Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-07-16
Corresponds nee of the Providence Journal
FROM FLORENCE.
FLORENCE Lnne 2h 1S5

FLORENCE, June 25 1859.
The public mind here is at present in state
of unusual excitement, on account of the in
telligence, which has just arrived, of the attack
by the Papal troops upon the town of Perugia,
and the cold-blooded massacre consequent
upon it. / have heard from the lips of high
ly respectable citizen of Boston, who, with his
family Of five persons, had been passing few
days in Perugia-and who was not only an
eyewitness of what occurred, but a severe
sufferer-on account of the whole transaction.
The soldiers Of the Pope, engaged in the af-
fair, consisted of body of about two thou
sand men, mostly Swiss. They left Rome on
the 14th of the month, and accomplished the
march of something like one hundred and
twenty miles in six days. A few days before
their arrival, the townspeope of Perugia, be-
ing aware that they were to be brought back
to their former allegiance by force, made pre-
parations to resist the expected attack. Barri-
cades were erected upon the road, outside the
town, and such other means of defence as they
found it in their power to make were hastily
adopted. The town was ill prepared for de-
fence, as six or eight hundred Of the young
men were gone, as volunteers, to the
war, and those left were not provided
with arms. Notwithstanding, an energetic
resistance was made. 1t was however entire
ly Intellectual as two pieces of ARTILLERY in the
hands of Papal troops soon succeeded in de-
molishing the barrcades and forcing the gates
The fighting continued several hours. Once
within the town there followed a succession of
barbarities, such as soldiers maddened by the
sight of blood, and the love of plumber, are too
often capable of. The Secretary of the Gou-
tdloniere was killed by stabs with their bayon-
cts, as he came forward to meet them with a
flag of truce in his hand. Others were killed
or wounded by musket shots, or with the bay
onet, in the houses and in the streets, as the
troops adyanced even after resistance was no
longer offered, but the victims were on their
knees pleading for mercy For several hours
the town was given up to sack. The hotel in
which the American gentleman was lodged
was scene of slaughter and ruin. One per
son was killed and several wounded, and every
article in the house, that could not be carried
off, was indiscrimnately smashed. He sue
cecded, partly by the friendly aid of subor-
dinate officer, and by concealing the ladies of
his party in a remote part of the house, in
saving them from narm but every article of
their property except such as they had upon
their persons, was carried off A statement of
damage sustained by them Ito the extent OF
about $4,000 has already been forwarded to
Mr. Stockton, our Minister at Rome, who will
make a requisition upon the Papal govern
ment for the payment of the sum. The
amount of mental suffering experienced by the
delicate ladies of the party, during almost a
whole day and night of dreadful suspense in
their gloomy place of conceament, can be
easily imagined. They have all arrived safe
in Florence, only too happy in the thought OF
their fortunate escape from all personal injury.
Within few days past, Florence has be-
come all alive again with soldiers. These are
all volunteers, and they continue to pour in
from the Romagna in thousands. They are
obliged to wait for a longer or shorter period
for their equipment, during which they are put
through their drill, which has become more or
less perfect before they are sent here Sewers
and stitchers in cloth and leather are as busy
as bees in a hive, making coats, shirts, trou-
sers, knapsacks, cartouch boxes, and all sorts
OF cavalry and artillery gear. As TO the young
volunteers, finer specimens Of the animal man
| than hundreds of these are one would not care
to see; not tall, but with broad shoulders, and
well rounded, muscular limbs. They come
from the mountains, over there towards the
Adrlatic, where the population is not corrupt
ed and weakened by the life of cities. They
bring their teeth together like animals that
can bite, and declare in u very spirited way,
that they will not hare the Pope for their gov
ernor, and that they will not be ruled by an
ecclesiastical tyranny. One sees that they
have the souls as well as the bodies Of men. 1t
does me good to look out of my window at
them, as they pass. Most of these were Re.
publlcans, with the hopes which Mazzini and