The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-23 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, 'MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 23, 1863.

THE KING OF ITALY,

FROM FOGGIA TO NAPLES.
(From the Special Correspondent of the Zitnes.)
NAPLES, Nov. 13.
If "sensation headings" were not of such questionable
taste I might have put at the top of my letter, " Through
the Brigand Districts," for, as regards distance, three-
fourths at least of the road from Foggia to Naples passes
through the country infested by these gentry ; while, 45
regards the actual time employed to make the
journey,
during five-sixths of it you meet every :mere preparations
against brigands, and you hear of nothing but Caruso. It
is the only and exclusive topic of which you hear in this
latitude from the Adriatic right across to the Mediterranean.
There is, after all, nothing like prudent boldness to strike
the imagination of mankind. It is more effective than
downright courage and bravery, for it knows better how to
avoid catastrophes. Thus you see in the present case a
handful of men, belonging to the dregs of the people, keep •
ing whole provinces in a state of alarm, driving the autho-
rities almost to despair, fatiguing whole regiments of horse
and foot, acquiring the prestige of popular heroes and a
European notoriety simply because their own heels and
those of their Apulian ponies are fleeter than those of their
pursuers. Read any of the stories of encounters with the
troops, and the result of a fight for hours will be a couple
of brigands' horses left behind because lame, and some
cloaks because too heavy. If by chance some one is killed
among the brigands, it is almost sure to be one of their
women, who evidently have more courage than the men,
But let them have a chance of finding themselves un-
opposed in a solitary masseria or farmhouse among old men
and women, or let them find on the road a sick soldier or
two being taken to the hospitals, and there will be a mas-
sacre and mutilation so savage that the whole country for
miles round will ring with the deed. It will be matter of
gossip for weeks, and strike such terror into a population
already not very brave by nature that every one will be
ready to obey any order which may emanate from these
running heroes. This is certainly a safe way to immortality.
It was a good idea to take advantage of the opening of
the railway to Foggia to induce the King to visit the
disturbed districts, and the greater is the pity that the jour-
ney was so hurried. The loss of a few days in such a case
might have saved many lives and a great deal of trouble.
It is difficult enough to know those with whom we are
most intimate, how much more a population which has
been kept in systematic barbarism and abjectness, which
understands none of our ideas and motives, looks at every-
thing it does not understand with suspicion, and has a code
of morals, or, if I may so say, of immorals, quite revolting
according to our notions ? It is useless to expect that the
superiority of our own ideas will assert itself by miracle.
You must study the idiosyncracy of the people, have
patience, and find out a lever by which you can work to-
wards regeneration. Now, as with all people long oppressed,
the great mania, above all with Southern Italians, is begging
and complaining. The Duke has it as much as the labourer
and the begger in the streets. So inveterate is the mania
that begging is practised as much for the sake of beg-
ging and bringing forward grievances as for the sake
of obtaining something by it. The :man wants to be
listened to, and if he finds sympathy he goes away satisfied.
Now, the first Royal visit to these out-of- the-way places
was just the occasion for humouring this mania, and to
show that those judged falsely who created the belief that
Royalty takes no interest in these Southern provinces. Like
children, the inhabitants of the district through which'the
Royal journey was to take place had prepared for the occa-
sion, and were ready to show themselves off in the most
favourable light. There was the excitement of novelty, so
unusual in these remote parts, besides the vague hope that
something might be gained by the Royal journey. They
had come in from all sides, at least, to see the king, they
had prepared their most choice dainties to offer them to him,
and they found the King gone before they arrived, and
their dainties remaining behind untouched.
Although liltle more than 60 miles by the milestones, the
journey from Foggia to Avellino, where the King was to
stop for the night, take 12 to 15 hours, owing to the moun-
tainous nature of the country. It was therefore necessary
to start early, if the programme was to be observed. There
was no difficulty about this, for early hours are much more
to the taste of Victor Emmanuel than late ones. Before
starting, the National Guard, which had been collected from
all the surrounding districts, had to be passed in review.
It was to have been done the day before, but the arrival
having taken place at night, the review was deferred till
next morning about 7.
_ _

if there is one thing which strikes you more than any-
thing else about the South of Italy, it is the development of
the National Guard. From the time we entered the old
Neapolitan boundary at Foce del Tronto, passing along the
coast towards Fuggia and thence across the mountain down
to Naples, we must have seen at the very least 30,000 or
40,000 National Guards. If you looked among the crowd,
right or left, you scarcely saw an able-bodied man unless a
priest or some functionary. All the men were there, armed
and arrayed in rank and file. You could not help remem-
bering the telling arguments of Mr. Gladstone in last year's
debate about Italian affairs. Surely no sane man can talk
of disaffection where every man is armed, and the only dis-
turbance that is heard of proceeds from 30 or 40 desperate
individuals in one district. Indeed, unless wo take the
National Guard as a political demonstration in the South,
it has little meaning otherwise. With rare exceptions, they
are useless for any real service, and no more ridiculous dis-
play for the citizen soldier can be:imagined than the great
mass of these Nationals. In all the larger towns they have
indeed some sort of uniform ; in country places little is
found even of this. But whether provided or not provided
with the uniform, they are certainly not strong in disci-
pline or drill, and were it not that there is a foolish notion
on the Continent that the citizen soldier is the guardian
of political liberty, and were there not a law in Italy
organising the National Guard, these worthy
men might
be sent home without any one losing by it, except
some young men fond of uniforms ; the great mass
would be only too delighted. The bourgeois National
Guard has always been a subject of ridicule, and can never
be anything else. The only good feature in the institution
is that the law enables the Government to call out volun-
teers from the ranks of the National Guard, and form them
into mobilized battalions, which are drilled, subjected to
military discipline, and may be sent to any portion of the
Italian territory. They have more than once beerrfound of
service in an emergency, while the regular troops were re-
quired in other parts ; for instance, in 18.59 and 1860, dur-
ing the war in Lombardy and Southern Italy.
The review of the Nationals at Foggia did not take long,
for before 8 a,m. the King had started, accompanied only
by his suite and the Ministers. Even the foreign Ministers
who had come to Foggia, had to wait for a couple of hours
—that is, the time required for the King to arrive at the
first relay. All the post horses and carriages had been en-
gaged by the authorities for the service of the King, others
had been hired, and even postboys had been sent for from
Naples for the occasion; yet with all this there was a great
want of means of conveyance, in a district where there is
usually only one mail coach a day, which takes the bags.
Another difficulty was the insecurity of the road, although
it is quite a month since anything has been heard of Caruso,
The mail coach is always accompanied by an escort, and so
are all the travellers 'who take a post chaise. As it would
have been impossible to give separate escorts to each car-
riage all had to wait and were despatched in one convoy,
which started about 10 in the morning.
Before leaving Foggia I must say something about the
place. The town, which is situated in the middle of the
plain of Apulia, is the capital of the province of Capitanata,
and has the pretension of being the most important centre
on the eastern slopes of the Appenines. It boasts of hav-
ing received and entertained many a King who came to
fetch his Queen ; not that you are to suppose tkat even
Neapolitan Kings had such bad taste as to cheese the
partners of their thrones among the distressingly
plain women of the 'Ace, but as they often intermarried
with Austrian princesses, and these were sent from
Trieste by sea to Manfredonia, the Kings came to Foggia to
meet them. But even putting these past glories aside,
Foggia has a considerable importance for the eastern por-
tion of the old Neapolitan territory. Secluded as all this
part of the kingdom is from the capital, it has preserved a
character and a life of its own ; only a few of its nobility
could be attracted to reside at Naples, the others preferred
being lords in their own territory to being about the Court
—and lords they were, and are still up to a certain point,
for there are more traces of the old feudal system remaining
hero than in any other part of the kingdom of Naples.
Special laws and privileges regulate the tenure of property,
keeping up the traditions of the past with all its drawbacks.
You have only to take a stroll about the town to be aware
of this. It consists of two streets of substantial houses, with
fine rooms, well furnished, and a number of by-streets, ex-
elusively composed of wretched hovels—one long wall
pierced by arched doors, and, above, a circular window.
The circular window lets out the smoke, and the door serves
as the entrance to a single small room, in which the family
of the agricultural ;abourer dwells—men, women, children,
fowls, not to forget the pig. This latter is an important, if
not the most important, member of the Apulian household,
and dearer to the inmates of the room than any other thing
it contains. I heard a characteristic story as to this which
is worth repeating. A detachment of troops in close pursuit
of the brigands passed near one of these hovels, inhabited
by the family of a labourer, and the officer, who know that
the brigands must have passed by, asked where they had
tired soldiers.
gone. "Non saccie" ("I don't know") was the answer,
accompanied by every assurance of the truth of tho Gospel
n y gav thTehree
that it was the fact, The officer, growing impatient, threat-
enedthe way. I don't
to kill the man. The threat had no effect. He seized
htholed of the Ban and had a picket told off to shoot him. Still
threatened to have the pig cut up and roasted for his
ho same plea of ignorance. At last, struck by a bright idea,
two, and car ail qtrreeadtipnrfoodrmucaetdioint,sbeufftecact,tuanaidlythsheomwaend
not
all
londer at this tenderness for the pig, for
it is, according to
went of medical y
theanipearance, the cleaner animal of the
men, ethast corrupt. According to the state-
lower classes Burps", Et immorality existing among the
tthheancoautnNtryap;lems.ostlot
to see cottages or hovels about
I am told it is worse
try houses, with considerable outts ialre large farms or coun-
which are usual
inhabited by theu bailiff,
attached to them,
agricultural population is crowded in thfe. The mass of the
towns in the man-
ner I have described. This crowding together produces the
fiBthreabarin:irief.

effect of so many large prisons, where the Worst and most
desperate characters always acluire the greatest influence,
and keep the others in a state 3f terror and servitude.

Bat I have tarried long enough in the tbWil of Foggia, so
let us start. Our convoy Consisted of five carriages, three of
which were heavy naafi coaches. The contents were a mix-
ture front all parts of the universe, which did not diminish
the interest of the journey—on the contrary. The sun shone
out brightly, the postillions had the orthodox costume which
Iva see on the stage when" Fra Diavolo" is acted, and
which you see in every picture that represents a desperate
encounter with brigands in large beards and pointed hats.
The six ponies which were attached to the carriages stepped
out merrily, and off we went in good humour even with the
town of Foggia.

As you get out of the town you see before you what seems
one large plain, as even as a billiard table, up to the moun-
tains in the distance. In many places the green crops are
peeping out of the loam, the white oxen are labouring in
the heavy soil, here and there a large white farm building
is visible, and the two-wheeled carts of the country, drawn
by two or more mules, are going towards the town. It
looks a perfect picture of peace, and you can scarcely be-
lieve that you are in the vicinity of the brigand district.
After three or four miles, which you have been travelling
south-west, you observe a change ; that plain which
looked so even begins to rise in gentle curves, which all
take their direction towards the plain—the signs of culti-
vation cease abruptly, and as far as the eye can see there is
nothing visible but coarse grass and weeds, not a tree, and
scarcely a bush a foot high, You have reached the Tavo-
lierre delle Puglie (the table-land of Apulia). An old law
forbids the ploughing up of any portion of it or even the
planting of a tree—the whole tract, which is many miles in
extent, is reserved for pasturage. It is the breeding ground
of the small but wiry Apulian horse, mostly black or dark
sletghsat he descended from the barb.
legs, high in the withers, with the
TRbahoymeyaaanlrietntolaesllelllenfagtlltionsritunghne about loose in troops under charge
of the herdsman and his dog—the famous white sheepdog
of the Appennines, strong enough to be a match for a wolf.
Besides horses, sheep are bred, on the Tavoliere—not the
small black sheep of the mountains, but a tall animal re •
sembhng the Cheviots. Next to horses and sheep the
Tavoliere produces brigands. It is a mistake to suppose
that this produce is new—it has always existed more or
less, only the:world did not know it. No better ground for
preparing a razzia pn some farmhouse in the plain can be
imagined than this table-land, which slopes so gently that
from the higher parts you can discern every object in the
distance, while its undulations, which are no impediment to
a gallop, are still sufficient to hide the movements of a
small body of horsemen who are in ambuscade.
As you proceed the ground becomes higher 'and
rougher, little bushes begin to show, the undulations be-
come by degrees greater, and by the time you have
you go up and
pdaoswsned
sttheeepfirisnt oneslitnaetiscoovf
erPeodzzwo
itdhiAolabek tocepp
ice,
and a
good number of young trees standing out among it. As
the Tavoliere is the ground for the offensive, these hill
spurs, covered with dense young woods, are the ground
for the defensive operations of the brigands. They are ex-
clusively inhabited by wood cutters and charcoal
burners, who, together with the shepherds, form the
classes from which the brigands are usually recruited.
This ground is of considerable extent, for from the
road where you are these woods stretch towards the north
in one line for at least 60 miles, where they reach the sea
near the river Frontone.:They pass in the vicinity of I roya,
Lucera, and San Severe, three towns which have acquired
a certain notoriety:of late on that account. You have only
to look at the place round you to understand the difficulty
following people who know every inch of the ground. A
few steps are enough to lose all trace.
Already before we left the plain we met a squadron of
Hussars, who were going back towards the town. The sta-
tion-house of Pozze d'Albeto was garrisoned by a company
of regulars, and as we proceeded we found almost every
;ergo building on the road similarly tenanted, and detach.
ments of foot and, above all, horse patrolling along the road.
Passing at Petite Boxino over one of the feeders of the
Cervara you come into a new ceuntry, You are in the
valley of the main stream of the Cervara. The mountains
rise in steep slopes, and you wind your way upwards on the
left bank towards the pass of Ariano. There is little trace
of life, except one or two towns perched on the mountains,
which appear and disappear at every turn of the road,
From all these out-of-the-way places the National Guards,
and in some instances even the population, had come to
greet the King on his passage, and they were still there to
cheer us on our passage.
At Montagato the real ascent of the pass begins, and with
it began our miseries. The horses, which had already
served for the King's passage, began to show signs of dis-
tress, besides which many of the hired horses, all of which
were restive and not accustomed to work in company,
seemed inclined to jib, so that when we got to Ariano at
nightfall one of the carriages had remained behind in a
quagmire, and horses had to be sent to fetch it. This was
so much the more awkward as there was a lady in the car-
riage, and as about Ariano the unsafest part of the road
begins,
Ariano can boast of having been the first tom n which
planted the standard of reaction. Two days after the entrance
of Garibaldi into Naples the news arrived that Ariano and
Avellino had declared against the new state of things, and
a small force had to be sent there to put down the move-
ment, which the bishop beaded. The movement was insig-
nificant, but had to be dealt with at once, on account of the
position of Ariano, which, being situated on the watershed
of the Appenines, commands the only practicable road which
leads from the eastern provinces of the Capitanata and the
Terra di Bari to Naples. It is the very type of a town in
the Appenines—perched up like an eagle's nest on the side
of the mountain, most of the houses being partly cut into
the rock. The population derives considerable benefit from
the traffic between the eastern plains and the western slopes,
and has a reputation for not being among the weakest of
mortals, Certain it is that it seems quite a race apart from
all those dwelling east and west; for, while these latter,
both in Apulia and in the Terra di Lavoro and the Princi-
pato Ultra, are but wretched specimens of humanity, the
people of Ariano are a fine race—the women reminding one
rather of the Roman than the Neapolitan type.
While we were waiting for the carriage which had re-
mained behind I amused myself talking to some women who
were about the place where we changed horses. They were
at first a little shy, but were soon made confident by a shin-
ing silver coin, and vied with each other to tell me their
impressions of the King's passage. They had seen him
well, as he had to pass close by, and thought his mous-
tachies very long. But of what they thought and spoke
most were the choice refreshments which the bishop had
prepared in his palace in the upper town. Again and again
they came back to the subject, lamenting that they had
been thrown away, and evidently thinking they had
suffered a kind of slight. It was the same all along the
road. Those who had succeeded in inducing the King to
take something were quite proud, while those who had net
been equally fortunate were sorely disappointed.
Before even!the horses were put to, 10 carabineers made
their appearance. They were our escort. We were ap-
proaching the worst part of the road. Caruso was last heard
of in the neighbourhood of Benevento, the old Papal pro.
vince enclosed within the Neapolitan territory, and which
has been conspicuous for brigandage above all other points.
Benevento lies on the main stream of the Volturno, and
this main stream, as well as most of its feeders, takes its
rise on the western slopes about Ariano, and has to be
passed on the road to Naples. For the next three stations
Grotta Minardi, Dentecani, and Avellino—extra precautions
had to be taken to guard against a possible flank march of
Caruso. The apprehensions must have been greatest about
the last two of these stations, for instead of ten carabineers
we had a squadron of cavalry for our escort.
We had lost about two hours at Ariano, and it was past
8 o'clock before we started in military order, with all the
precautions usual in face of the enemy—two carabineers
ahead as eclaireurs, four on the sides, and four behind as
arriere guard, together with the brigadier. The postilions
were told to keep together. This was easier said than done,
for we had scarcely moved 100 yards when the heavy mail
coach, in which 1 was, came to a dead stop. One pair of
horses would not go on. All the coaxing and " ah's" pro-
duced no more effect than beating, for when we moved a
few yards we soon came to a stop again. The postilions
got down and changed the horses, but all to no purpose;
we were steadily remaining behind the other carriages.
And all this was down hill, which was a pleasant lookout
for the steep incline we had before us to surmount. Time
after time the other carriages had to stop, and by dint of
united exertions wo kept up again for a time. At last we
were but a mile from the station, but one half of that mile
was a hard pull, and after having got up halfway we came
to a decided dead stop. The other carriages had gone on,
and there we were in the middle of the road, and at the
bottom of the slope on the other side was the bridge over
the main source of the Volturno, one of the haunts of
Caruso, However, there was nothing for it but patience.
A carabineer was despatched to the post-station to
fetch horses, and we were left the choice to make
our reflections or to talk with a talkative carabineer
whose very first word left no doubt about his being a
"Nabolidan."

The said carabineer being what is called a blagueur, and
not an amusing one either, my reflections took me back to
the struggle we had to make the horses go on. It was a
picture in miniature of the great struggle to make the
Southern districts go on. There were the Neapolitan pos-
tilions indulging from time to time in a frantic effort, shout-
ing their "ah's" in all keys, whipping the horses which
were drawing, and forgetting those which did draw, and
after a few seconds giving up the job in despair, and stand-
ing there silent pictures of despair. On the other hand there
wore those who had to command, suspecting that it was ill-
will on the part of the postilions and horses, and that"possi-
bly it was a prearranged thing, cursing and swearing at the
postilions and at all the race in the country indiscriminately;
and there were, finally, the carabineers, with the exception
of the talkative one all strangers, snowing an apathy which
seemed at first difficult to understand.

It is the same in the great struggle to civilise the South.
There are the people expected to emerge as if by magic out
of the abjectness in which it has lived for centuries. It
makes a short effort, and, of course, does not succeed. The
authorities try to show their energy by storming, which
makes matters worse, for it produces obstinacy on the other
side. At last, exhaustad by the useless effort, Ole autho-
rities take the view of the carabineerel and giN ,up the

job of making the people do mere than they can do, and
sometimes despair even of making them do what they can
do. A great many of the difficulties are owing to this
ignorance of the character of the people. The Neapolitan
requires a firm hand, but it must be smooth not rough,
while in many cases the functionaries from the north had
not sufficient self-control for this. They showed their im-
patience, which was excusable enough, but ought to have
been overcome ; they lost their control, and after struggling
for some time they are overcome by the via inerticc which
they encounter.
While we were waiting for the horses a "chi via la" re-
sounded from the bottom of the slope. It was rather ex-
citing; the carabineers, reduced to three, unslung their
carbines and answered " Carabiniere," on which the steps
of a body of men were heard, and soon after a squadriglia
of volunteers, organised by the commune, made its appear-
ance. They had seen the lights of the mail coach immov-
able, and suspecting there was something wrong, came up
to assist, Soon after more effectual assistance came—namely,
the fresh horses. They were put to, and we got up the in-
cline. When at the top every one, fatigued by the long
delay, reclined with satisfaction. We w.re trotting merrily
down hill, when lo 1 there was a rocking, and down we
came on our side with a crash. The postillions and every
one else, delighted with the performance up hill, had for-
gotten to put on the drag, and the carriage upset in full
trot, Fortunately, it was on the side of a back, so not
' much harm was done except a good shake. Having asoer-
tained that no bones had been broken, a carbineer was sent
to fetch another carriage from the station, but before it
arrived our united efforts had succeeded in righting the
heavy conveyance, which was strong enough not to have
suffered by the upsetting. You ought to have seen those
Neapolitans how they worked with a good will ; some of
the passengers who know them had taken them in hand.
In the next two stages, supposed to be the most dan-
gerous ones, all went smoothly, and by 8 o'clock we reached
Avellino in a drizzling rain just in time to see the King
start for Naples, by Nola. We went in his wake. All along
the road the towns and even villages were decorated and
festooned, triumphal arches at their entrance, the people,
with tolerable clean faces, crowding the streets, and the
National Guard arranged in large numbers both
in the towns and along the road. It seems a
mystery that a district so close to a large town like
Naples should be so far behind in everything, yet
it has net improved under the new rule ; the houses are still
the old ruins they were, and the people apparently not
better cff than they were, The reason seems to be that the
district is too crowded, and that there is no possibility of
inducing a man to leave his country and seek occupation
elsewhere. however miserable, these people have an affec-
tion for their hills, which can barely feed them. It is the
social problem which turns up at every step in these provinces.
About noon we reached the station of Nola, where a
special train had just gone with the King. By a strange
coincidence, the name of the engine which took him was
Garibaldi. An hour after we were at Naples.