The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-02-02
Victor Emmanuel.
Sketch of the Life and Reign of the Dead
King of Italy.

i King Of Italy.
Vittorio Emmanuel Maria Alberto
Eugenio Ferdinando TOmmaso, bet
ter known as Victor Emmanuel H.,
king of Italy, was born in Turin,
March IA, 1920, and was the oldest
son of Carlo Alberto of Sardinia and
Theresa, daughter of the Grand
Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany. He re-
ceived his early education from the
Jesuits. In 1912, being then Duke of
Savoy, he married the Archduchess
Adelaide, of Austria, and six years
later took the field with his father in
the war against his wife's kindred.
At the battle of Goito he was woun-
ded, and at Novara won great admi-
ration by his gallantry. The latter
battle resulted disastrously to the
Italians; and Charles Albert, believ-
ing that his sons matrimonial alli-
ance would be of service in treating
with the conquering general, abdica
ted the throne. Victor Emmanuel
surrounded himself at the beginning
of his reign with able ministers, in
Guiding Cavour and D'Azeglio, who
gave him aid in his diplomatic nego-
tiations with other sovereigns and in
quelling the spirit of insurrection
that had begun to show itself at
home. He began his reign under the
most unfavorable auspices. He had
to overcome the consequences OF q
disastrous war with Austria, to SUBJ
due faction, and to preserve the con-
stitution, to annul which. it was said,
Austria attempted to bribe him with
the offer of Parma, by which his
troops became the comrades of the
allied armies in the Crimea. The
same year he paid a visit to the
British court, and received ali enthu-
siastic reception from the English
people. His daughter, the Princess
| Clothilde, was given in marriage to
Prince Napoleon, cousin OF the late
Emperor of the French. In 1859,
after series of fsanguinary battles with
/ Austria, in which the Austrians were
defeated by the allied French and
Sandman troops, Austrian power was
driven from Lombardy, which State
was annexed to the Sandman crown.
He concluded with England a treaty
of commerce, and obtained a treaty
of peace from Austria upon compara-
lively easy terms.
In 1855 his monarchy acquired ad-
ditional consideration through the
convention signed with England and
France. and other important States of
the Italian peninsula voted for their
annexation to the rest of Italy which
acknowledged the rule of the Sardi-
nian monarch. After the annexation
of these provinces to his crown, Vic
tor Emmanuel assumed the title of
King of Italy. In 1866, after the
Seven weeks war; Venice was
added to the Italian dominions, and
in 1870 the Papal States were incor-
porated in his dominions, thus bring
ing about that unifcation of Italy,
which the Italians had long struggled
for, and which We see to-day. In
1871 Victor Emmanuel moved bis
capital from Florence, to Rome, and
took up his residence in the Inomiai
palace. The kings first wife dying
in 1855 he afterwards contracted a
mOrganatic marriage with Rosa Yer.
eellana, whom he made Countess of
Mirafore.
The reign of Victor Emmanuel was
very eventful. He possessed n stub
born, iron will, and was noted for his
personal bravery. He was regarded
as a man of small mental capacity,
however. He had strong friends and
equally strong enemies. He leaves
two sons and two daughters. His
eldest son, UmbertO, Prince of Pied
mont, is his successor. He was horn
in 1914, and is consequently thirty
three years of age. He was major
general in the Italian army, and is
regarded as man of independent
mind. 1t is thought, by persons who
know his purposes best, that any
modification of his fathers policy he
may make will be in the anti clerical
interest. He was married April %,
1868, to his cousin, Princess Marga
rita of Genoa.
Prince Amadeus, Victor Emmanu-
els second son, was King of Spain
from December, 1870, till February,
1873, and is now living in retirement
in Italy. Pia, the second daughter,
is the present Queen of Portugal.
Victor EmmanuePs fatal illness as
sumed form at first which caused
no especial alarm, as he had often
suffered similar attacks and rallied
speedily. His extreme corpulency
made him victim of many disorders
which men of lesser habit escape. 1t
was necessary to bleed him freely at
times, and his fondness for hunting
and other open air sports was en-
couraged by his physicians as ne
cessity of his peculiar constitution.