The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-24 00:00:00

ATTE fl PT ON 174.4.1?.0 iLDI

CAPRERA.

The following letter, addressed by Garibaldi's
aide de-camp, Vecchi (now residing with him at
Caprera), to the Moviniento, of Genoa, gives a cor-
rect account of the recent incidents on the island,
to which repeated reference has been made in vari-
ous journals :
Last night there' arrived here three dragoons ;
they had heard that two men of suspicious appear-
ance had landed in Caprera. The report appeared
to us a mere absurdity ; they took leave of us and
we went to supper. Stagneti and I walked up and
down, smoking all the while, till 11 o'clock, and then
we went to bed. About 3 o'clock in the morning I
heard the dogs barking, and bounding out of the en-
closure. Soon after I fell asleep again. At 5 I got up
and saw the gendarmes, who told me what had hap-
pened in the night. After we had gone to supper they
patrolled about the rocks surrounding our little
square, and then stretched themselves out at a short
distance from each other. At three o'clock they
heard some footsteps, and in the dark contrived to
descry two men passing before them at the dis-
tance of a pistol shot. The corporal cried out " Who
goes there ?" He was answered by a shot. Then
the three dragoons ran after the men the corporal
still shouting out, " Stop, in the King's name r
He was assailed with the foulest epithets. The
dragoons fired again, and heard one of the rascals
crying out Madonna !" and then both ran off as
fast as they could. On re ,ching the spot where
the villains had just been, they found that the
bullets had lodged in the rock, that there were
three impressions of bloody hands on the granite,
on the ground a small pool of blood ; further oa
other traces of blood on the road, a cotton hand-
kerchief all stained with blood, and a powder
flask.

_
When the Sardinians are wo ended, it is their
custom to cry out, " Gesu. Maria, Giuseppe !" '1 he
gendarmes therefore concluded that the two men
were not bandits from the island of Sardinia, but
foreign assassins.
After the General had taken his vapour bath
we informed him of what had happened. With
his customary indifference he said that yesteraay,
whilst looking out at the window, before taking
his walk with me, he had observed two men, un-
known to him, clambering across the rocks. He
spoke with the dragoons, and tried to persuade them
that the whole thing was a mistake, in order that
they might not alarm the inhabitants of the neigh-
bouring island of Maddalena. Then he went with
Carpeneto to look at a vineyard at some distance.
But the dragoons, by the reports which they had
made to the authorities, had alarmed the whole
country. The story, as it passed from mouth to
mouth, became, of course, more marvellous. The
women were shouting from the windows that the
general was killed, and all were rushing to the
harbour and jumping into the boats. The women
stopped at La Moneta ; but all the persons of
consequence in Maddalena (with the exception
of the curate)—the gendarmes, the marine
sharpshooters, the custom-house officers, in
short, the citizens of all classes, even the
children, landed in arms and came throng-
ing up to our little square at Caprera. I
was reminded of the esplanade of the palace of
Caserta, when we had the honour to protect there
the unity of our. country. Some of the patrolling
parties had taken the mountain road on the oppo-
site of the island. All seemed animated by a com-
mon thought, the resolution to protect the noblest
of lives—the life so necessary for the welfare of
Italy.
Two government gun-brigs at the same time kept
cruising round the island. One of them reports
that it saw a boat set sail from Giglio, taking the
direction of Capo Ferro. Orders have been sent to
ascertain what persons may have landed there--
nothing more. I wrote this merely that you may
know the truth about what has happened.
C. A. VECCHI.