Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-17
THE WIDOW OFF GARIBALDI.
How She is Resing His Youngest
Somewhere ad How She Lives.

From the 4etc Drb ntdr.
LONDON, Nov. 5.-)ne Of the latest
pieces of informatio, 0ated, printed, and
commented upon washe statement that
a son of Garibaldi hi just been christ
eued in the Catholi Church. 1t gave
rise TO a great dealof controversy. 1t
would certainly ha' been a triumph for
the religious party ut for one tiaw-it is
absolutely untrue. This fabrication has
in itself little impdance, but it has had
the effect of revivig for time name
on which the dustlf Oblivion has settled,
although hardly far years have passed
since the great conottIere left this world,
which he filed fora time with the noise OF
his daring exploits. ''Les Morris Uout
ytte," says the ballad. Even the most
ilustrious dead arehurried into forgetful-
ness by either the ingratitude or the In
difference of nations. The hero OF Aspro-
monte, the hermit of Caprera, the red
shirted General teens to have vanished
into such remote distince that he is only
apparently recalledtO our memory by 2
trifling incident concerning his youngest
son. q boy not yet IA years old, and the
denial of it by his mother, a woman OF
whose existence yer! few are aware.
The Signora Francesca Garibaldi lives
at Turin, No. 20 Via 3ugino. She has been
married twenty-fou years, and Is now
past 40. Hers is very pronounced
Piedmontese type o. couutenance, with
mixture Of shrewdness, common sense,
obstinacy, and good nature. Physically
and morally she seemed predestined to
become fit helpmeet to man like Gen.
Gsribaldi. In her eyes he ever was and
still is an ideal, a hero, demigod, the in
carnation of all generous and patriotic
aspirations. In dress and manners she
is simplicity itself, and her life is now the
hOmely one of the very homely middle
class bourgeoisie OF her province.
The walls of her moderate-sized sitting
room are covered with momenJos of her
husbands adventurous and checkered
existence, scattered with discordant in
cOngruity. Beside sashes, medals, draped
flags, photographs of the various mOnu-
ments erected throughout Italy in his
honor and to the memory of the Liberia
tore, stands consplcuOusly new pateT
leather boot presented to him as gift "
a worshippg shoemaker, and which n
dictates the arched narrowness of the f'ot.
Under the centre chandelier, with itssiX
branches, hangs large faded wreah of
leaves and flowers, slowly crumblrg TO
nieces, but which has never ben re-
moved since the wedding day OF his
daughter Celia, who married Prof. Wit
tori0 Grazziadei of Florence three years
ago, when she was only 10.
Signora Garibaldrs religious yenets are
ANYTHING but orthodox, even if they lay
any claim to religion at all. she 1ndlg-
nantlv repudIates the imputaton of haV-
ing had the boy ManliO chrisSened at any
time. Formerly he was atthe lnterna-
tional College, and according to the rules
OF the school, was expected to join in the
church services. His mother would
much have preferred that he should keep
away, but" as she says "to avoid I'M
pleasantness l advised him to do as the
others and to go to mass as he would go
TO the play"
Like her husband she has profound
sbhorrence OF priests. She boasts OF De-
lieving in only one Supreme Being and OF
recoenizipg but one altar. "Tnere it is"
she adds, pointing to full-length por-
trait OF Garibaldi.
AS soon as her son was transferred to
the Naval School at Leghorn, she petit
toned for and obtained permission from
the Admiral that he should be exempted
from attending church or any devotional
exercises, and allowed to devote the time
thus spared to the study OF music, for
which he enviced a great natural dispo-
declared that no son OF Garibald1 should,
with her consent, fall under priestly IN
luence, or receive baptism till he was "a.
When be reached that age she would con-
slider herself as having neither power nor
right TO control his convictions or molina
lions.
Signora Francesca has had four chill
1ren-Clelia, two a boy and girl) who
died Ia infancy, and Manlio, the last, a
bril- hit, intelligent looking lad, who works
hard and we'll. Sne herself was born at
San Damiano GAste. Her father and
mother, Giovanni and Catarina Almost
no, are sill alive, and in lew months
will celebrate their golden wedding.
Among the souvenirs of her husband
which the widow most prizes is the
watch he carried during the war of 1870.
When he returned from the Franco-Ger-
man campaign, into which he rushed I'M
necessarily from that Unsuitable thirst OF
movement and adventure which even
years had not Stacked and which was the
dominant note of his nature, he wanted TO
bring home to his wife some remembrance
OF bis expedition, but having no money
lett to spend on presents, he gave her as
mOmento OF the war the watch which had
never left him during battle or skIrmish.
1t is a gold double-cased watch with the
Initials "G. g." In the three Italian
colors-whlte, red and green.
Another OF SignOra Francesca's treas
ures Is the bullet which struck the Gen.
eral at Aspromonte, and remained for
fourteen long weary months OF pain I'M
beaded in his heel, battling the efforts of
the most experienced surgeons to extract
1t. During all that anxious time Carl
oaldi was unable to rise, and 1t began to
be feared that be would for the remainder
OF his lite be condemned to recumbent
position and inactivity, when the bullet
was at last successfully removed by one
Doctor Lanetta of Caprera, who, through
the operation, won fame and the undylng
gratitude OF his patient.
cignora Garibaldi, whose resources are
by no means large, owns small property
at Asti on which is grown some OF the
best wine OF that far famed locality and she
is not little proud Of being able TO oter
her own vintage to her rare guests.
Ii Garihaldi was not cremated after his
uemise 1t was not certainly for want OF
This measure being strongly urged on his
executors by the widow who had received
the Generals dying instructions to have
this ceremony performed, even before the
news ofhis death should become generally
known. But whether from political con-
slderations, or at the instigation OF other
lnnuentlal friends, these last wishes
were set aside and the usual form OF
burial adopted. AT this present moment.
lOur years later, the question or crema-
tl0n has once more been raised, but Fran
cesca Garibaldi is determined that as
long as she lives her husbands remains