The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-01-11
were it not that Victor Emanuel had
become entangled with Austria on

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account of some possessions in Lom-
hardy Very fortunately, Victor
Emanuel had anS excellent adviser in
the person of3tis prime minister,
Cavour, one of tie greatest diplomats
of modern times, who managed to in
terest Napoleon III. in the Sandman
cause. The war of 1859 was the out
come of Cavour's negotiations.
Tho the Austrians fought bravely,
they were beaten by the French
Italian forces at Magenta and
Solferino, and Austria then ceded Lom-
hardy to Napoleon who, III turn, ceded
his claim to Victor Emanuel. Not.
however, until the latter had promised
to let France have Savoy with Nice;
for the shrewd French emperor was
not the kind of man to give anything
without receiving substantial quid
pro quo.
Meanwhile Mazzini had called on
Garfbaldi, the great Italian patriot and
soldier, who was then engaged in fight
ing for the liberation of Brazil, to re-
turn to Italy and assume the leadership
of the revolutionary army about to be
created. Garibaldi returned in the
spring of 1860, and soon after, on
dark night, he with only 1000 adherents,
took ship at Genoa, and sailed for the
Island of Sicily. There the people
flocked to his standards; Palermo was
captured after desperate resistance;
Garibaldi and his men crossed over to
the mainland; drove the Sicilian SOL
diery before them; marched finally into
Naples; and, amidst the enthusiastic
acclamations of the civilized world,
forced the tyrannical Bourbon king
(Bomba) to flee into an exile from
which he never returned Gariba!di
was just about marching on Rome to
drive the pope out of that city, when
''halt" was called by the French en-
peror. Moved partly by the traditions
OF his great uncle, and partly by the
wishes of his religiously inclined con-
sort, the Empress Eugene, Napoleon
Ill. quickly sent French fleet with
landing forces to Civita Vechia, the
Port of Rome, and threatened Victor
Emanuel with immediate armed in
reference, if GaribaIdi we're not eau
toned against entering the pspal
dominion. But he allowed the driving
out of the Princes of Tuscany, Parma
and Modena. OF course, Victor Eman-
uel could not afford to incur the
enmity Of France; and Garibaldi re-
ceived his orders and withdrew dis
gusted and heartsore to his island home
at Caprera.
Six years afterwards, when Prussia
fought the German States and Austria,
the former country formed an alliance
with Victor Emanuel. Tho the ItaI-
ians were beaten by the Austrians on
land (Custozza) and, very badly, at sea
(Lizza), the Italians yet reaped the
fruit of their alliance with the victor
ious Prussians, and Francis Joseph
was compelled to cede Venetia, his
last foothold on Italian soil, to Victor
Emanuel, who now became King of
all Italy, except cf its most vital part,
the City of Rome.
Again four years later, when after
the battle of Sedan, Napoleon Ill, the
self-constituted protector of the papal
dominion, had been taken to the Castle
of Wilhelmshoh, a powerless prisoner
in the hands of the victorious Germans,
the last real obstacle to the uniication
of Italy was removed. In October
1870 Victor Emanuel quietly marched
a small army into Rome, installed him
self in the papal residence, the OUR
inal; and from that day to this, Plus k,
and then Leo Kill, and now Plus X,
have remained virtual, tho voluntary,
prisoners in the Vatican, and the unity
of Italy became an actual fact.
In spite of this result, the existence
of newly cresSled Italy appeared of a
very problemafic nature-very precar-
ious indeed. italy is but a poor
country. Tho Lombardy and We
netia may be called the very garden of
Europe, and tho the vegetation in the
plain lands of the South is absolutely
luxurious, these plains are few and far
between, as the barren slopes and
mountains of the Apennines, which
extend North and South on the entire