The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 20, 1859.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

IPSWICH RACES.

These races commenced yesterday (Wednesday) and ex •
tend over to-day. The weather was somewhat dull and
chilly, and the attendance of professional spectators ex-
tremely limited. The various events were contested by small
fields, but in one or two instances the racing was close and
spirited. Mr. James Manning, of Newmarket, was the
judge, and Mr. S. Merry, of Leamington, clerk of the
course.

GARIBALDI AT ROME.

The following interesting letter from a lady has
been forwarded to us for publication :
" Bologna, Sept. 24.
"My dearest Brother,—l wrote to you last from
Modena, whither, as you are aware, I accompanied.
Colonel D , his wife, and my young friend
Teresa Garibaldi (agreeably with her father's kind
invitation) in order to take part in the rendezvous
he had given his family at the beautiful villa which
the Dittatore Parini had placed at his disposal, and
the time I spent with them proved so very charming
that 1 almost think an account of my visit would
interest a larger circle of readers than that of a
brother's family.
" The first occurrence was a disappointment. A
despatch had arrived on the day we reached the
villa, which had called the General away to Bologna,
and it was his son Menotti and some officers of the
staff who received us and installed us in our apart-
ments. A couple of days were pleasantly employed
in visiting Modena's grass-grown streets, in explor-
ing the luxuriant groves of our ducal residence,
and admiring the rich meadows which surrounded
them, the beautiful deer and horses and cattle
which, with their young fawns and colts and calves,
were grazing, frolicking, or reposing there in
happy thoughtlessness.
" But the charm of all this beauty and grandeur
soon vanished, and we began to repine at the long
absence of our illustrious host, when we received a
despatch desiring us at once to start for Ravenna,
and thus our rather onerous life of contemplation
was suddenly changed to bustle and activity.
" Packing our trunks in a hurry, swallowing a
premature dinner, and hastening to the railway in
time for the last and only train for Bologna were
the work of a very few moments, but, alas ! were
not successful. A broken bridge cost us the loss
of four hours, and we arrived at Bologna just in
time to find neither post horses nor places in the
diligence or any other conveyance that day. A
vetturina the following morning was our sole con-
solation, and we were obliged to sleep where we
were.

" Eleven weary hours on a supremely monoto-
nous road brought us next morning to the gates of
the far-famed and interesting town of Ravenna, A
rumour that the 'faniiglia del prode Generale' was
to arrive seemed to have preceded us, for already
in the suburbs numberless people hurried to their
windows to catch a glimpse of the fair Teresa and
her herculean brother. When at last our poor vet-
turino horses plucked up the very best of their
sinking strength, and made a showy dash into the
Piazza del Palazzo, and entered with a lotid rattle
its lofty archway, a dense crowd surrounded the
carriage. The General met us at the foot of the
staircase, and, after an affectionate welcome, led us
to our rooms. I was happy to see how well he
looked. Every vestige of his late severe illness
had disappeared from his noble brow, and the halo
of satisfacCon which his newly gained successes, and
the dawning happiness of his beloved country, dis-
played around his classical features, heightened, if
possible, their beauty, and made him look 10 years
younger than when I saw him at Turin.
"Having shaken off the thickest of the dust we
had collected on our long journey, we were sum-
moned to dinner. In passing through a vast suite
of costly-decorated rooms the General presented us
to several of the first gentlemen of Ravenna, and to
his Excellency the Marchese Rosa from Turin, who
has been sent by the Piedmontese Government as
Intendente and Delegato Politico at Ravenna. He
received us with so much courteous cordiality and
unaffected affability that I cannot tell you how
much pleasure his acquaintance afforded us all.
"We had scarcely been half an hour at table
when the evvivas' of the assembled populace be-
came so clamorous that the Marchese induced Gari-
baldi to gratify them by appearing in the balcony.
All the shouts you hear,' he said to the General,
gush from warm hearts. They aro a brave people,
and they cannot feign, and what they demonstrate
they feel ;' and this he repeated more than once
before he could overcome the General's modesty.
At the balcony he pronounced one of his short but
pithy speeches, which find their way straight to the
heart. You will possibly have read it in the papers,
and therefore I will not give it here. Not the
slightest noise was to be beard over the large space
where the sonorous voice resounded, as he thanked
the people for all their proofs of sympathy and
affection. The wind was lulled, the flags hung
downwards, and the auditors seemed scarcely to
breathe, for fear of interrupting the solemn silence.
One must have followed as I have done the life of
the noble warrior in all its vicissitudes, self-denials,
and sacrifices, one must know, as I do, what great
virtues adorn his private character, and what a
generous part the brave Romagnoli have played in
the most stormy period of his adventurous career,
to be able to judge of the feelings which overcame
me while, by his side, I witnessed the moving spec-
tacle of that memorable evening. As soon as the
General had spoken and permitted the first frantic
outbreak of enthusiasm to subside, he retired from
the window, but Madame D— and Teresa and I,
to whom such a scene was not so every day an
occurrence as to him who caused it, did not leave
the balcony so soon. The whole Piazza was in a
blaze, of illumination ; the ever-changing effect of
light produced by the flaming torches on the tri-
coloured banners, as on different processions that
passed through the throning multitude—the mili-
tary band of joyful music which now and then was
actually overpowered by the clamorous evvivas and
newly-invented endearing epithets for rainato
folio del popolo,' and over all the deep blue sky,
with its myriads of stars, whose peaceful twinkling
seemed to sanctify the ovations devoted to the illus-
trious champion of Italy's liberty—was not all this
really edifying, and the thought that it was a
justly merited tribute to virtue, personal valour,
and magnanimity—was it not eno igh to move the
most indifferent spectators ? _ _

" Ravenna, anciently the capital of the Western
Empire, the residence of the Gothic and Longobar-
dic kings, the metropolis of the Greek exarchs, is
one of those cities whose monuments illustrate their
history. It has churches, palaces, museums, and
mausoleums, such as no other city but Rome can
boast of. W ithin its walls repose the remains of
the children of Theodosius, and among the tombs of
exarchs and patriarchs rests all that was mortal of
Dante. But, now, this city of old renown, once
in the Adrian Sea,' would have merely to lament
over the decay of its former magnificence, had not
nature gifted it with a gem whose majestic gran-
deur will outlive every human monument. Who
has not heard of Ravenna's far famed ' Pineta ?' Is
it not Italy's most ancient and, in classical and
poetic respects, most renowned forest ? Its praises
have been chanted by Dante and Boccaccio, and
echoed in song by Dryden and Byron. It supplied
Rome with timber for her ships, and the banner of
Venice, in the time of her supremacy, floated from
the masts it furnished.
" This memorable forest may now add to its
classical annals the most touching drama of modern
times, for it was there that in 1849, on his retreat
from Rome, the magnanimous Garibaldi sought re-
fuge from Austrian pursuit. It was in this laby-
rinth of underwood that for many days the proscript
hero wandered from farm to farm, from hut to hut,
from thicket to thicket, sometimes separated only
by a providential bush from a detachment of infu-
riated Croats. And it was here, alas ! that the sad-
dest event of his life occurred, the loss of his
adored Anita ; though, on the other hand, it was
here, also, that he learned to know what heroic sa-
crifices and what deep devotion the uncorrupted
and incorruptible Romagnoli are capable.
" A visit to the Pineta being partof the General's
plan for our amusement, it was on a fine morning
at 8 o'clock that we started on our tour. The Gene-
ral, Madame ,D-, Teresa, and I were in the first
carriage, and the rest of the party followed in ano-
ther carriage, and three biroccini, as guides through
the most difficult passes of the wood, closed the
little train. The biroccino' is a two-wheeled car-
riage, with one horse, peculiar to the Romagna, and
the quickness with which they can be driven is quite
wonderful. The weather was beautiful; a mild
autumnal breeze tempered the heat of the sun ; our
horses set off at a brisk pace, and in less than a
for thirty-five miles northwards from Ravenna,
forest.quarte quarter oift
eaxnt eha odus weralo n
greached
ho
Iteh eefstkhir t s
eA h
Adriatic
coveringbetween fiat,
d sandythree
e itract,ile miles.
whicht forms arie varies
ai in breadth
endless
succession of lovely glades and avenues, inter-
mingledy
131,11laifnepdelde.
blackberry,
egulCirvhiirt4tiy,
,fdol
eafasynct'
toidithoehenrdeiisr.loyrg,ogifarUir.a:\piv:uleei
apple
livebooseswra'tber,oerfesntvrabacei
with thickets, over which creeping. plants
er the
ry,
oneafl
every-
thing yrsdg;
thing seems to be assembled here to do homage to
the king of the forest, the' lofty pine, which rises
above in majestic grandeur, holding out its grace-
ful branches and offering to the winged inhabitants
of this fine solitude the safest of haunts, and to the
Italians a t ich store of pig noli.'
" Mute with admiration, we beheld with delight
the ever-changing effects of light upon the tops of
the trees, and on the velvety turf over which we
were silently. gliding. What could be more inte-

resting than, in such a scene, to listen to the fasci-
nating and instructive conversation of the illus-
trious man whom we accompanied ? Notwith-
standing the lively emotions which that scene must
have raised, the General was this morning pafticu,--
larly disposed to be communicative, and he began
by giving us some details of his late campaign,
describing it as una campagna magnifica' not only
because the dangers to which he and his men were
exposed were slight when compared with the sac-
cesses he achieved, but because lie had not once
been obliged to utter a reproach or inflict a punish-
ment. On the Romagnoli he bestowed the highest
encomiums, and he assured us that among all the
towns of the Romagna Ravenna distinguished herself
by the entire absence of all spirit of caste, aml by
the loyalty and union which prevailed among her
inhabitants. Ho enumerated many persons who
had rendered him particular services in 1849, and
dwelt long on the praises of a certain native o
Concacchio, named Bonnet, who had saved him from
the grasp of the Austrians at the risk of his own
life.

" But if such grateful feelings still dwelt in the
heart of Garibaldi towards the brave Romagnoli,
neither had they forgotten the man for whom they
had so readily exposed themselves to danger, and
the report of his visit to the Pineta had not failed
to animate its solitary paths. The further we ad-
vanced the more frequently were we obliged to
stop to receive the demonstrations of affection
which they offered. What splendid types of manly
beauty these Romagnoli are. Strength, energy,
and loyalty speak cut of every feature. Some of
them seemed mute with emotion at the sight of the
idol of their long-cherished hopes, clasping con-
vulsively the hero's hand, and fixing upon him a
dark deep eye, more eloquent than words.
" After a drive of 13 miles the shades of the
forest became more transparent, and our carriage,
making a sharp turn, stopped before a farmhouse,
where we alighted, and I soon discovered that this
was the fitttoria of the proprieta of the Marchese
Guiccioli, and that th. 3 modest room in which we
were seated was the identical refuge where Ma-
dame Garibaldi, a true victim of heroism and con-
jugal love, breathed her last sigh on the bosom of
her sorrowing husband.
"I pass over the joy with which the farmer
received the hero, after his ten years of difficulties
and dangers, and will only add that in a desolate
country at the extremity of the Pineta we found a
table loaded with delicacies, but that which gave a
zest to the banquet was the heartfelt joy with
which it was offered.
" Eighteen guests were seated at this table.
Every now and then some brave Romagnoli came
in to drink the General's health, and to recall to his
recollection Dome perilous escape in which they had
shared, and thus in a little while our room was
filled, and outside the door appeared a mass of
heads. At this moment the engineer officer T-
in a short, but meaning speech, in which lie re-
counted the chief exploits of our hero, proposed his
health, and Garibaldi, after returning his warmest

thanks, continued as follows, :
" • You have just recounted my history, and it is
my part to tell you how proud. and happy I am
again to find myself among this brave people, of
whose courage and attachment I have experienced
so many proofs. I repeat to you that to the last
moment of my existence I shall be devoted body and
soul to my country. For 14 years, without pay or re-
ward, I have served the cause of liberty in foreign
lands. What then will I not do for the land of my birth?
Events are progessing favourably, but there is still
much to he done. The day is come when Italy is
to regain its complete independence. This time it
must be accomplished, and from the Alps to Sicily
she must be free. Providence has given us the man
we needed to reknit u 3 together. It is round Victor
Emmanuel that we must rally to repulse the stran-

go/. from our soil. We will not longer bear the
foreign yoke. Let him but retire and leave us to
enjoy our possessions in peace, and we will at once
welcome him as a friend ; but so long as he desires
to subject us to his dominion, he has nothing to ex-
pect from us but the fire of our artillery. It is only
by union and force that we shall obtain our free-
dom. When we can attain strength, believe me no
one will dare to attack us. Before everything it is
imperative that we should all be soldiers. Our en-
tire nation must form one army, and if domestic
duties detain a few round tho family hearth, let
them remain there like soldiers, musket or sword
in hand. 15 days are enough to make a brave
Italian a brave soldier. It is not an embroidered
uniform that is merit will consist in. Look at the
Zouaves. In their simple, easy dress, they are the
first soldiers in the world. I remember once find-
ing myself, daring my American campaign, in the
midst of a vast plain, where neither from the in-
terior nor from the seaports, which the enemy had
blockaded, any of our wants could be supplied.
The herds of the plain were our onlyresource, their
flesh was our only nourishment, and their skins
were our protection from the heat of the noonday
sun and our covering at night; and yet I assure
you our soldiers, armed only with the musket, per-
formed prodigies of valour. We were the terror of
the Imperialists, and my few hundreds of brave
men put to rout the enemy by thousands. But we,
my friends, we want arms ; and that this want may
exist nolonger I have proposed that Italy should form
a subscription to purchase a million of muskets.
Think only how many wrongs have to be redressed.
Bear in mind what a series of years has witnessed
a foreign oppression. Remember to what an
ignominious death has been condemned a Cicero
Vacch;o and his young sons, a Ugo Bassi, an
Antonio Elia. You do not, perhaps, recollect this
martyr to the cause of Italian liberty,—let me re-
late to you one trait of his heroic courage. Antonio
Ella, a native of Ancona, was a simple sailor. Ho
had scarcely attained his 20th year when the ship
which he navigated was captured by cue of those
Turkish galleys which then harassed the coast of
the Adriatic. The Turks manned their prize with
10 seamen-and an officer, confining all the original
crew in the ship's hold, except the young Antonio,
whom they retained on deck for their own service.
A strong sirocco came'on, and the extreme obscu-
rity which accompanied it awoke in Antonio's
breast the idea of delivering himself and his com-
panions. He went to the prow, where he succeeded
in gaining possession of a hatchet. Armed with
this efficient weapon, he returned to the poop,
where he had so lately left the pirate commander.
When he arrived where he thought the officer was,
he struck at him with his hatchet, but the blow fell
on the deck. For a moment he hesitated to draw
it out, but the officer, surprised at the noise, and
suspecting something wrong, drew his yatagan and
wounded Antonio severely in the left shoulder. The
latter, seeing his blood flowing, redoubled his ef-
forts, and, launching the axe upon his adversary,
he laid him dead at his feet. Encouraged by his
success, he now turned to the crew, and, as if en-
dowed with supernatural force, he slew them all
but two or three, who, with cries of terror, leaped
overboard into the sea. This Antonio Elia, a very
lion of courage, fell before the Austrian powers in
1849, because he would not clandestinely abandon
his wife and his children.'
"Thus interestingly, and much more than this,
the General spoke, but it would occupy too much
of my space to give more. It was not an orator
seeking to astonish his auditors by eloquent periods,
but a chief, an adored friend, in open.hcarted con-
verse with his faitful adherents, awakening in them
sentiments of patriotism by the recital of acts of
heroism. But the hour of our departure was draw-
ing nigh, and we were obliged to take leave of our
kind entertainer and regain our carriages.
" We had not driven above a mile when the car-
lap stopped before a small country church, before
which stood a priest, who, in a low and humble voice,
invited us to enter his modest chapel. Neither m 7
companions nor I could doubt the purpose of his
invitation when be distributed among U 3 little
coronets of fresh flowers, and conducted us to a
recess by the altar, where we felt certain reposed
the ashes of Anita Garibaldi. We dropped our gar-
lands and mingled our tears on the tomb, and after
a few moments of silent but intense emotion we re-
mounted our carriages and pursued our route to St.
Alberte, where we were again received with ac-
clamations of joy and delight. We were soon after.
wards met by the Marchese Rosa, who brought the
General some despatches from Bologna, and our
departure for that city was fixed for the morrow.
" Our journey thither was a series of ovations—
some almost frantic. At Lugo and Medicina these
demonstrations reached their climax. Horses were
no longer necessary. I should never got to the end
of my letter if I told half the mad pranks which
were performed around us. Suffice it to say that
amid the clanging of bells, the report of cannons,
and the blaze of illuminations, we at last reached
our house at Bologna.
"Although I have already, I fear, exhausted your
patience, I cannot close without communicating to
you a project which I hope will obtain your ap-
proval. I am about to endeavour to raise a sub-
scription in Nice and other places for the purpose
of erecting a monument over the remains of the
heroic Anita Garibaldi. no you think you could do
anything to aid me in this in England ? If my
letter should be thought of sufficient interest to be
inserted in one of your papers, perhaps this hint