The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-06-08
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'"-~- :, - -ressk q Mas Bosnia -,
The .teemship City Of Washington, W. -
.rr,ved on saturday, brought in.ei''e"
80 tho death Of the most exeefao'e va
,h., bas "A upon a throne since 'ns a"s y,
Herod, whom he is said to have rese Ma
IN the mode Of his death, as mneh AZ pe ~
10 cruelty of disposition we me1a a,,
- king of the Two Sicil'es ana OF
,. saa n,eknamed by his subjects"klng
nomha y from the circumstance OF ms nav
,nc ordered the bombardment OF ms own
eapi,.l when his intolerable oppression had
driven the people into open insurrection.
Tbia inhuman tyrant, whose reign is the
wonder as 1t is the disgrace Of the 10th CEN
tury, died in agonies not less horrible than
the worst be had inflicted upon the most
severely tortured of his unhappy victims.
which he inherited from his an
ccstors, appeared, during the latter portion
of his existence, in its most terrible shape.
He was literally covered from head to foot
with assesses, and could receive no relief
from pain. even for moment, but by means
of surgical operation, and for weeks be-
fore his death, he was one loathsome, pu-
,r;d mass, still clinging to life and still re-
f,siup to believe that death was nigh at
hand. Universally hated, it is bell we'd that
he had not the sympathy Of human being
while be lived, and that not one tear Of re-
greet was shed over his grave.
Ferdinand ii succeeded to the crown Of
Naples Ia 1890. He was the son of Francis
!, and the grandson of that Ferdinand |
who crushed the revolution of Naples in
1870 vita an Austrian army, and of Caro-
line of Austria, sister of the unfortunate
Marie Antoinette of France, whose cruelty is
still remembered in Naples with bi,terne
which time has not at all Modified. 1t was
this woman, who, by means of Lady Ham
ilton seduced Lord Nelson into the horri-
Bile crime of numbering the Neapolitan Ad-
miral Caraccioli, and throwing his body,
like that of common felon, into the sea-
The subject of this sketch was born in 1910,
aud was consequently but twenty years old
when he ascended the throne. Like Nero,
and other great oppressors of the human
race, in the beginning of his reign, he gave
promise of mild and equitable admlnistra-
ton. But this glimpse of sunshine was
soon succeeded by night of gloom. Sc
intelerable had his government become by
the year ls4S, that even before the great
outbreak in France, revolutionary symp'
toms had begun TO manifest themselves IN
Naples, and so much alarmed did he grow,
that of bis own accord be offered his people
a constitution. When i t was promulgated
and it became necessary for him 10 swear tc
it, he went through that solemn ceremony
in the church of St. Antonio, alleging as 6
reason for passing over that of st. Janua.
RUS, that in the latter his grandfather had
sworn to protect the constitution of 1915
which oath he had afterwards violated by
suppressing it altogether. The revolution
lists believing that in this act they saw an
unfeigned detestation of the treachery
which had been practised upon the nation
by the former monarch, were thrown COM
pletely off their guard. Thinking they
had not gained enough, although the Ma
tional Gnard had been organized, and the
liberty of the press established, they formed
themselves into political clubs, and sought
nothing less than the abolition OF the peer
age, universal suffrage, general confeder-
aIion of all Italy, the conversion OF the
Chamber Of Deputies into political body,
and the alliance of Naples with Sardinia, to
assist Charles Albert in the war be was then
waging with Austria. These demands
would have been enough to startle the best
of princes; they threw Ferdinand into ut
ter CONSERVATION. Finding his case desper-
ate, he resolved on one bold push to save
his crown. and when, on the 18th May,
ls4s, an instruction broke out, he resisted,
aud portion OF the populace siding with
the soldiers his resistance was successful
1t was on this occasion that he ordered the
soldiers to lombard the city, and thereby
acquired the soubriquet, which will stick to
him through all time. The constitution IN
the meantime continued nominally in force
A new Chamber was convoked, and the
radicals having obtained majority in it,
it was dissolved, and shortly after succeed.
ed by third which soon followed the fate
of the other two. Afterwards, until tht
day of his death, he reigned without any
check but his own will.
Perhaps, considering their sangulnary
character, Ferdinand was justiha6le II
dealing with the revolutionistS with strong
hand. Perhaps, also, he was right in sup
pressing the constitution, since it soon be-
came apparent that in Naples, under TIL
circumstances, constitutional liberty wa
impossible. But the method which he tool
TO punish his insurgent enemies, or thos
whom he suspected of enmity, is the mos
revolving of which civilized history make
mention. No sooner had he triumphed
than he laid down the principle that capita
punishment should not be inflicted upon Pc
litical offenders. Immediate death was toe
great luxury for those who had had tn
misfortune to incur his displeasure. For i
he substituted the slow. lingering, but Ger
tainiy fatal punishment of incarceration il
dungeons too horribly loathsome to b
thought of without shudder, varied b.
the inffiction of the most exquisite torture
that could be devised by the ingenuity o
men hardened by long use against pity
The most ingenious Of all these was tina
which was protested against by the Englisl
Ambassador, the existence of which wa
denied by the government Of Ferdinand
but the employment of which is neverthe
less universally believed. This was tn
''cap of silence The inventor wa
knighted by Ferdinand for his ingenuity
We are told "it was so arranged with cord
and screws as to produce construction o.
the head and SO prevent the miserable weare
from uttering cry when heated or tor
tured' Whether this instrument of tortur'
was ever actually applied or not, there car
be no doubt that at least l3, 900 of Ferdi
nand' subjects were at one time confined il
bis dungeons for political offences, and tina
as fast as these persisted by the diseases in.
cident to confinement, foul air, and harsh
treatment their places were supplied b,
others, so as TO keep up the number. Al
English statesman, Mr.. Gladstone, described
the government of Ferdinand as "the mega
ton of God erected into system of gov.
eminent Peorio and bis brethren who
were liberated few months ago, were
among the sufferers.
Such Wassone of the governments which
Austria supported in Italy, and such was