The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-06-29

1AbCu 1LOtIuOH
years almost as a hermit. Beyond
his fellow-exiles, then large COM
pany, he had hardly any intimate
friend except Carlyle.
remember WE'LL" said Carlyle
his voice had all its depth and ten
derness, for he had just heard of MAJ
zini's DEATH" / remember well when
! he sat for the first time on the seat
there, thirty-six years ago. A more
beautiful person | never beheld, with
his soft flashing eyes, and face full of
intelligence. He had great talent,
certainly the only acquaintance of
mine of any thing like equal intellect
who ever became entangled in what
seemed to me hopeless visions. He
was rather silent, spoke chiefly in
French, though he spoke good Eng
lish even then, notwithstanding a
strong accent. 1t was plain he might
have taken high rank in literature.
He wrote well, as it was sometimes
for the love of it, at others when he
wanted little money; but he never
wrote what he might have done had
he devoted himself to that kind of
work. He had fine tastes, particular
ly in music. But he gave himself up
as martyr and sacrifice to his aims
for Italy. He lived almost in squal0r;
his health was poor from the first, but
he took no care Of ii. He used to
smoke great deal, and drink coffee
with bread crumbled in it, but hardly
gave any attention to his food. His
mother used to send him money, but
he gave it away. When she died she
left him as much as two hundred
pounds Il year-all she had-but it
went to italian beggars. His mother
was the only member of his family
that stuck to him. His father soon
turned his back on his son; his only
sister married strict Roman Catholic,
and she herself became too strict to
have any thing to do with him. He
did see her once or twice, but the in
terviews were too painful to be re-
peated. He desired, am told, to see
her again when he was dying, but she
declined. Poor Mazzini! could not
have any sympathy with many of his
views and hopes. He used to come
here and talk about the solidarity of
peoples; and when he found | was
less and less interested in such things,
he had vet another attraction than
myself which brought him to us. But
he found that she also by no means
entered into his opinions, and his
visits became fewer. But we always
esteemed him. He was very reli-
gious soul. When first knew him he
reyereDced Dante chiefly, ii not ex-
clusively. When his letters were
opened ut the post office here-the oc-
casiOn on which wrote the protest
to which you refer-Mazzini became
for the first time known to the Eng
lish people. There was great indig-
nation at an English government TAX
ing the side of the Austrian against
Italian patriots, and Mazzini was
much sought for, invited to dinners,
and all that. But he did not want
the dinners. He went to but few
places. He formed an intimacy with
the Ashurts which did him great good
gave him kind of home circle for
the rest of his life in England. At
last it has come to an end. | went to
see him Just before he left London for
the last time, passed an hour, and
came away feeling that should never
see him again. And so it is. The pa
pers and people have gone blubber
ing away over hiln-tlle very papers
and people that denounced him dur
inU life saeinr nothiug of the aycal
lehce that was in him; they now
praise him without any perception of
his defects. Poor Mazzini After all,
he succeeded; he died receiving the
homage of the people and seeing
Italy united, with Rome for its capital.
Well, one may be glad he has sue
ceeded. We wait to see whether
Italy will make any thing great out
of what she has got. We wait"
/