Year: 1860




they played, the louder the people howed
rice haiio, aud the moro chaotic the crowd
became The effect was quite striking ex
cept that it was rather laughable


We had no time to look carefully, but passed
straight on, every one showing us the great
est respect, until finally the third door opened
and there we were, in the presence of n hero
Garbaldi had apparently Just finished hi.
dinner, and was sitting at the corner window
talking with four or five visitors, gentlemen
and ladies Of Palermo He rose as we came
in, and came forward shaking hands with each
of the party as we were introduced He had
his plain red shirt on, precisely Ike q hreinen
and had no mark Of authority His manner
is MS you know Of course very kind and of,
hand, without being vulgar or demagogic lie
talked with each of us, and talked perfectly
naturally; no stump orator and no sham
Just as an instance Of his manner, there was
one little action of his that struck me ! was
seated next him, and as the head of our party
remnrked that had come all the way from
Naples in order to see him, he turned round
and shook my hand, thanking me as If had
done him lnvor This is the way he draws
people, He talked mostly in French, for his
English is is not very good As for what he
said, it is OF no particular interest to any one,
at least, as far as it was said TO me The
others can report the conversation if they
think il worth while to report what was not
meant 70 be reported.


But this was only half the scene. At a
round table, in the middle of the room, a
party of six or eight men were taking dinner
There were real heroes Of romance. Two or
three had the red shirts on; others were in civ
il costume; one had dirty, faded hussar jack
ct on; one was u priest, in his black robes
They were eating and drinking without re-
gard TO us, as if they were hungry Especi-
ally the priest was furnishing his dinner He
IS fine fellow, this priest, n slave to Garibaldi,
and glorious specimen of the church mill.
tant have met him several times, running
about the streets, with great black cross in
his hands lie was strange, restless face,
all passion and impulse The others were
Garibaldis famous captains-a fine set of
heads, full Of energy and action.


Here | was at last, then, face to face with
one Of the great events of our day. 1t was
all perfect there was Palermo the insurgent
Sicilian city, with the barricades, and its ruin
ed streets with oil the marks of war" There
was that armed and howling mob in the square
below, and the music of the national hymn,
and the FIVE revolutionary cannon There
were the guerilla captains, who had risked
their lives and fortunes for something that the
worst envy could not call selfish And there
was the great Dictator, who, when your and
my little hopes and ambitions shall have lain
in our graves few centuries with us, will
still be honored as n hero, and perhaps half
worshipped-who knows2-lor god.


And yet, heaven knows why he, of all men,
has been selected for Immortality. /, for one,
think that Cavour is much the greater man of
the two but practically, the future Italy will
probably adore Garibaldis memory, and only
respect Cavours.


As he sat there laughing and chatting and
wagging his red grey beard and putting away
at his cigar, it seemed TO me that one might
feel for him all the respect and admiration that
his best friends ask, and yet at the same time
enter protest against fate.


As we came away he shook hands with us
again, and took leave of US with the greatest
kindness. As we made our way through the
crowd across the square, we stopped minute
to take a last look Of him He was leaning
on the railing Of the balcony before his win
dow, quietly smoking his cigar, and watching
the restless, yelling crowd below He seem
ed hardly to be conscious of the noise and
confusion, and looked in his red shirt like the
very essence and genius OF revolution, as he
Is.


VISIT TO THE QUARTER or THE ROYAL TROOPS


Three lines of guards stand across the
streets towards the city, but | passed without
question, and so did every one also, as far as
could see. The troops were Just forming for
the Tdppet as l crossed the great parade
ground, so / delivered my letter to the officer
who was already at the head of his command,
and sat down myself before the guard-house to
watch the performances. The troops came on
the ground with their music aud all their
equipments, looking aS fresh and as active as
any troops | ever saw. There seemed to be
no end to the numbers They poured in,
thousands after thousands, and packed the
whole great space. do not think ever saw
so many troops together before; there must
have been hard on twenty thousand on the
spot, all wellarmed, welldressed, and appar-
emily well-drilIed,


AS they we're forming around the square n
small guard came in on one side, passing me,
and had in charge an old graymustachiod
Swiss, either drunk or deserter, or both, who
seemed terribly excited and was talking in a
halfscream. The Major looked very grave,
and disappeared as they brought the man in,
but he kept on his screaming as they locked
him up and | could distinguish an endless rep
etition of "Do with me what you will Life
and death are all one now" Poor old fellow,
wonder whether they shot him,


PICTURESQUE SCENE


ltis aqueer place now, this city, for strange
sights and scenes. Here was battalion of
foreign troops quartered in Franciscan mon
astery, and the coisters were all alive with
busy, ehattering German soldiers We went
up the staircase and into my friends room, a
monks cell furnished with half dozen chairs
on which a torn and dirty mattrass was laid, a
table on which there were some lemons and
oranges, and lamp, A couple of glasses of
lemonade were ordered, and we sat down and
slipped il, and smoked and talked


II was strange place for a traveller to hit
on, and must say that the general effect was
gloomy to degree. The evening was heavy
and dull, with the clouds hanging low on
the mountains and as the little white-washed
cell got darker and darker, and the hive of
soldiers down in the c,oisters grew more and
more indsdnct, while the officer was telling
his story, full of bitterness and discomfort. i
really sympathled with him, and felt almost
as gloomy as he.


TALKING WITH A HEAPOIITAN oFFIcER


or course one ought to hate n morcenary
soldier, and especially Que ofthe King Of Ma,
pies. Very likely ] should have hated him II
he had been coarse aud brutal but as he was
very handsome, young and wel-bred, in fact
quite an extraordinary gentlemanly fellow the
thing was different. His ideas were ust
about what | had supposed they would be
He and hisdiyison had arrived ON the second
day Of the lighting, and had not even been in
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