The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-22 00:00:00

ITALY.

The Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies
held their first preliminary sitting on the 19th.
In the former the President opened the proceedings
with a speech suitable to the occasion, and then
appointed the four youngest Senators to be Secre-
taries. In the Chamber of Deputies, which met in
the old hall, some curiosity was excited by the
presence of Col. Musolini, of Garibaldi's corps, who
was dressed in his picturesque red shirt. He took
his seat on the extreme left, as one of the deputies
for Calabria. M. Crispi took his seat beside him.
M. Lorenzo Valerio, late Royal Commissioner for
the N arches, entered soon afterwards, and also
took his seat on the left. The President consulted
the Chamber as to whether the 253 elections of
which the minutes had been received, were to be
examined on that day or the following. The Chem.
ber decided that they should be proceeded with at
once, after which the sitting terminated.

A Turin letter of the 19th says :—" Last evening
there was a grand illumination. The open space
in front of the Palace was transformed into a kind
of artificial garden. Some fifty fountains were
erected, in which jets of water and gas were
blended together. Turin does the honours of the
capital with great spirit. There were also fire-
works and other popular amusements. This
day, a great concert is to be given by the
city to all the members of the Parliament.
Yesterday morning the majority of the deputies
from Southern Italy arrived, and also a battalion
of the mobilised National Guard of Naples. This
is the first time the National Guard of that country
has ever been mobilised. These young men are
very well dressed and smart in appearance. Indeed,
they seem to look down with an air of superiority
on their fellow citizens of the North, who never-
theless received them with great cordiality. It is
unnecessary to say that the royal speech produced
a very satisfactory impression, and that the Bourse
hailed it with a rise on all descriptions of securities,
although the King pretty plainly announced that
a loan would soon be wanted."
A letter from Rome in the Monde, of the 16th,
says :—" The revolutionists here knew the day
before yesterday what had occurred at Gaeta.
These people have a telegraphic system of their own
—one superior to the ordinary one, for it anticipates
events. They passed all the day in deliberation
and agitation ; but the Roman and French police
were aware of their projects. The revolutionists
resolved, as usual, to get up a demonstration,
and they ought to have been prevented ; but
either measures were ill-taken, or public curiosity
paralysed them, and the consequence was that
there was a manifestation consisting of a display
in the Corso of Bengal fire of the Piedmontese
colours, an illumination of houses, and the assem-
bling of a large crowd, who raised cries of ' Long
live Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi! Hurrah for
Napoleon III!' and even 'Down with the Pope !"
The same letter says :—" It is stated that no
sooner was the young Queen of Naples, on arriving
at Rome, relieved of the presence of strangers who
visited her, than she wished to see the youngest of
the children of the late King, and as the child was
asleep, her Majesty went to his chamber. As she was
looking at him, a lady of honour, who held a light,
accidentally set fire to the curtains of the bed.
The young Queen, with great presence of mind,
snatched up the child, and carried it out of the
room. The flames soon spread, but the servants
having hurried up, succeeded in extinguishing the
conflagration. The people of Naples, who are
very superstitious, consider fire an indication of
happiness, and the Neapolitans here accordingly
rejoice at the accident." In the letter we also
read :—" Queen Christina, of Spain, yesterday
afternoon visited the King, Queen, Princes and
Princesses of Napless at the Quirinal, and shortly
after the Pope arrived. All the Royal personages,
who had been waiting at the bottom of the great
staircase, prostrated themselves to kiss the feet
of his Holiness. The Pope raised them and
blessed them, and then, with the King by his side,
led the way to his apartments. In the course of
the conversation which followed, Francis IL, who
was greatly moved, frequently took the hands of
the Holy Father and kissed them respectfully. The
Pontiff remained with the august personages for
more than a hour, and when he left, a crowd, who
had collected in the square, greeted him with enthu-
siasm. The people afterwards invaded the court-
yard of the palace and cried for a long time,' Long
live the King!' They then demanded that the
King should present himself on the balcony ; but
his Majesty, not being in a mood to receive popular
ovations, sent one of his chamberlains to thank
them, and did not appear."