising students prepared them- 
 selves for the ministry, three of whom attended the Waldenslan 
 Theological Seminary In Florence, at -the same time aiding, as far as 
 practicable, the Methodist missions there. One of these young men 
 from the seminary was assigned to a station. 
 
 The "annual meeting" of all the laborers of the various sta- 
 tions was held on the lOth of September, 1874, at Bologna, under 
 the presidency of Bishop Harris, with the Rev. Teofilo Gay as sec- 
 retary. The Christian cordiality, frankness, and wise counsels of the 
 bisliop gave consolation to the brethren, and a new strength and im- 
 pulse to the mission. Nine of the preachers had been recommended 
 and received on trial In the Germany and Switzerland Conference at 
 Schafthausen, on the 2d of July, and two of these, Signor E. Borelli 
 and Signor L. Capellini, there duly elected to deacon's and elder's 
 orders under the missionary rule, were ordained by Bishop Harris at 
 Bologna. Dr. Vernon describes the meeting as "an occasion of pe- 
 culiar interest," and, in reviewing the year's work, said: "We now 
 preach the Gospel regularly every week in foitrteen different places ; 
 our working force consists of twelve Italian preachers, five of whom 
 are ordained, four students, one colporteur, and the superintendent. 
 Our members and probationers aggregate about six Jmndred. These 
 
MRS. GOULUS BENEVOLENT WORK. 809 
 
 are trophies of grace, sheaves of God's own gathering; and by these 
 first fruits we are stimulated to look forward by faith to the day when 
 the entire whitening field will come bending to the sickles of eager 
 reapers, and the whole harvest shall be shouted home to the gar- 
 ners of God." 
 
 The history of Protestant mission work in Rome would be incom- 
 plete without at least a brief sketch of the labors of Mrs. Emily B. 
 Gould, a devoted American lady. Her husband, James B. Gould, 
 M. D., had located in that city to practice among the American and 
 other foreign residents. While he was engrossed Avith the duties of 
 his profession, she ministered to the spiritual wants of the popula- 
 tion, whose ignorance and degradation aroused her sympathies. This 
 noble Christian woman soon discovered that Rome under the popes 
 was as intolerant as Rome under the emperors. Every Protestant 
 was closely observed and heretical teaching prohibited. Dr. Gould 
 and his wife were frequently visited by the police, who not only 
 searched their residence, but even brought them before the municipal 
 authorities. Hence their efforts in behalf of the Roman people or 
 their children were necessarily made secretly. 
 
 At this time the attention of Mrs. Gould was directed to Flor- 
 ence, and she soon commenced her Avork of teaching there. To use 
 her own beautiful illustration, she cast her bread upon the waters of 
 the Arno, hoping after many days to find it upon the Tiber. This 
 desire was realized when Victor Emmanuel entered Rome and she 
 was permitted to gather her school of girls in that city. Her first 
 school, established in 1871, soon numbered one hundred and thirty 
 schola,rs, who were taught the elements of arithmetic, natural philos- 
 ophy, and history, and received daily instruction in the Bible. She 
 introduced the Kindergarten, to the delight of the Italians, and while 
 endeavoring to impart a thorough education in the day-school she 
 sought to lead the children to Christ. The quarters where she first 
 established her school being too small and unhealthy, she was com- 
 pelled to seek better accommodations in another part of the city. 
 In the Fall of 1872 she opened a new school in Palazzo del Goveimo 
 Vecchio. 
 
 Mrs. Gould had considerable trouble before she obtained suitable 
 rooms, being opposed by a secret society composed of all classes 
 of men, women, and monks called the ''Society for the Promotion 
 of Catholic Interests," whose vigilant agents intimidated the land- 
 lords or paid higher rents. The Jesuits circulated the most out- 
 rageous slanders against her, which the Romish papers published 
 
8 1 ITAL Y STRUG GLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 and countenanced ; but she compelled these papers, on penalty of suit, 
 to msert in their columns her refutation. While opposed by these 
 enemies, she received encouragement from many prominent Italians, 
 who admired her benevolent work. The duke of Sermonetta, who 
 was then second only to the king in rank, was one of her subscribers 
 and earnest supporters. The minister of public instruction called 
 on her to express his approbation of her course, and the Princess 
 Margaretta, wife of the crown prince, invited Mrs. Gould to visit 
 her. The Roman municipality also subscribed to her school. Thus 
 sustained by warm friends, including some liberal Roman Catholics, 
 this brave and humane American woman prosecuted her noble work. 
 Her labors and self-denial were remarkable, for, though in feeble 
 health, she was in the schools every day, exhibiting the most indom- 
 itable energy and perseverance. But, in the Summer of 1875, she 
 retired to the city of Perugia, among the Apennines, to avoid the 
 debilitating atmosphere of Rome and to recruit her strength. It was 
 too late, however, and on the 31st of August she passed away from 
 earth to receive the rewards of a consecrated life. 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 
 Chapter XXXII. 
 
 RELIGIO US PR CESSIONS PR OHIBITED—A M ERIC AN ME THODIS T 
 
 MISSIONS. 
 
 ON the 18th of May, '1876, an interesting service was held in the 
 city of Naples, in connection with the opening of a new chapel 
 under the auspices of the Free Italian Church. The locale is in the 
 Via dei Tribunali, one of the most central streets, and the building 
 is one of the renowned palaces. Signor Ragghianti, pastor of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church, Signor Ravi, of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal, and Signor Peter, of the French, were present, and the two 
 former took part in the inaugural exercises. The address of Signor 
 Ragghianti was published in // Piccolo Messaggere of the 25 th of 
 June, and its delivery is said to have m.ade a deep and most favora- 
 ble impression upon the audience. The speaker showed his fraternal 
 spirit in ''the kind and sympathetic words with reference to the 
 
RELIGIO US PRO CESSIONS PR OHIBITED. 8 1 1 
 
 * Free Church, ' which, he declared, now contains all that is necessary 
 to develop into a free state." The services demonstrated in a prac- 
 tical and incontrovertible manner the unity of all true believers, and 
 greatly promoted the interests of the Protestant cause in Naples. 
 The pastor of the new Church was Signor F. Lagomarsino. He 
 found a difficult field to cultivate, the populace being excitable, and 
 under priestly control. When he heard that an attempt would prob- 
 ably be made to create disturbance in the neighborhood of the 
 church, he informed the city authorities, who sent a sufficient num- 
 ber of guards to assure quiet. The same number of the Messaggere, 
 already mentioned, contains an item which shows that the Italian 
 government is determined to deal honorably and impartially with 
 Protestants, and make religious liberty something more than a dead 
 letter. In Verona a Protestant patient in the hospital was annoyed 
 by nuns and priests, who sought to convert her to the Romish faith, 
 almost by violent means. The Waldensian pastor had no sooner 
 called attention to the matter in the public journals than the wrong 
 was promptly redressed by the director of the institution. 
 
 The Italian government having issued a circular prohibiting all 
 religious processions outside of the precincts of the churches, the 
 Cardinal Vicar Patrizi published a notice, in which, after reciting the 
 vain efforts of the ecclesiastical authorities to obtain the repeal of 
 * ' these orders, infringing on their rights in the administration of sa- 
 cred affairs," he enjoins on all the faithful, from that very day — the 
 17th of August, 1876 — "to flock in greater numbers to accompany 
 Jesus in the sacrament (Gesu sacramentato) when he is carried to the 
 sick, thus demonstrating that faith is not at all diminished in the 
 heart of the faithful." The Italian ministry excepted from the pro- 
 hibition the carrying of the Viaticum, or the Host, when taken to 
 the sick and dying, merely stipulating that it should be without 
 sound of bell. The papal curia prudently submitted to the unwel- 
 come mandate of the civil power, not daring to resist. These pro- 
 cessions, previous to their suppression, had been employed for a 
 distinct political purpose, and were annoying to Protestants, who, 
 when passing the elevated cross, or Host, were required to show 
 marks of respect to it. 
 
 In the Autumn of 1876 a committee of Roman ladies, among 
 whom were the representatives of such noble families as Orsini, 
 Altieri, and Massimo, issued a circular inviting the faithful through- 
 out the world to celebrate the pope's "Golden Jubilee," or the fiftieth 
 anniversary of his coronation as bishop, which would occur in the fol- 
 
8 1 2 ITAL V 577? UGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 lowing year. Gifts of all kinds were solicited, and when received were 
 to be on exhibition at the Vatican, while the papers containing the 
 names of the donors were to be collected from all parts of the world 
 and preserved in an illuminated album, nation by nation. Such was 
 the proposition of the ** elect ladies," who urged the attendance of 
 large delegations from every country, * ' to flock to the feet of the 
 great pontiff, Pius IX," and convey to him the respect of the whole 
 Roman Catholic population of the globe. The following sentence in 
 the "Circular of the Roman Committee" reveals the spirit of real 
 man -worship which animated the authors: ''Divine Providence 
 seems to have averted the inexorable hand of Time from that pj^e- 
 cious life zvhich in this stormy era is, indeed, the beacon of salvation to 
 the zvJiole Catholic world.'' 
 
 Considerable excitement prevailed in Italy concerning the election 
 of the clergy by the people. The liberal party favored the idea, 
 and of course the papal party denounced it. In the few parishes 
 where the laity selected their own cures the prelates resorted to legal 
 measures to invalidate the elections and to eject the popular ecclesi- 
 astics. While the courts of law sustained the action of the people, 
 the Italian government did not definitely accept the principle, but 
 temporized with the religious question, dishking to stir up the papal 
 curia and incur its deadly hatred by more decided and radical meas- 
 ures. The people, less influenced by motives of policy, formed a 
 society in 1876 for the express purpose of agitating the propriety 
 of electing not only the inferior clergy, but even the bishops and 
 the pope himself^ by popular vote. This association called itself the 
 "Italian Catholic Society for the Revindication of the Rights of the 
 Christian People." As might be expected, major excommunication 
 was pronounced against all the members, adherents, and promoters 
 of this organization. One of the royal ministers declared over his 
 own signature that, the Italian Chambers having failed to pass the 
 reformatory measures he had proposed to them, nothing remained 
 but to create a sound public opinion. 
 
 The death of Cardinal Giacomo Antonelll, which occurred on 
 the 6th of November, 1876, was greatly lamented by the Roman 
 Catholic Church, in whose public service he had spent thirty years. 
 His career marked a very distinct period in the history of the papacy, 
 when the vexed question of the temporal power disturbed all the 
 countries of Europe. As a diplomatist he had few equals ; and, no 
 doubt, It Avas his remarkable tact that prolonged the French occupa- 
 tion of Rome, and prevented Victor Emmanuel for many years from 
 
PR O MINE NT CONVER TS. 8 1 3 
 
 making that city the capital of Italy. Antonelli understood the art 
 of managing men and solving intricate political problems ; and the 
 direction he gave to the papal administration will long continue to 
 be felt. The results of his statesmanship were discussed twenty 
 years ago by M. About, the clever French author, in his "Roman 
 Question." "A statesman," he observed, ** should not be judged 
 on the deposition of his enemies. The only proofs we should admit 
 against him are his public acts ; the only witnesses to be heard are 
 the greatness and prosperity of the country he governs. But it is to 
 be feared that such an inquest would be overwhelming to Antonelli. 
 The nation reproaches him with all the evils which it has suffered for 
 ten years. The public poverty and ignorance, the decline of all the 
 arts, the violation of all rights, the oppression of all liberties, and the 
 permanent scourge of foreign occupation fall on his head, since he 
 alone is responsible for all. Has he, at least, served usefully the 
 reactionists? I doubt it. What factions has he suppressed in the 
 interior? It is under his reign that secret societies have multiplied 
 in Rome. What complaints has he silenced without? Europe com- 
 plains unanimously, and daily lifts her voice higher. He has not 
 reconciled to the Holy Father one party or one power. In ten 
 years of dictatorship he has gained neither the esteem of the for- 
 eigner nor the confidence of the Roman ; he has gained time — and 
 nothing more." 
 
 Towards the close of 1876 the Protestant cause in Naples was 
 strengthened by the accession of several influential persons to the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church. Signor Delisa, after having for some 
 time listened to the preaching of the Gospel, became a convert to 
 the true faith. His wife, a Jewess, and their family then began to 
 attend Protestant services. The reading of the Bible, under the 
 gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, convinced her that Christ was 
 the Messiah, and she soon desired to be baptized in his name. The 
 ceremony, which was witnessed by members of both the Italian and 
 English congregations, Avas solemn and impressive. The conversion 
 of Signor Garcia, a stock -broker, also caused great excitement in 
 Roman Catholic circles. He was prominent at the Borsa, or "on 
 change," and was a thorough typical Neapolitan of the old school. 
 All his relations were intimately connected with the papal Church 
 and priesthood, one of his brothers being a priest of the curia of the 
 archbishopric of Naples. A constant attendant on the Mass, regular 
 in his practice of confession, no one was more scrupulously devoted 
 to the saints and angels and Madonna. One of his children brought 
 
8l4 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 home a copy of Diodati's translation of the Bible, which he beheld 
 with horror; but, having been induced to examine it, he became 
 interested in its teachings, and felt anxious about his soul's salvation. 
 At length he visited the Wesleyan church, and was converted while 
 listening to the sermon. He was at once received as a catechumen, 
 and became a faithful follower of Christ. A storm of rage and per- 
 secution immediately fell upon him and his family, and the priests 
 employed every means to win him back, but in vain. Another con- 
 vert was Signor Tagliateta, a man of intellectual power, and the 
 author of a work on the ''Philosophy of Christianity." Though 
 ordained to the priesthood, he could not accept the absurdities of 
 Romanism, but finally withdrew from its ranks, sustaining himself by 
 giving lectures on philosophy. 
 
 The power of the Gospel was manifested not only in the marked 
 conversion of these distinguished persons, but also in the triumphant 
 death of others, less prominent, though equally devoted. Among 
 the latter was an aged saint, who had been led to Christ in a strange 
 manner. His son, a house-painter, came to Naples several years pre- 
 vious to obtain work, and in a short time received from one of the 
 evangelists a copy of the New Testament. After attending the 
 Wesleyan church several weeks he professed faith in Christ and 
 united with his people. The news of his apostasy soon reached his 
 native place, Palma di Campania, and his family was overwhelmed 
 with distress. The father of the young man hastened to Naples, 
 to save, if possible, the wanderer; but entreaties and commands did 
 not move him. To the astonishment of the father, the son appeared 
 to be more religious than formerly, and this fact impressed him so 
 deeply that he resolved to attend a Protestant meeting, where he 
 heard with wonder a sermon telling of salvation through faith in 
 Christ. He embraced the truth, experienced its power during the 
 remainder of his life, and testified to its comforting influence in the 
 dying hour. 
 
 Rev. L. M. Vernon, D. D., the superintendent of the Italian 
 mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, reported that during 
 1876 God had given the work under his care "general prosperity, 
 with some achievements outstripping the ordinary laws of develop- 
 ment." The fruit of the Military Church at Rome was seen in 
 Grottote, a Neapolitan town of four thousand inhabitants. A con- 
 verted soldier returned home, commenced to talk of Christ and his 
 salvation, and scattered books and tracts among his neighbors. 
 Though a humble shoemaker, God made his testimony a blessing to 
 
MISSIONS A T TERNI AND PER UGIA. 8 1 5 
 
 others, and the result was a considerable number of conversions, and 
 the formation of a Methodist society. The outlook at Terni was 
 very promising. This enterprising city of thirty thousand inhabitants 
 is near what Byron and many others call ''the most beautiful water- 
 fall in Europe," and in height surpassing Niagara. It is three hours 
 by rail from Rome, and has large government manufactories. From 
 three to five thousand soldiers were kept in this thrifty, growing city, 
 and thither Dr. Vernon moved a class from a less hopeful place. To 
 these few converts from abroad others were added. Perugia, a pro- 
 vincial capital of forty thousand inhabitants, midway between Flor- 
 ence and Rome, responded nobly to the labors of Dr. Caporali. 
 There were many conversions and accessions, among them the most 
 learned professor of the university, once himself the secretary of the 
 cardinal president of the noted Roman missionary college — Propa- 
 ganda Fide. ''Perugino," wrote Dr. Vernon, **made the city famous 
 for all time in art ; may Caporali, under God, give it a more lasting 
 immortality for faith and righteousness." 
 
 During the year religious services were inaugurated in Venice, 
 *'the Queen of the Adriatic," then containing a population of one 
 hundred and thirty-five thousand souls. Next to Rome, no place in 
 Italy is of more interest to an American than this gem of the sea. 
 Its brilliant republican history thrills every patriotic heart ; and its 
 brave defense of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, and the 
 names of its illustrious martyrs, will never be forgotten. The evan- 
 gelist, Signor Francesco Cardin, opened a place for preaching near 
 the Rialto bridge, in the midst of a dense population, and by his 
 courage and abounding zeal accomplished much good. At the be- 
 ginning of the year Signor Vincenzo Ravi went to Naples and 
 preached in ''his own hired house." In February a small theater in 
 the center of this metropolis of seven hundred thousand inhabitants 
 was rented and used for public worship. At the close of the year 
 the pastor, "an impetuous, indefatigable worker, and a fruitful 
 preacher," reported the organization of a society which embraced 
 some persons of considerable intelligence and culture, and a few 
 who were in comfortable circumstances. Besides caring for their 
 poor, the members contributed to the payment of current expenses, 
 a rare thing in Italy. On Christmas fifty were received into full 
 connection with the Military Church at Rome ; and the congregation 
 at St. Paul's, in Via Poli, also manifested a steady growth. The 
 death of Orismane Ottonelli occurred in September, and his brethren 
 mourned his untimely departure. This young man was "talented, 
 
8i6 
 
 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 ST. PAUL'S METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ROME. 
 
 fluent, studious, affable, and spiritual," and his death was **an open 
 triumph, a joyful surrender of the cross for the crown." According 
 to Dr. Vernon's annual report, all the stations enjoyed more or less 
 prosperity. ''The way," he declared, ** brightens before us. New, 
 hopeful fields invite us ; favorable occasions offer ; propitious oppor- 
 tunities recur ; effective laborers appeal for enrollment under our 
 banner ; and our own courage and faith falter not. But we inherit 
 Paul's bonds — changed, indeed, but potent in restraint. . . . Our 
 Italian brethren have made another year of history, have confronted 
 trials, gainsayings, persecutions, and perils." 
 
WALDENSIAN STATIONS. dlf 
 
 Eighth Decade, Continued, 1870-1880. 
 
 Chapter XXXIII. 
 
 VARIOUS EVANGEIICAI MISSIONS— THE DECEASED KING AND 
 POPE—CIOSING EVENTS OF THE DECADE. 
 
 FROM the beginning of 1877 to the present time the various 
 evangelical agencies in Italy have been making some progress, 
 though the statistics do not indicate any marked results. It is im- 
 possible to tabulate the diffusive influence of the leaven of the Gos- 
 pel ; but there are other striking evidences of the power of the 
 reform movement among the Italians. On the 5 th of October, 1877, 
 the report of the **Waldensian Church Missions" was issued at 
 Genoa by the president, Signor Matteo Prochet. The latter was 
 born on the 27th of September, 1836, at S. Giovanni-Pellice, and in 
 his youth attended the college of Torre-Pellice. He served a year in 
 the army during the war of 1859, and in 1861 completed his studies in 
 Florence. After remaining a session in the Presbyterian College of 
 Belfast, he was ordained in 1862, and settled as an evangelist in Lucca. 
 In 1864 he went to Pisa, and in 1866 to Genoa, where he labored 
 until 1869, when the Waldensian synod elected him a member of 
 the board of evangelization. In 1871 he became president of it, and 
 has occupied the responsible position for eight years. During this 
 period Signor Prochet represented the Waldensian Church before the 
 prominent ecclesiastical bodies of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, 
 and the United States. He visited the latter country in 1873, and 
 was the only Italian representative at the meeting of the Evangelical 
 Alliance in New York. 
 
 According to the report for 1877, the Waldenses had stations at 
 Courmayeur, Aosta, Viereng, Ivrea, Transella, Torrazza, Turin, Susa, 
 Coazze, Pinerolo, Pietra Marazzi, Genoa, Oneglia, S. Pier d' Arena, 
 Bordighera, and Favale, in the district of Piedmont and Liguria ; Mi- 
 lan, Como, S. Fedele, Brescia, Castiglione, Verona, Venice, Treviso, 
 and Guastalla, in the Lombardo-Venetian district ; Florence, Lucca, 
 Pisa, Leghorn, Portoferraio, and Rio Marina, in the district of Tus- 
 cany ; Rome, Ancona, Naples, Lecce, and Reggio-Calabria, in the 
 district of Rome and Naples ; and Messina, Catania, Syracuse, Mo- 
 dica, Licata, Trabia, Palermo, and Trapani, in the district of Sicily. 
 
8 1 8 ITAL V STJ^ UGGLING INTO LIGHT, 
 
 In connection with these points rehgious services were held in nu- 
 merous villages ; and at Nice and Marseilles, in France, evangelists 
 ministered to large congregations of Waldenses. At the "Annual 
 Synod," which met in Torre-Pellice, in the beginning of September, 
 1877, encouraging news was received from the various stations. For- 
 ty-five ministers were present, and after the ordination of six candi- 
 dates to the ministry, eloquent addresses were delivered by fifteen 
 deputies of foreign Churches. 
 
 The report of the Free Italian Church for 1877 ^^ ^^ interesting 
 statement of facts concerning the labors of earnest workers in Al- 
 bano, Bari, Bassignana, Belluno, Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Castel- 
 lamare, Desenzano, Edolo, Fara-Novarese, Florence, Grumb-Appula, 
 Leghorn, Livorno-Vercellese, Milan, Mottola, Naples, Pietra Ligure, 
 Pietrasanta, Pisa, Ghezzano, Pistoia, Poggio Mirteto, Prato, Rocca 
 Imperiale, Rome, San Giovanni Pellice, Savona, Sondrio, Taranto, 
 Treviglio, Treviso, Turin, Udine, and Verona. Rev. John R. 
 M'Dougall, M. A., of the Scotch Church in Florence, who for 
 many years has been the "treasurer and foreign secretary" of the 
 Free Italian Church, issued his annual address to the friends of the 
 evangelical cause in Italy, and gave the following statistical table: 
 "10 ordained ministers, 12 evangelists, 39 elders, 55 deacons, 16 
 deaconesses, 1,649 communicants, 203 catechumens, 606 Sabbath- 
 school children, 1,203 pupils in our day and night schools, 20 teach- 
 ers in the day-schools, 1,450 regular hearers of the Gospel, 1,840 
 additional occasional hearers, 34 churches, large and small, and 32 
 out-stations, more or less* frequently visited. The contributions of 
 the Churches last year, for evangelization alone, amounted to francs 
 1,295.40, while for all objects the sum collected was francs 8,346.36." 
 
 The eighth general assembly of the Free Church was held in 
 Florence, commencing on Tuesday, the i8th of December, 1877. 
 Signor Gavazzi preached the opening sermon from 2 Corinthians iii, 
 17, "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty," indicating 
 eloquently the three kinds of liberty where there is not the "spirit 
 of the Lord," and the three in which there is. Under the former 
 head were the liberty of nihilism, brutism, and anarchy; and under 
 the latter, the liberty of soul, ministry, and Church. Thirty-one 
 deputies were present, many of whom narrated the progress of the 
 good work in their districts. Signor de Michelis presided, Signor 
 Jahier was vice-president, and Signori Beria and Mariani were secre- 
 taries. Signor Gavazzi spoke of the kind reception he met with in 
 Great Britain and Ireland, when on the committee to collect funds 
 
GAVAZZI. 819 
 
 in those countries. Professor Henderson, of Scotland, who had re- 
 cently resumed college work in Rome with eight students, addressed 
 the assembly in correct and fluent Italian. An interesting speech 
 was also delivered by Rev. Donald Fraser, D. D., of London, one 
 of the three deputies to Italy from the Evangelical Alliance. The 
 fraternal spirit of the assembly was indicated by the unanimous 
 adoption of Signor Conti's proposal to establish an inter-missionary 
 committee. 
 
 The visit of the ** Evangelical Alliance Committee" in November 
 and December was beneficial to the Protestant cause in Italy. The 
 deputies, Dr. Fraser, Rev. William Arthur, M. A., and Mr. Bligh, 
 made a thorough tour of the country, conversing with evangelists, 
 and holding missionary conferences in Florence and Rome. They 
 succeeded in harmonizing discordant elements and uniting the various 
 Protestant forces more closely in sympathy and effort, thus rendering 
 them more efficient. Mr. Arthur possessed eminent quaUfications 
 for the work assigned him, being one of the most prominent minis- 
 ters of the English Wesleyan Church, and the author of ' ' Italy in 
 Transition" and other popular books. This able deputation pub- 
 lished a full report of the condition of the Protestant congregations 
 in the principal cities and towns. 
 
 On the 1 8th of November Signor Gavazzi celebrated the fiftieth 
 anniversary of his entrance into the sacred ministry. The event 
 occurred on the third Sabbath of the month, and was an occasion of 
 deep interest. There was a great concourse of people, as usual, to 
 hear him, and the chapel could hardly accommodate them. In the 
 opening prayer, alluding to the anniversary, Gavazzi used these 
 words: "I thank thee, my God, for having brought me back to 
 Rome on this occasion ! Fifty years ago I began here my career, a 
 blind instrument of error, in a papist Rome. I rejoice that I can 
 close it a free worker of the Free Italian Church in a free Rome!" 
 
 The American Methodist Mission in Italy exhibited evidences of 
 growth during 1877. The ''Military Church" in Rome was placed 
 under the supervision of the English Wesleyans, because, having a 
 more commodious building-, they could conduct it more cheaply and 
 efficiently. Dr. Vernon reported the organization of a promising 
 station in the beautiful Tuscan town of Arezzo, and the selection of 
 a more central and desirable place of worship in Venice. The an- 
 nual meeting, on the nth of March, under the superintendency 
 of Bishop Andrews, was interesting and profitable, infusing new life 
 into the noble band of workers. The following appointments were 
 
 S2» 
 
820 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 made : Rome, Teofilo Gay, Alceste Lanna ; Naples and SoccavOy Vin- 
 cenzo Ravi ; Narni, Crisanzio Bambini ; Te702i, Daniele Gay ; Perugia, 
 Enrico Caporali ; Arezzo, Giovanni Gattuso ; Florence, Antonio Arrighi, 
 Eduardo Stasio ; Bologna and Modena, Enrico Borelli ; Milan, Julius 
 C. Mill, Silvio Stazi ; Venice, Francesco Cardin ; Forli and Dovadola, 
 Amedeo Guigon. The three Bible- women, Amalia Conversi, Adele 
 Gay, and Carolina Cardin, were selected to labor respectively in 
 Rome, Terni, and Venice. 
 
 The status of the Roman See in its relations with modern civiliza- 
 tion was indicated by certain events in 1877. On the 25th of Jan- 
 uary solemn services were held in the city of Rome in honor of 
 Gregory VII, the hero of Canossa, and to commemorate, on the 
 eight hundredth anniversary, his cruel treatment of Henry IV. Pius 
 IX issued an allocution on the 12th of March, in which he threat- 
 ened to call in the temporal assistance of such powers as could be 
 induced to come to the rescue of the papacy, as against the kingdom 
 of Victor Emmanuel. To give effect, to the anniversary and the allo- 
 cution at least seventeen thousand foreign pilgrims visited the ''Eter- 
 nal City" during the papal jubilee, and replenished the pontifical 
 treasury with large sums of money. In July the pope issued a sol- 
 emn decree conferring upon St. Francis de Sales the exalted rank of 
 an " CEcumenical Doctor," and thus placing his teachings on a level 
 with those of Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, and Augustine. 
 
 On the 9th of January, 1878, Victor Emmanuel, after a short 
 illness, passed away from earth. In the morning he had been visited 
 by Prince Humbert and the Princess Margherita, who held a long 
 and affectionate conversation with him. The king received the sacra- 
 ment from the hands of the Rev. Cavaliere Anzino, his private 
 chaplain ; but, though he did not send to the Vatican for a priest, 
 Pius IX sent Monsignore Canni, his "domestic prelate," and Moh- 
 signore F. Marinelli, "Sacristan of the Apostolic Palaces," to ab- 
 solve the dying monarch. It is said that the Holy Father declared 
 that but for his infirmity he would have gone himself to render the 
 last services of religion to the stricken king. The latter was not 
 asked to retract any thing ; but he volunteered the statement that 
 he died a good Catholic, having endeavored conscientiously to dis- 
 charge his duty. The final interview between him and the prince 
 and princess was deeply affecting. Taking his son by the hand, 
 Victor Emmanuel looked fondly at him, pronounced one word, 
 ''Addio,'' and followed him with his eyes as he went out crying bit- 
 terly. Shortly after the last agony commenced; and when the king 
 
VICTOR EMMANUELS FUNERAL. 821 
 
 expired, at half past two o'clock in the afternoon, the Marquis Coc- 
 conito, Count Panissera, and Cavaliere Ansaldo were at his bedside. 
 He died quietly, and in the full possession of his senses. 
 
 The news of his death spread rapidly over the whole city, and 
 caused universal sadness. Every shop was closed, and insignia of 
 mourning every -where appeared. The ministers assembled in a 
 council of state at the Quirinal, and the minister of the interior 
 issued a circular to the prefects throughout the kingdom, announcing 
 the death of Victor Emmanuel, and stating that his majesty, King- 
 Humbert, having ascended the throne under the title of King Hum- 
 bert IV, had confirmed the existing ministry in their posts. The 
 new ruler issued an address to the nation, declaring his intention to 
 "imitate his father's devotion to the country." While the body of 
 the dead monarch lay in royal state the clergy uttered prayers for 
 the repose of his soul, and extensive preparations for his burial were 
 made. It was claimed by some that he should be interred in the 
 old sepulchral vaults in the monastery church of La Superga, near 
 Turin, where reposes the dust of many generations of the dukes and 
 kings of the house of Savoy ; but the Romans contended that the 
 magnificent Pantheon was the most appropriate spot for the remains 
 of the dead prince to occupy, because he was the first king of Italy 
 and the founder of his line. The decision was finally reached that 
 he should be buried in Rome. 
 
 The funeral convoy proceeded from the Quirinal through the 
 various streets to the Pantheon, not less than one hundred and fifty 
 thousand strangers and thirty thousand troops of all arms being- 
 present along the A^'hole route. The sky was overcast and the 
 weather damp and chilly, but there Avas no rain. The city was all 
 hung with mourning- flags and draperies, and the procession, which 
 occupied two hours in passing, moved through the streets in an im- 
 posing manner. The king's Avar-horse Avas in mourning trappings, 
 and the iron crown of Italy from Monza Cathedral was borne on a 
 velvet cushion. The Pantheon was ornamented with stately elegance 
 inside and out. In the center, under the skylights, roofed with glass 
 and iron, Avas the grand scaffold, Avith tAventy-four candelabra and 
 burning tapers on four great altars, and four colossal lions made from 
 as many cannon trophies presented by the Due Rochefoucalt to the 
 pope. The booming of the minute guns mingled Avith the lofty and 
 impressive strains of a ncAvly composed funeral march, altogether con- 
 stituting a ceremony of more than usual solemnity. 
 
 Thus closed the remarkable career of a representative of the old- 
 
822 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 est reigning family of Europe. One hundred and fifty -nine years 
 ago, or on the 24th of August, A. D. 1720, Victor Amadeus II, 
 duke of Savoy, having exchanged the sovereignty of the island of 
 Sicily for that of Sardinia, assumed for the first time the title of 
 ''King of Sardinia." But even down to 1859 the slender extent of 
 the Sardinian kingdom is indicated by the fact that its entire area, insu- 
 lar and continental, was only twenty-nine thousand two hundred and 
 eighty-three square miles, or about two-thirds of the area of the state 
 of New York, with a population not over five and a quarter millions 
 of souls. Victor Emmanuel II was born on the 14th of March, 
 1820, and at an early age received a scientific and military education. 
 In his twenty-second year he married the Archduchess Adelaide, of 
 the house of Austria, and entered public life with the eventful cam- 
 paign of 1848. In the battle of Goito he was wounded; and on the 
 evening of the last battle of Novara he became king, through the 
 abdication of his despairing father, Charles Albert of Sardinia. He 
 was immediately involved in the most embarrassing relations. The 
 people doubted him on account of his marriage with an Austrian 
 princess; the monarchical states around him were suspicious because 
 his family entertained liberal views ; and, more than all, he was con- 
 fronted by a victorious enemy. But, despite these difficulties, he 
 succeeded in elevating the reputation and power of his country. In 
 the campaign of 1859 ^^ ^^^ Prince Humbert took part in person, 
 and exhibited great courage. The prominent features of his official 
 life have been given in previous chapters in connection with the 
 history of Cavour ; but it may be added that as king and the founder 
 of Italian unity he was one of the most popular monarchs that ever 
 reigned. He was not a man of great genius, but possessed to the 
 highest degree the qualities of a perfect ruler — energy of action and 
 wisdom in selecting men. His dress, diet, and habits of Hfe were 
 characterized by extreme simplicity; but his private life was not en- 
 tirely free from irregularities. He was idolized by the army, and the 
 title, "II Re Galantuomo " (The Brave King), will ever attach to his 
 illustrious name. 
 
 The people of Italy had not recovered from the shock produced 
 by the death of Victor Emmanuel when they were startled by the 
 announcement that Pius IX had ceased to live. At different periods 
 he had been in a critical condition, and the news of his death was 
 momentarily expected, but his remarkable physical constitution ral- 
 lied and the excitement in Rome subsided. On the 7th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1878, however, the ''fatal archer hit the shining mark," and 
 
DEA TH OF PIUS IX. 823 
 
 the papal throne was vacant. Giovanni Maria MastaY Ferretti was 
 born at Sinigaglia, in the Marches, on the 13th of May, 1792, and 
 was therefore nearly fifty-four years of age when elevated to the pon- 
 tifical chair on the 1 6th of June, 1846. He reigned almost thirty- 
 two years, the longest administration in the records of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and also the most disastrous perhaps, not excepting 
 that of Leo X, which witnessed the dawn of the Reformation. Dur- 
 ing the pontificate of Pius IX every Roman Catholic country made 
 progress in enlightenm.ent, in spite of the opposition of the papacy. 
 The "Concordats," expressly framed to prevent the admission of the 
 Gospel, were abrogated by all the secular potentates, and religious 
 liberty practically tolerated. The entire reign of Pius IX was a bitter 
 struggle against Italian unity and independence, and for the mainte- 
 nance of the temporal power; but he was permitted to reach an ad- 
 vanced age in order that he might behold the overthrow of the secular 
 papacy and the establishment of Victor Emmanuel's throne in Rome. 
 Calling himself a "prisoner" in the narrow limits of the "Leonine" 
 city, the venerable pontiff spent his last days in denouncing the 
 "Sardinian usurper." While the Vatican palace was truly a delight- 
 ful abode, yet how could he be happy when from its windows, look- 
 ing across the "Bridge of St. Angelo," he could behold the humble 
 but efficient Bible- depot, like Mordecai sitting at the king's gate? 
 
 The obsequies of Pius IX were celebrated on the 13th of Feb- 
 ruary with the usual pomp and pageantry, and in all the cities of 
 Italy tributes of respect were paid to his memory. As a man he 
 possessed pure morals, noble impulses, and a kind heart ; as a pope, 
 controlled by Antonelli and the Jesuits, he fulminated the most 
 tyrannical decrees. The conclave which was to choose his successor 
 assembled in the Sistine Chapel, on Tuesday, the 19th of February, 
 and the customary maneuvering commenced. Cardinals Monaco, 
 Sacconi, and Simeoni intrigued for Billio, a fanatic monk, and editor 
 of the "Syllabus," while Billio himself intrigued for Martinelli, a 
 meek and pious monk, but a nonentity whom Billio had assisted in 
 elevating to the cardinalate. There were several candidates, promi- 
 nent among whom were Pecci and Franchi, and after taking one 
 morning and one afternoon ballot each day, the conclave elected the 
 former "by adoration." At half-past one o'clock on Wednesday 
 afternoon, February 20th, Cardinal Caterini proclaimed from the 
 outer balcony of St. Peter's the election of Cardinal Pecci, under the 
 title of Leo XIII. 
 
 The election of Leo XIII created great enthusiasm an\ong the lib- 
 
824 ITAL V STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 eral Roman Catholics of Italy, and was a disappointment to the 
 Jesuits. He was crowned In the SIstlne Chapel on the 3d of March; 
 but as the Ultramontanes threatened some disturbance, the services 
 were private. Cardinal Joachim Pecci was born of a noble family, 
 on the 2d of March, 18 10, at Carpeneto, Italy, and at an early age 
 gave promise of high qualifications for the ministry of the Church. 
 
 He was sent as a delegate by Gregory XVI to suppress brigandage 
 in Spoleto and Perugia. Having accomplished his mission he was 
 made archbishop of Perugia, and sent as nuncio to the king of the 
 Belgians, where he became a great favorite. After his return to 
 Rome he would have been made a cardinal, but Antonelli opposed 
 him. Pius IX, however, appointed him Camerlengo, which office 
 
LEO XIII. 825 
 
 controls the papacy between the death of one pontiff and the elec- 
 tion of another. 
 
 The antecedents and the character of Leo XIII inspired a hope 
 that the conflict between the papacy and the Italian government 
 would cease ; and the liberal European press predicted that he would 
 correct the mistakes of Pius IX, and reconcile himself with the mod- 
 ern world. Franchi, the moderate, became cardinal secretary, and 
 Simeoni, the bitter Ultramontane, retired. Among the promising 
 features of the new 7'^gime were the reception of a deputation and 
 an address in which no reference was made to the Virgin Mary, the 
 direction to the Italian bishops to obtain the royal exequatur, and the 
 ** Allocution" of the 28th of March, 1878. Leo XIII also sent for 
 Father Curci, a prominent Jesuit, who had been excommunicated 
 because he advised Pius IX to renounce his pretensions to temporal 
 authority. The expectations awakened by these measures were de- 
 stroyed by the "Encyclical" of the 4th of April, and especially 
 that of the 28th of December, which arraigned the Protestant 
 Reformation as the cause of socialism. While the new pontiff prac- 
 tices the most rigid economy about the Vatican and cultivates his 
 scholarly tastes, yet he has not taken the bold step to build up a 
 spiritual edifice distinct from civil government, a movement which 
 would make him the greatest of all popes. 
 
 During the years 1878-79 the various religious bodies in Italy 
 continued to grow in membership and influence. In a letter pub- 
 lished in the CJiristian World, of March, 1878, the Rev. S. Irenseus 
 Prime, D. D., the distinguished American editor and friend of Italian 
 evangelization, then at Rome, presents some interesting facts which 
 he observed in Italy, and states that through the several missionary 
 agencies the Gospel was regularly preached by Italian ministers in 
 one hundred and fifty stations. ''Since I have been abroad on this 
 visit," he writes, "I have more than ever felt the importance of such 
 an association as the 'American and Foreign Christian Union.'" At 
 the ninth general assembly of the Free Italian Church, in December, 
 1878, the Rev. Robert Dey and Signor Antonio Arrighi were au- 
 thorized to obtain aid for the cause abroad, the former in Scotland 
 and the latter in the United States. Mr. Arrighi is a native of 
 Florence, and when twelve years of age was a drummer-boy in Gar- 
 baldi's army. He was taken prisoner by the papal troops, but was 
 released in 1855, and came to America. In 1857 ^^^ '^v^s converted 
 from Romanism, and at the solicitation of the Rev. Charles Elliott, 
 D. D., then the president of the Iowa Wesleyan University, young 
 
826 ITALY STRUGGLING INTO LIGHT. 
 
 Arrighi entered that school to prepare himself for mission -work in 
 Italy. After remaining there two years he attended the Ohio Wes- 
 leyan University, and finally graduated at the Boston Theological 
 Seminary in 1869. In 1873 he went to Florence, and labored suc- 
 cessfully for five years as the missionary of the American Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, but consented to return to the United States in the 
 interests of the Free Italian Church. 
 
 During 1879 ^i'- Arrighi and Signor Turino, who represented 
 the Waldensian Church, visited the principal American cities, ad- 
 dressed large audiences, and secured liberal donations for their 
 respective agencies. The superintendent of the American Baptist 
 mission In Italy, the Rev. G. B. Taylor, D. D., also appealed for 
 help to erect a commodious chapel in Rome, and met with a favora- 
 ble response. The Italian work under the direction of the Rev. L. 
 M. Vernon, D. D., made considerable progress, and received an 
 impetus by the conversion of some Individuals of prominence in the 
 papal Church. The English Baptist mission, with its prosperous 
 stations, under the superintendency of the Rev. Mr. Wall, exerts a 
 controlling influence, especially Its beautiful chapel in Rome, in which 
 many Italians assemble to hear the eloquent ex-priest Grassl. 
 
 The great event of 1879 ^^ ^^^^ people of Rome was the visit of 
 the old hero, Garibaldi. In the early part of April he reached the 
 ''Eternal City," and was met at the depot by a vast multitude. 
 Pale, emaciated, and feeble, he was carried on a litter through the 
 streets to the residence of his son. It seemed that he had abandoned 
 his island -home of Caprera to die In that city for whose deliverance 
 he had fought. The crowd, restrained by the scene, did not shout, 
 but welcomed the conqueror with silence and tears. The invincible 
 leader, however, rallied, presided over a republican association, held 
 a conference at the Quirinal with King Humbert, and not only pro- 
 claimed for universal suffrage, but urged his countrymen to annex 
 the provinces of Istria, Trieste, and^Trent. He has lived to behold 
 the results of Italy's struggles during the centuries; and as she stands 
 to-day, united and free In the family of nations, her sons reverence 
 the name of her surviving hero. , 
 
 2? "l .n.o.'^, -' • 
 
 A- 
 THE END. 
 
 

 
 
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