1816-46] The Secret Societies 111

magnanimous revolts, it is not possible to deny their value; they must be regarded as an indispensable preliminary of the painful labour of a nation's redemption.

The Italians have ever been, and perhaps are still, a people singularly prone to faction. The mystery and the surprises of conspiracy attract their fervid imagination and satisfy their mute rebellious instinct, resulting from long years of servitude which, even at the present day, renders all exercise of authority difficult among a people that is by nature kindly, industrious, and generous. Towards the close of the Napoleonic era, when the decline of the military glory which had dazzled the multitude revived the desire and the hope for liberty, numerous secret societies were already scattered in different parts of the Peninsula. Thus, even before the fall of Napoleon, in Bologna the Raggi, in Mantua the Centri, the Anti-Eugeniani in Milan, the Massoneria in Upper Italy, the Carbonari in Naples, were developing their subterraneous and intricate existence. These societies fostered diverse aspirations, but all were united in opposition to the constituted authorities dependent on the French. Later, when by the decrees of the Congress of Vienna the Italians had been excluded from all prospects of free government, these societies multiplied, and their activity became more intense and more audacious. By reason of their essential secrecy their history is obscure, if not impenetrable; and it is impossible to give a correct account of their number, their acts, and their power. We find trustworthy information concerning them in the important collection of the Secret Papers of the Austrian Police, taken from the Venetian archives, and published by Daniel Manin. From these we learn that national independence was the common aim of all these societies; but it is also clear that their action was not co-ordinated, and that they had no clear or identical vision of the future beyond the attainment of this end. From the same papers it is clear that the "sects" possessed numerous adherents; for instance, from the report of a Bourbon general we learn that, in the city of Lecce alone, the Adelfi and similar societies could reckon forty thousand members, the majority of whom were armed.

The most widely-spread and influential was that of the Carboneria, which had its headquarters in the kingdom of Naples. Colletta defines it as "a vast society of landowners, who desired peace and improved conditions." It was already flourishing in the time of King Joachim, who was forced to take measures against it; but after the restoration of the Bourbons it extended its action and increased its power. Many of the prosperous middle-class belonged to it; but the majority of its members were soldiers who hoped for advancement, provincials, lawyers in search of employment, and finally, those who, by reason of their political views or of the positions which they had occupied during the French regime, were opposed to or mistrusted the Government of the

112 Revolt at Naples [1820

Restoration. At Naples its leaders were waiting titl an accident should set in motion the accumulated force of silent indignation and suppressed discontent. The signal was given in July, 1820, when men's minds had been unusually stirred by means of the success of the Spanish Revolution.

On July 2, two sub-lieutenants, Morelli and Salvati, followed by a force of 127 horsemen, left their quarters at Nola and set out for Avellino crying, " Long live God, the King, and the Constitution," and flying the tricolour banner of the Carbonari, black, red, and blue. At Avellino they were joined by others, and, inducing the Governor to join them, they started for the capital. They were few in number; it was but a small pronunciamiento on the part of the army and of the revolutionary societies, which could easily have been suppressed by the forces controlled by the Government. But the Ministers were weak and undecided ; and the Bourbon King, like most of the later representatives of his House in Naples, was a coward. When the news reached him, he was in the Bay, having embarked on a luxurious yacht to meet his son, the Duke of Calabria, who was coming from Sicily. On hearing the unexpected news, he was seized with an agony of terror, declared that he would fly to Sicily, or remain at sea, and was with difficulty persuaded to land. Meanwhile, profiting by the delay caused by the timidity and uncertainty of the authorities, the band of rebels increased in number and opened communications with other centres of rebellion. In the night of July 4-5 the Carbonaro general, Guglielmo Pepe, knowing that he was suspected, escaped from Naples, stirred up the people to riots, and placed himself at the head of the rebels. The King summoned his Ministers and asked their advice. Terror-stricken and incapable, they all thought it best to yield and appear to support a movement which they were not in a position to check. Very early on the morning of the 6th, five Carbonari arrived at Court, and, in the name of the people, whom they represented as being all in arms, imposed upon their sovereign a Constitution, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 (described in a later chapter), which was popular and ready to hand. The Duke of Ascoli intimated the King's assent; and when the good people of Naples rose from their beds they learnt that their Government was changed, that constitutional rule had been substituted for absolutism. Many were under the delusion that this was the beginning of a new era; and the patriotic poet, Gabriele Rossetti, intoxicated with joy, saluted the dawn of Parthenopean liberty with a hymn which soon was on the lips of all: " Thou art fair with the stars in thy locks, sparkling like living sapphires, and sweet is thy breath, thou crimson herald of the dawn. From the neighbouring height with a smile of rapturous longing thou dost proclaim that in the balmy garden of Italy servitude is at an end."

But, in their dreams of hope fulfilled, these patriots forgot the

1820] Ferdinand at Laibach 113

jealous vigilance of Austria and the innate treachery of Ferdinand. From the outset, the new order was weakened and discredited by internal agitation, by the domination of the victorious Carboneria, by the childish extravagance of the Liberals, who were devoid of experience and intoxicated with rhetoric. Nevertheless, it is possible that the Constitution would have stood firm and gained in strength if the skill and power of Austria, that watchful sentinel, had not at once been employed for its destruction. So early as July 25 Prince Metternich had sent a circular to the German Courts to inform them that Austria could not tolerate the Revolution of Naples, and that, if need arose, she would send an army to suppress it. Before attempting this intervention she needed the consent of the other Great Powers; at the Conference of Troppau Metternich set himself to obtain a free hand for Austria, that she might be at liberty to stifle throughout the Peninsula such ideas and movements as might result in the triumph of independence. As for Ferdinand, who, shortly before, at the opening of Parliament, together with the princes, had sworn on the Gospels to respect the Constitution, he had lost no time in secretly informing the sovereigns assembled at Troppau of his intention "to leave his kingdom and to resume' absolute power with the help of the Austrian army." Accordingly, in the following November, he received an invitation to Laibach to discuss in Congress the political affairs of his kingdom. The Parliament was unwilling to allow him to go; but he addressed to the Chamber an elaborate epistle, a signal monument of falsehood and treachery, declaring that he wished to go to Laibach solely " in order to act as peacemaker for the common good, and to obtain the sanction of the Powers for the newly-acquired liberties "; and he added, with formal solemnity, " I declare to you, and to my nation, that I will do everything to leave my people in the possession of a wise and free Constitution." His Parliament, deceived by this declaration, permitted him to cross the borders. He proceeded to Laibach and denounced the Constitution to those who dreaded the dissemination of Liberal ideas as much as, or more than, himself. It was not difficult to come to an understanding. The Congress, which maintained that it was its right and its duty to concern itself with the peace of Europe, and that the condition of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies was dangerous for the Powers, agreed that an Austrian army should be sent to restore order in Naples.

The Neapolitan Parliament did not hesitate to declare war. General Pepe was eager for it; the best of Ferdinand's subjects desired it, believing, with patriotic credulity, that their King had been constrained by the Powers at Laibach; the Carbonari clamoured for it; and war was proclaimed — not by a valorous resolution of the people, nor, as Colletta says, from a desire for glory, but in lightness of heart. Pepe placed himself at the head of the army, which was not inferior in numbers to

C. M. H. X. 8

114 Neapolitan Revolution. — Rising in Piedmont [1820-1

that of Austria; and the troops met on March 7,1821, near Ilieti. The untrained, undisciplined soldiers had no confidence in their own power to resist the shock of the enemy, and broke before the battle had well begun. This defeat at a blow changed the position of affairs. Humble and inglorious submission followed in all parts; in the Parliament, which had but yesterday shown itself so proud and inflexible, only twenty-six deputies had the courage to vote for a protest drawn up in emphatic and haughty terms by Giuseppe Poerio. On March 23 the Austrian army entered Naples to restore absolute government; shortly afterwards Ferdinand returned, having broken his journey at Florence to place, in expiation of his treachery, a votive lamp in the Church of the Annunciation. Such was the inglorious end of the Neapolitan Revolution. But the flame of patriotism, once kindled, was not yet extinguished, whatever might be the illusions of the easy victors of the day. And these worked with blind obstinacy to keep it alight by inaugurating a period of violence, persecution, and cruelty.

Whilst, between the treacherous intrigues of the Bourbons on the one hand and the imprudence of the rebels on the other, the breath of liberty, which had passed over the fair Parthenopean soil, was dying away, there broke out a second revolution in the extreme north of Italy, in Piedmont. Even here the Carbonari had many adherents, especially in the ranks of the army. Moreover, other secret societies had sprung up, drawing their recruits from among the better classes of the population. All these societies, whether their programme was more or less audacious, united in one common aim expressed in the cry for the expulsion of the Austrians from Italy and for a Constitution. The good and gentle disposition of Victor Emanuel had led people to hope that when the movement was declared he would end by joining it, especially as it was controlled by men of rank and birth in whom he could trust. Such were Count Carlo di San Marzano, his aide-de-camp, Giacinto di Collegno, commander of the artillery, Guglielmo Moffa di Lisio, Colonel Regis, the Prince della Cisterna, Santorre di Santarosa, the Marquis of Prie, and others, who were in favour at Court or held important posts in the Government. In this circle of leaders and amongst all those eager for change the news of the Neapolitan Revolution produced the utmost excitement. On July 29, 1820, Silvano Costa di Beauregard wrote : " We stand on the brink of a precipice; innumerable placards demand a Constitution similar to that of the Spanish Cortes. The King is assailed by anonymous memorials demanding a Constitution. . . . Words fail to describe the universal conditions of feverish excitement. The events in Naples have completely turned our heads." The conspirators had planned a rising for the moment when the Austrian army should be occupied with the Neapolitan revolutionaries. No serious preparations were made, but there was abundant enthusiasm. Much was hoped from Prince Carlo Alberto di Carignano, the heir

1821-33] Carlo Alberto 115

apparent to the throne, whom the conspirators believed to be their leader, and whose action, in their opinion, would carry the army with him, and with the army the King.

Concerning this Prince, who, although at the time he did not respond to the prayers of the revolutionists, afterwards sacrificed himself in order to keep faith with them, there has raged the fiercest controversy. On the one hand, his behaviour in this conjuncture was the occasion for charges, which found a popular echo in Uerchet's poem, " Carignano, thy name is held accursed by every nation " ; on the other, it found supporters and admirers, who even went the length of asserting " that his action in 1821 was the boldest and most courageous of all his political life." His was a strange character, full of seeming contradictions, which led Carducci, in a celebrated poem, to call him "the Italian Hamlet." But the contradictions were only apparent. It was his conduct in 1821 and 1833 that provided his enemies with an opportunity of attacking the memory of one who bestowed on Italy that generous gift, the Statuto. It is said that in 1821 he betrayed his friends, after promising to help them in the movement; that in the 1833 he persecuted the Liberals, condemning some to exile and others to death. But, after many years of discussion, the exact nature of his promise still remains in doubt; we do not know whether it was a desire which the revolutionaries interpreted as an intention or an intention which the force of circumstances transformed into an unsatisfied desire.

It is certain that, by education, inclination, friendship, and habits of thought, he was in sympathy with the ideals of Balbo, San Marzano, and Collegno; but it is also certain that to their first advances he made the following unequivocal reply, " My conduct will always be determined by my duty and my loyalty to the person of the King." It was this conception of his duty towards his sovereign and the traditions of his House, which deterred him from taking too active a share in the development of the rising ; and his prudence, which some called weakness, served him in good stead at this juncture, seeing that the movement, which had originated in a desire for reform, had exceeded the limits intended by those who had been its chief promoters, and that it would have involved him in a rebellious faction, and cut short a career advantageous to his country.

With regard to his severity towards the rebels in 1833, it was excessive and therefore reprehensible ; but his critics should remember that this was at the beginning of his reign, when he was, on the one hand, exposed to the suspicions of Austria, who would assuredly have removed any Italian prince who showed Liberal tendencies, and on the other, firmly convinced that these revolutionary outbreaks would end by weakening the prestige of a dynasty and of an army which he foresaw would be called to accomplish a task of national importance. It is indisputable that, throughout his life, he was ruled by one clear