The rule of the monk; or, Rome in the nineteenth century

to

t of ®or<mto

Miss Beatrice Corrigan

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

VOL. I.

THE

RULE OF THE MONK;

in tfce ftineteentl) Centurp.

BY

GENERAL GARIBALDI.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

CASSELL, FETTER, AND GALPIN,
LONDON AND NEW YORK.

[All Rights Reserved.]

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CONTENTS OF THE . FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTEE I.— CLELIA ... ... 1

CHAPTER II.— ATTILIO 9

CHAPTEE III.— THE CONSPIRACY ... 11

CHAPTER IV. — THE MEETING OP THE CONSPIRA-
TORS ... ... ... ... ... ... 17

CHAPTER V.— THE INFANTICIDE ... ... 25

CHAPTER VI.— THE ARREST ... .31

CHAPTER VII.— THE LEGACY ... .36

CHAPTER VIII.— THE MENDICANT ... ... 45

CHAPTER IX.— THE LIBERATOR 52

CHAPTER X.— THE ORPHAN ... .57

CHAPTER XL— THE FLIGHT ... . . 62

CHAPTER XII.— THE PETITION ... .66

CHAPTER XIII. — THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER ... 71

CHAPTER XIV.— Siccio ... 76

CHAPTER XV.— THE CORSINI PALACE ... 82

CHAPTER XVI.— ENGLISH JULIA ... 91

CHAPTER XVII.— RETRIBUTION ... ..95

CHAPTER XVIII.— THE EXILE ... 101

CHAPTER XIX.— THE BATHS OF CARACALLA . 105

N i CONTENTS.

PACK

• liMTEK XX.— THE TRAITOR HI

CHAPTER XXI.— THE TORTURE H8

CHAPTER XXII.— THE BRIGANDS m

CHAPTER XXni.— THE LIBERATOR 129

CHAPTER XXIV.— THE YACHT ... 135

CHAPTER XXV.— THE TEMPEST 139

CHAPTER XXVI.— THE TOWER ... 145

CHAPTER XXVII.— THE WITHDRAWAL 153

CHAPTER XXVni.— THE FOREST ... .157

CHAPTER XXIX.— THE CASTLE 163

CHAPTER XXX.— IRENE ... 169

CHAPTER XXXI.— OASPARO ... 184

CHAPTER XXXII.— THE SURPRISE... ... 189

CHAPTER XXXIII.— THE ASSAULT. ... 195

CHAPTER XXXIV.— A VALUABLE ACQUISITION ... 202

CHAPTER XXXV.— THE AMELIORATION OF MAN-
KIND 210

CHAPTER XXXVI.— THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES 217

CHAPTER XXXVII.— THE ANTIQUARY 222

CHAPTER XXXVIII.— THE ROMAN ARMY 230

CHAPTER XXXIX.— MATRIMONY ... .238

CHAPTER XL.— THE SEAGULL'S CRUISE .... 246

INTRODUCTION.

THE renowned writer of Caesar's " Com-
mentaries " did not think it necessary to
furnish a preface for those notable com-
positions ; and, in truth, the custom is
altogether of modern times. The ancient
heroes who became authors and wrote a
book, left their work to speak for itself—
" to sink or swim," we had almost said,
but that is not exactly the case. Caesar
carried those very "Commentaries" between
his teeth when he swam ashore from the
sinking galley at Alexandria ; but it never
occurred to him to supply posterity with a
prefatory nourish. With a soldierly brevity
he begins those famous chapters at the be-
ginning— " Omnis Gallia in tres partes" &c.

Vlii INTRODUCTION.

Tin- world has been contented to begin
there with him, for the last two thousand
jean; and the fact is a great precedent
against prefaces — especially since, as a rule,
no one ever reads them till the book itself
has been perused.

The renowned soldier who has here turned
author, entering the literary arena among
the novelists, has also given his English
translators no preface. But custom expects
one, and the nature of the present work
especially requires that a few words should
be written explanatory of the original pur-
pose and character of the Italian MSS. from
which the subjoined pages are transcribed.
It would be unfair to Garibaldi if the un-
doubted vivacity and grace of his native
style should be thought to be here ac-
curately represented. The famous cham-
pion of freedom possesses an eloquence as
peculiar and real as his military genius;
with a gift of graphic description and

INTRODUCTION. IX

creative fancy which are but imperfectly
rendered in this version of his tale, partly
from the particular circumstances under
which the version was prepared, and partly
from the impossibility of rendering into
English those subtle touches and personal
traits which really make a book, as light and
shadows make a countenance. Moreover,
the Italian MS. itself, written throughout
in the autograph of the General, was com-
piled not for a studied work, but as the
solace of heavy hours at Varignano, where
the King of Italy, who owed to Graribaldi's
sword the splendid present of the Two
Sicilies, was repaying that magnificent dota-
tion with a shameful imprisonment. The
time will come when these pages — in their
original, at least — will be numbered among
historic proofs of the poet's statement that

" Stone walls do not a prison make,

Nor iron bars a cage :
Minds innocent and quiet take
These for a hermitage."

\ INTRODUCTION.

And if there be many passages in the narra-
tive whore the signs are strong that "the
iron has entered into the soul," there are also
a hundred where the spirit of the good and
brave General goes forth from his insulting
incarceration to revel in scenes of natural
beauty— to recall incidents of simple human
love and kindness — to dwell upon heroic
memories, and to aspire towards glorious
developments of humanity ; made free, like
that other apostle, when the angel of the
Lord struck off his fetters, and he passed forth
from the self-opened portals of his prison.

It would he manifestly unfair to compare
a work written under such conditions to
thole elaborate specimens of modern novel-
writing with which our libraries abound.
Probably, had General Garibaldi ever read
such productions, he would have declined
to accept them as a model. He appears
to have taken up here the easy form of the
"novella," which belongs by right of in-

INTRODUCTION. XI

vention to his language and his country.
His story is told simply as a convenient
way of imparting to his readers and to
posterity the real condition and inner life
of Rome during these last few eventful
years, when the evil power of the Papacy
has been declining to its fall. Whereas,
therefore, most novels consist of fiction
founded upon fact, this one may be defined
rather as fact founded upon fiction, in the
sense that the form alone and the cast of
the story are fanciful — the rest being all
pure truth lightly disguised. Graribaldi has
here recited — with nothing more than a
thin veil of incognito thrown over those
names which it would have been painful
or perilous to make known — that of which
he himself has been cognisant as matters
of fact in the wicked city of the priests,
where the power which has usurped the
gentle name of Christ blasphemes Him
with a greater audacity of word and a

Xli INTRODUCTION.

more frenzied folly in act as the hour of
judgment approaches. Herein the reader
may see what goes forward in those de-
mure palaces of the princes of the Church,
from which the "Vicegerents of Heaven"
are elected. Herein he may compre-
hend what kind of a system it is which
French bayonets still defend — what the
private life is of those who denounce
humanity and anathematise science; and
why Romans appear content with the
government of Jesuits, and the privilege of
hearing the Pope's artificial altos at the
Sistine Chapel. He who 'has composed
this narrative, at once so idyllic in its
pastoral scenes — so tender and poetic in
its domestic passages — so Metastasio-like
in some of its episodes — and so terribly
earnest in its denunciation of the wrongs
and degradation of the Eternal City, is no
unknown satirist. He is GARIBALDI; he
has been Dictator in the Seven-hilled City,

INTRODUCTION. Xlll

and Generalissimo of her army ; her ar-
chives have lain within his hands ; he
has held her keys, and fought upon her
walls ; and, in four campaigns at least, since
those glorious but mournful days, he has
waged battle for the ancient City in the
open field. Here, then, is his description
of "Borne in the Nineteenth Century" —
not seen as tourists or dilettanti see her,
clothed with the imaginary robes of her
historic and colossal empire — but seen
naked to the scourged and branded skin —
affronted, degraded, defamed, bleeding from
the hundred wounds where the leech-like
priests hang and suck, who, by their vile
organisation, have converted the Rome
which was mistress of the world to a
Rome which is the emporium of solemn
farces, miracle-plays, superstitious hypo-
crisies— the capital of an evil instead of a
majestic kingdom — the metropolis of monks,
instead of Csesars.

INTRODUCTION.

To this discrowned Queen of Nations
, \, ry page in the present volume testifies
the profound and ardent loyalty of Gari-
baldi's soul. The patriotism which most
men feel towards the country of their birth
is but a cold virtue compared with the
burning devotion which fills the spirit of
our warrior-novelist. It is as though the
individuality of some antique Cato or
Fabius was resuscitated, to protest, with
deed and word, against the false and cun-
ning tribe who have suborned the im-
perial city to their purposes, and turned
the monuments of Eome, as it were, into
one Cloaca Maxima. The end of these
things is probably approaching, although
His Holiness, parodying the great Councils
of past history, pretends to be as God, and
to give laws urbi ct ordi, while the kingdoms
reject his authority, and his palace is only
defended from the people by the aid of
foreign bayonets. When Rome is freed

INTRODUCTION. XV

from the Pope-king, and has been pro-
claimed the capital of Italy, this book will
be one of the memorials of that extra-
ordinary corruption and offence which the
nineteenth century endured so long and
patiently.

The Author's desire to portray the
state of society in Rome and around it,
during the last years of the Papacy, has
been clearly paramount; and the narrative
only serves as the form for this design.
Accordingly, the reader must not expect
an elaborately compiled plot, with artistic
developments. He will, nevertheless, be
sincerely interested in the fortunes and the
fates of the beautiful and virtuous Roman
ladies who figure in the tale — of the gal-
lant and dashing brigand of the Campagna,
Orazio — the handsome Muzio — the brave
and faithful Attilio, and the Author's evident
favourite, " English Julia," whose share in
the story enables the soldier of the people

\\i INTRODUCTION.

to exhibit his excessive affection for Eng-
land and the English people. It only re-
mains to commend these various heroes and
heroines to the public, with the remark that
the deficiencies of the work are due rather
to the translation than to the original ;
for the vigour and charm of the great
Liberator's Italian is such as to show that
he might have rivalled Manzoni or Al-
fieri, if he had not preferred to emulate
the Gracchi and Eienzi.

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

CHAPTER I.

CLELIA.

A CELEBRATED writer has called Rome " the
city of the dead ; " but how can there be
death in the heart of Italy? The ruins of
Rome, the ashes of her unhappy sons, have,
indeed, been entombed, but these remains
are so impregnated with life that they may
yet accomplish the regeneration of the world !
Rome is still capable of arousing the popula-
tions, as the tempest raises the waves of the
sea ; for was she not the mistress of ancient
empire, and is not her whole history that
of giants ? Those who can visit her won-
derful monuments in their present desola-
tion, and not feel their souls kindle with
love of the beautiful, and ardour for gene-

VOL. I. B

2 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

TOUS designs, will only restore at death base
hearts to their original clay. As with the
city, so with its people. No degradations
have been able to impair the beauty of her
daughters — a loveliness often, alas ! fatal to
themselves — and in the youthful Clelia, the
artist's daughter of the Trastevere, Kaffaele
himself would have found the graces of his
lofty and pure Madonna, united with that
force of character which distinguished her
illustrious namesake of Eoman times. Even
at sixteen years of age her carriage possessed
majestic dignity as of a matron of old, albeit
so youthful; her hair was of a luxurious
rich brown; her dark eyes, generally con-
veying repose and gentleness, could, never-
theless, repress the slightest affront with
flashes like lightning. Her father was a
sculptor, named Manlio, who had reached
his fiftieth year, and possessed a robust
constitution, owing to a laborious and
sober life. This profession enabled him to
support his' family in comfort, if not
luxury, and he was altogether as indepen-
dent as it was possible for a citizen to be

CLELIA. 3

in a priest-ridden country. Manlio's wife,
though naturally healthy, had become deli-
cate from early privation and confinement
to the house ; she had, however, the dis-
position of an angel, and besides being the
happiness and pride of her husband, was
beloved by the entire neighbourhood.

Clelia was their only child, and was en-
titled by the people, " The Pearl of Traste-
vere." She inherited, in addition to her
beauty, the angelic heart of her mother,
with that firmness and strength of cha-
racter which marked her father.

This happy family resided in the street
that ascends from Sungora to Monte Griani-
colo, not far from the fountain of Mortoro,
and, unfortunately for them, they lived
there in this, the nineteenth century, when
the power of the Papacy is, for the time,
supreme.

Now, the Pope professes to regard the
Bible as the word of Grod, yet the Papal
throne is surrounded by cardinals, to
whom marriage is forbidden, notwithstand-
ing the Scriptural declaration that "it is

B 2

4 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

not good that man should be alone," and
that woman was formed to be " an helpmeet
for him."

Matrimony being thus interdicted, con-
trary to the law of God and man, the
enormous wealth, the irresponsible power,
and the state of languid luxury in which,
as Princes of the Church, they are com-
pelled to live, have ever combined, in the
case of these cardinals, to present every
temptation to corruption and libertinism of
the very worst kinds.* As the spirit of
the master always pervades the household,
plenty of willing tools are to be found
in the large establishments of the Church
princes ready to pander to their employers'
vices.

The beauty of Clelia had unhappily
attracted the eye of Cardinal Procopio,
the most powerful of these prelates, and
the favourite of his Holiness ; whom he
flattered to his face, and laughed at as
an old dotard behind his back.

Jaded by his enforced attendance at the
* See Note 1.

CLELIA. 0

Vatican, he one day summoned Gianni,
one of his creatures, to his presence,
and informed him of the passion he had
conceived for Clelia, ordering him, at what-
ever cost, and by any means, to obtain
possession of the girl, and conduct her
to his palace.

It was in furtherance of the nefarious
plot thereupon concocted that the agent
of his Eminence, on one evening early
in February, presented himself at the
studio of Signer Manlio, but not without
some trepidation, for, like most of his class,
he was an arrant coward, and already in
fancy trembled at the terrific blows which
the strong arm of the sculptor would cer-
tainly bestow should the real object of the
visit be suspected. He was, however,
somewhat reassured by the calm expression
of the Roman's face, and, plucking up
courage, he entered the studio.

" Good evening, Signor Manlio," he
commenced, with a smooth and nattering
voice.

" Grood evening," replied the artist, not

0 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

looking up, but continuing an examination
of his chisels, for he cared little to en-
courage the presence of an individual whom
he recognised as belonging to the house-
hold of the Cardinal, the character of
whose establishment was only too well
known to him.

"Good evening, Signor," repeated Gianni,
in a timid voice; and, observing that at
last the other raised his head, he thus con-
tinued— "his Eminence, the Cardinal Pro-
copio, desires me to tell you he wishes to
have two small statues of saints to adorn
the entrance to his oratory."

"And of what size does the Cardinal
require them?" asked Manlio.

" I think it would be better for you,
Signor, to call on his Eminence at the
palace, to see the position in which he
wishes them to be placed, and then consult
with him respecting their design."

A compression of the sculptor's lips
showed that this proposal was but little to
his taste ; but how can an artist exist in
Rome, and maintain his family in comfort,

CLELTA. 7

without ecclesiastical protection and employ-
ment ? One of the most subtle weapons
used by the Roman Church has always
been its patronage of the fine arts.* It
has ever employed the time and talent of
the first Italian masters to model statues,
and execute paintings from subjects calcu-
lated to impress upon the people the doc-
trines inculcated by its teaching, receiving
demurely the homage of Christendom for
its "protection of genius," and the en-
couragement it thereby afforded to artists
from all nations to settle in Borne.

Manlio, therefore, who would have sacri-
ficed his life a hundred times over for his
two beloved ones, after a few moments'
reflection, bluntly answered, "I will go."
Gianni, with a profound salutation, retired.
" The first step is taken," he murmured ;
" and now I must endeavour to find a safe
place of observation for Cencio." This
fellow was a subordinate of Gianni's, to
whom the Cardinal had entrusted the
second section of the enterprise ; and for
* See Note 2.

8 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

whom it was now necessary to hire a room
in sight of the studio. This was not diffi-
cult to achieve in that quarter, for in
Rome, where the priests occupy themselves
with the spiritual concerns of the people,
and but little with their temporal prosperity
(though they never neglect their own),
poverty abounds.* Were it not for the
enforced neglect of its commerce, the an-
cient activity of Kome might be restored,
and might rival even its former palmiest

Having engaged a room suitable for the
purpose, Gianni returned home, humming
a song, and with a conscience anything
but oppressed; comprehending well that
absolution could be easily obtained from
the priests for any ruffianism, when com-
mitted for the benefit of Mother Church.
* See Note 3.

CHAPTEE II.

ATTILIO.

IN the same street, and opposite Manlio's
house, was another studio, occupied by an
artist, named Attilio, already of some
celebrity, although he had only attained
his twentieth year. In it he worked the
greater part of the day; but, studious as
he was, he found himself unable to refrain
from glancing lovingly, from time to time,
at the window on the first floor, where
Clelia was generally occupied with her
needle, seated by her mother's side. With-
out her knowledge — almost without his
own — she had become for him the star of
his sky, the loveliest among the beauties of
Rome — his hope, his life, his all. Now,
Attilio had watched with a penetrating
eye the manner in which the emissary of
the Cardinal had come and gone. He saw
him looking doubtful aod irresolute, and,

10 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

with the quick instincts of love, a suspicion
of the truth entered his mind; a terrible
fear for the safety of his beloved took
possession of him. When Gianni quitted
Manlio's house, Attilio stole forth, fol-
lowing cautiously in his footsteps, but
stopping now and then to elude observa-
tion by gazing at the curiosities in the
shop windows, or at the monuments which
one encounters at every turn about the
Eternal City ; clutching involuntarily, now
and then, at the dagger carefully con-
cealed in his breast, especially when he
saw Gianni enter a house, and heard him
bargain for the use of a room.

Not until Gianni reached the magnificent
Palazzo Corsini, where his employer lived,
and had disappeared therein from sight,
did Attilio turn aside.

"Then it is Cardinal Procopio," muttered
he to himself ; " Procopio, the Pope's
favourite — the vilest and most licentious
of the evil band of Church Princes ! " —
and he continued his gloomy reflections
without heeding whither his steps went.

CH APTEE III.

THE CONSPIRACY.

IT is the privilege of the slave to conspire
against his oppressors — for liberty is God's
gift, and the birthright of all. Therefore
Italians of the past and present days, under
their various servitudes, have constantly con-
spired ; and, as the despotism of the tiaraed
priests is the most hateful and degrading
of all, so the conspiracies of the Romans
date thickest from that rule. We are asked
to believe that the government of the
Pope is mild — that his subjects are con-
tented, and have ever been so. Yet, if this
be true, how is it that they who claim to be
the representatives of Christ upon earth —
of Him who said, " My kingdom is not of
this world" — have, since the institution of
the temporal power, supplicated French
intervention sixteen times, German inter-
vention fifteen times, Austrian intervention

12 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

seven times, and Spanish intervention three
times, while the Pope of our day holds his
throne only by means of the intervention
of a foreign power ?

So the night of the 8th February was a
night of conspiracy. The meeting-hall was
no other than the ancient Colosseum; and
Attilio, instead of returning home, aroused
himself to a recollection of this fact, and
set out for the Campo Vaccino.

The night was obscure, and black clouds
were gathering on all sides, impelled by a
violent scirocco. The mendicants, wrapped
in their rags, sought shelter from the wind
in the stately old doorways ; others in
porches of churches. Indoors, the priests
were sitting, refreshing themselves at
sumptuous tables loaded with viands and
exquisite wines. Beggars without and
priests within — for of these two classes
the population is chiefly composed. But
those conspirators watch for and antici-
pate the day when priests and beggars
shall be consigned alike to the past.

By-and-by, in the distance beyond, the

THE CONSPIRACY. 13

ancient forum — that majestic giant of ruins
— rose upon young Attilio's eyes, dark and
alone. It stands there, reminding a city of
slaves of the hundred past generations of
grandeur which it survives above the ruins
of their capital ; to tell them that, though
she has been shaken down to the dust of
shame and death, she is not dead — not
lost to the nations which her civilisation
and her glories created and regenerated.

In that sublime ruin our conspirators
gather. A stranger generally chooses a
fine moonlight night on which to visit
the Colosseum; but it is in darkness and
storm that it should rather be seen, illu-
minated terribly by the torches of light-
ning, while the thunder of heaven rever-
berates through every ragged arch.

Such were the accompaniments of the
scene when the conspirators, on that Feb-
ruary night, entered stealthily, and one by
one, the ancient arena of the gladiators.

Among its thousand divisions, where the
sovereign people were wont to assemble
in the days when they were corrupted by

1 I THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the splendours of the conquered world, were
several more spacious than others, such as
were probably destined for the patricians
and great functionaries, but which time,
with exterminating touch, has reduced to
one scarce distinguishable mass of ruin.
Neither chairs nor couches now adorn them,
but blocks of weather-beaten stone mark
the boundaries, benches, and chambers. In
one of these behold our conspirators silently
assembling, scanning each other narrowly
by the aid of their dark lanterns, as they
advance into the space by different routes,
their only ceremony being a grasp of the
hand upon arriving at the Loggione — a
name given by them to the ruined en-
closure. Soon a voice is heard asking
the question, "Are the sentries at their
posts?" Another voice, from the extreme
end, replies, "All's well." Immediately
the flame of a torch, kindled near the first
speaker, lighted up hundreds of intelligent
laces, mostly young, and the greater num-
ber those of men decidedly under thirty
years of age.

THE CONSPIRACY. 15

Here and there began now to gleam
other torches, vainly struggling to conquer
the darkness of the night. The priests are
never in want of spies, and adroit spies
they themselves make too. Under such
circumstances it might appear to a foreigner
highly imprudent for a band of conspirators
to assemble in any part of Rome ; but be it
remembered deserts are to be found in this
huge city, and the Campo Vaccino covers a
space in which all the famous ruins of
western Europe might be enclosed. Besides,
the mercenaries of the Church love their
skins above all things, and render service
more for the sake of lucre than zeal. They
are by no means willing at any time to
risk their cowardly lives. Again, there are
not wanting, according to such superstitious
knaves, legions of apparitions among these
remains. It is recorded that once, on a
night like that which we are describing, two
spies, more daring than their fellows, having
perceived a light, proceeded to discover the
cause, but, upon penetrating the arches,
they were so terrified by the horrible

16 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

phantoms which appeared, that they fled,
one dropping his cap, the other his sword,
which articles they dared not stay to
recover.

The phantoms were, however, no other
than certain conspirators, who, on quitting
their meeting, stumbled over the property
of the fugitives, and were not a little
amused when the account of the goblins
in the Colosseum was related to them by a
sentinel, who had overheard the frightened
spies. Thus it happened that the haunted
ruins became far more secure than the
streets of ^Rome, where, in truth, an
honest man seldom cares to venture out
after nightfall.

CHAPTEE IV.

THE MEETING OF THE CONSPIRATORS.

THE first voice heard in the midnight
council was that of our acquaintance,
Attilio, who, notwithstanding his youth,
had already been appointed leader by the
unanimous election of his colleagues, on
account of his courage and high moral
qualities, although unquestionably the
charm and refinement of his manners, joined
to his kind disposition, contributed not a
little to his popularity among a people who
never fail to recognise and appreciate such
characteristics. As for his personal appear-
ance, Attilio added the air and vigour of a
lion to the masculine loveliness of the
Greek Antinous.

He first threw a glance around the
assembly, to assure himself that all present
wore a black ribbon on the left arm, this
VOL. i. c

18 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

being the badge of their fraternity. It
served them also as a sign of mourning for
those degenerate Eomans who wish indeed
for the liberation of their country, but
wait for its accomplishment by any hands
rather than their own ; and this, although
they know full well that her salvation can
only be obtained by the devotion, the con-
tributions, and the blood of their fellow-
citizens. Then Attilio spoke —

" Two months have elapsed, my brothers,
since we were promised that the foreign
soldiery, the sole prop of the Papal rule,
should be withdrawn, yet they still con-
tinue to crowd our streets, and, under
futile pretences, have even re-occupied the
positions which they had previously eva-
cuated, and to which we were promised that
they should not return. To us, then, thus
betrayed, it remains to accomplish our
liberty. We have borne far too patiently
for the last eighteen years a doubly exe-
crated rule — that of the foreigner, and that
of the priest. In these last days we have
been ever ready to spring to arms, but we

MEETING OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 19

have been withheld by the advice of an
hermaphrodite party in the state, styling
themselves ' the Moderates,' in whom we
can have no longer any confidence, because
they have used their power to accumulate
wealth for themselves from the public
treasury, which they are sucking dry; and
they have invariably proved themselves
ready to bargain with the stranger, and
to trade in the national honour. Our
friends outside are prepared, and blame us
for being negligent and tardy. The army,
excepting those members of it consecrated
to base hopes, is with us. The arms which
were expected have arrived, and are lodged
in safety. We have also an abundance of
ammunition. Further delay, under these
circumstaDces, would be unpardonable. To
arms, then ! to arms ! to arms ! "

" Aye ! to arms ! " was the cry re-echoed
by the three hundred conspirators assembled
in the chamber. "Where their ancestors
held council how to subjugate other na-
tions, these modern voices made the old
walls ring again while they vowed their

c 2

•20 THK RULE OF THE MONK.

resolve to emancipate enslaved' Rome or
perish in the attempt.

Three Hundred only ! Yes, three hun-
dred ; hut such was the muster-roll of the
companions of Leonidas, and of the libe-
rating family of Fabius. These, too, were
equally willing to become liberators, or to
accept martyrdom. For this they had high
reason ; because, of what value is the life of
a slave, when compared with the sublime
conceptions, the imperious conscience, of
a soul guided always by noble ideas?

God be with all such souls, and those
also which despise the power of tyrannising
in turn over their fellow-beings ! Of what
value can be the life of a despot ? His
miserable remorse causes him to tremble at
the movement of every leaf. No outward
grandeur can atone for the mental suffer-
ings he endures. May the God of love
hereafter extend to tyrants the mercy they
have denied to their fellow-man, and
pardon them for the rivers of innocent
blood they have caused to flow !

But Attilio continued, "Happy indeed

MEETING OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 21

are we to whom Providence has reserved
the redemption of Rome, the ancient mis-
tress of the world, after so many centuries
of oppression and priestly tyranny. I have
never for a moment, my friends, ceased to
confide in your patriotism, which you are
proving by the admirable instructions be-
stowed upon the men committed to your
charge in the different sections of the city.
In the day of battle, which will soon arrive,
you will respectively command your several
companies, and to them we shall yet owe
our freedom. The priests have changed
the first of nations into one of the most
abject and unhappy, and our beloved Italy
has become the very lowest in the social
scale. The lesson given by our Papal
rulers has ever been one of servile humility,
while they themselves expect emperors to
stoop and kiss their feet. This is the
method by which they exhibit to the world
their own Christian humility; and though
they have always preached to us self-denial
and austerity of life, these hypocrites sur-
round themselves with a profusion of luxury

'2'2 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and voluptuousness. Gymnastic exercises,
under proper instruction, are doubtless
beneficial to the physical development of
the body ; but is it for this reason that
the Eomans are called upon to bow to, and
kiss the hand of every priest they meet?
—to kneel also and go through a series
of genuflections ; so that it is really no
thanks to them if one half of the people
are not crook-necked or hunch-backed, from
the absurd performances they have been
made to execute for the gratification of
these tonsured masters ? The time for
the great struggle approaches, and it is
a sacred one ! Not only do we aim at
freeing our beloved Italy, but at freeing
the entire world also from the incubus
of the Papacy, which everywhere op-
poses education, protects ignorance, and
is the nurse of vice ! "

The address of Attilio had hitherto
been pronounced in profound darkness, but
was here suddenly interrupted by a flash
of lightning, which illumined the vast
interior of the Colosseum, as if it had

MEETING OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 23

suddenly been lighted by a thousand
lamps. This was succeeded by a darkness
even more profound than the first, when
a terrific peal of thunder rolled over
their heads and shook to its foundations
the ancient structure, silencing for a brief
space Attilio's voice. The conspirators
were not men to tremble, each being pre-
pared to confront death in whatever form
it might appear; but, as a scream was
heard issuing at this moment from the
vestibule, they involuntarily seized their
daggers. Immediately after, a young girl,
with dishevelled hair and clothes dripping
with water, rushed into their midst.
" Camilla ! " exclaimed Silvio, a wild boar-
hunter of the Campagna, who alone of
those present recognised her. " Poor
Camilla ! " he cried ; " to what a fate have
the miscreants who rule over us reduced
you ! " At this instant one of the sentries
on guard entered, reporting that they
had been discovered by a young woman
during the moment of the illumination, and
that she had fled with such speed no one

24 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

had been able to capture her. They had
not liked to fire upon a female, and all other
means of staying her were useless. But,
at the words of Silvio, the strange appa-
rition had fixed her eyes upon him as the
torches closed about them, and, after one
long glance, had uttered a moan so piteous,
and sunk down with such a sigh of woe,
that all present were moved. We will
relate, however, in the following chapter,
the history of the unfortunate girl whose
cries thus effectually checked our hero's
eloquence.

CHAPTER V.

THE INFANTICIDE.

BORN a peasant, the unhappy Camilla had,
like her own Italy, the fatal gift of beauty.
Silvio, who was by vocation, as we have
already said, a wild boar hunter, used often,
in his expeditions to the Pontine Marshes, to
rest at the house of the good Marcello, the
father of Camilla, whose cottage was situated
a short distance from Rome. The young
pair became enamoured of each other.
Silvio demanded her in marriage, and, her
father giving a willing consent, they were
betrothed.

Perfectly happy and fair to look upon
were this youthful pair, as they sat, hand in
hand, under the shadows of the vines, watch-
ing the gorgeous sunsets of their native
clime. This happiness, however, was not
of long duration, for, during one of his

;2() THE RULE OF THE MONK.

hunting expeditions, Silvio caught the
malarial fever so common in the Pontine
Marshes, and, as he continued to suffer for
some months, the marriage was indefinitely
postponed.

Meantime Camilla, who was too lovely
and too innocent to dwell in safety near
this most vicious of cities, had been marked
as a victim by the emissaries of his Emi-
nence the Cardinal Procopio. It was her
custom to carry fruit for sale to the Piazza
Navona. On one occasion she was addressed
by an old fruit woman, previously instructed
by Gianni, who plied her with every con-
ceivable allurement and flattery, praised her
fruit, and promised her the highest price for
it at the palace of the Cardinal, if she would
take it thither. The rest of the story may
be too easily imagined. In Borne this is
an oft-told tale. To hide from her father
and her lover the consequences of her fall,
and to suit the convenience of the prelate,
Camilla was persuaded to take up her resi-
dence in the palace Corsini, where, soon
after its birth, her miserable infant was

THE INFANTICIDE. 27

put to death by one of its father's mur-
derous ruffians. This so preyed upon the
unhappy mother, that she lost her reason,
and was secretly immured in a mad-house.
On the very night when she effected her
escape, the meeting already mentioned was
being held, and, after wandering from
place to place, for many hours, without
any fixed direction, she entered the Colos-
seum at the moment it was illumined by
the lightning, as we have related. That
flash disclosed the sentries at the arch-
way, and she rushed towards them, obey-
ing some instinct of safety, or at least
perceiving that they were not clothed
in the garb of a priest; but they,
taking her for a spy, ran forward to
make her prisoner. Thereupon, seemingly
possessed of supernatural strength, she
glided from their hands, and finally eluded
their pursuit by running rapidly into the
centre of the building, where she fell ex-
hausted in the midst of the three hundred,
at the foot of her injured and incensed lover.
" It is, indeed, time," said Attilio, when

28 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Silvio had related the maniac's story, "to
purge our city from this priestly ignominy;"
and drawing forth his dagger, he brandished
it above his head, as he exclaimed, "Ac-
cursed is the Roman who does not feel the
degradation of his country, and who is not
willing to bathe his sword in the blood of
these monsters, who humiliate it, and turn
its very soil into a sink."

"Accursed! accursed be they!" echoed
back from the old walls, while the sound
of dagger-blades tinkling together made
an ominous music, dedicated to the corrupt
and licentious rulers of Borne.

Then Attilio turned to Silvio, and said,
" This child is more sinned against than
sinning; she requires and deserves protec-
tion. You, who are so generous, will not
refuse it to her."

And Silvio was, indeed, generous, for he
still loved his wretched Camilla, who at
sight of him had become docile as a lamb.
He raised her, and, enveloping her in his
mantle, led her out of the Colosseum to-
wards her father's dwelling.

THE INFANTICIDE. 29

" Comrades," shouted Attilio, " meet me
on the 15th at the Baths of Caracalla. Be
ready to use your arms if need be."

" We will be ready ! we will be ready !"
responded heartily the Three Hundred ; and
in a few moments the ruins were left to
their former solitude.

What a wild improbable story, we seem
to hear some of our readers remark, as
they sit beside their sea-coal fires in free
England. But Popery has not been domi-
nant in England since James II. 's time, and
they have forgotten it. Let them remember
that in the year 1848, when a Eepublican
Government was established in France —
which was the signal of a general revolu-
tionary movement throughout Europe — and
the present Pope was forced to escape in
the disguise of a menial, while a National
Government granted, for the first time in
Eome, religious toleration, one of the first
orders of the Roman republic was that the
nuns should be liberated, and the convents
searched. Giuseppe Garibaldi, in 1849,
then recently arrived in Eome, visited in

30 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

person every convent, and was present dur-
ing the whole of the investigations. In all,
without an exception, he found instruments
of cruelty ; and in all, without an exception,
were vaults, plainly dedicated to the recep-
tion of the bones of infants. Statistics
prove that in no city is there so great a
number of children born out of wedlock as
in Rome ; and it is in Rome also that the
greatest number of infanticides take place.

This must ever be the case with a
wealthy unmarried priesthood and a poor
and ignorant population.

CHAPTEE VI.

THE ARREST.

WE took leave of Manlio at the moment
when Gianni had delivered his master's
message. The sculptor acceded to the Car-
dinal's request, and, after an interview with
him, proceeded to execute the order for the
statuettes. For some days nothing occurred
to excite suspicion, and things seemed to
be going on smoothly enough. From the
room which Gianni had hired Cencio
watched the artist incessantly, all the while
carefully maturing his plot. At last, one
evening, when our sculptor was hard at
work, Cencio broke into the studio, ex-
claiming excitedly, "For the love of God,
permit me to remain here a little while !
I am pursued by the police, who wish to
arrest me. I assure you I am guilty of
no crime, except that of being a liberal,

3'2 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and of having declared, in a moment of
anger, that the overthrow of the Bepublic
by the French was an assassination of
liberty." So saying, Cencio made as
though to conceal himself behind some
statuary.

" These are hard times," soliloquised
Manlio, " and little confidence can be
placed in anybody; yet, how can I drive
out one compromised by his political
opinions only ; thereby, perhaps, adding
to the number of those unfortunates now
lingering in the priests' prisons ? He
looks a decent fellow, and would have a
better chance of effecting his escape if he
remained here till nightfall. Yes ! he
shall stay." Manlio, therefore, rose, and
beckoning to the supposed fugitive, bade
him follow to the end of the studio, where
he secreted him carefully behind some
massive blocks of marble, little dreaming
that he harboured a traitor.

The artist had scarcely resumed his oc-
cupation before a patrol stopped before the
house and demanded permission to make a

THE ARREST. 33

domiciliary visit, as a suspected person had
been seen to enter the house.

Poor Manlio endeavoured to put aside
the suspicions of the officer, so far as he
could do it without compromising his
veracity; and, little divining the trap into
which he had fallen, attempted to lead him
in a direction opposite to that in which the
crafty Cencio had taken refuge. The patrol,
being in league with Cencio, felt, of course,
quite certain of his presence on the pre-
mises, but some few minutes elapsed before
he succeeded in discovering the carefully-
chosen hiding-place ; and the interval would
have been longer had not Cencio stealthily
put out his hand and pulled him, the sbirro,
gently by the coat as he passed. The
functionary paused suddenly, exclaiming,
with an affected tone of triumph, " Ah,
I have you ! " then, turning upon Manlio,
he seized the artist by the collar, saying,
in the sternest of tones, " You must
accompany me forthwith to the tribunal,
and account for your crime in giving
shelter to this miscreant, who is in open
VOL. i. •"

34 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

rebellion against the Government of his
Holiness."

Manlio, utterly beside himself, in the
first burst of indignation, cast his eye
around among the chisels, hammers, and
other tools, for something suitable with
which to cleave the skull of his accuser ;
but at this moment his wife, followed by
the lovely Clelia, rushed into the apartment
to ascertain the cause of so unwonted a
disturbance. They trembled at the sight
of their beloved one in the grasp of the
hated police-officer, who cunningly relaxed
his hold, and said, in a very different voice,
'as soon as he perceived them, "Be of
courage, signer, and console these good
ladies ; your presence will be needed for a
short time only. A few questions will
be asked, to which undoubtedly you can
give satisfactory replies."

In vain did the terrified women expos-
tulate. Finding their tears and remon-
strances of no avail, they reluctantly let go
their hold of the unhappy Manlio, whom
they had clasped in their terror, He, dis-

THE ARREST. 35

daining any appeal to the courtesy of such
a scoundrel as he knew the patrol to be,
waved them an adieu, and departed with
a dignified air.

CHAPTEE VII.

THE LEGACY.

THE Roman Republic, established by the
unanimous and legitimate votes of the people,
elected General Garibaldi, on the 30th of
June, 1849, legal guardian of the rights of
the people, and conferred upon him the exe-
cutive power of the State, which the Trium-
virate resigned into his hands. This national
government was overthrown by foreign
bayonets, after a most heroic struggle for
freedom. The first act of General Oudinot
was to send a French colonel to lay the
keys of the city at the feet of the Pope.

Thus was the power of the priests re-
stored, and they returned to all their former
tyranny and luxury.

These worthy teachers, when preaching
to the Roman women about the glory of
Heaven, impress upon them that they, and

THE LEGACY. 37

they only, have power to give free entrance
into eternal bliss. To liberate these mis-
guided beings from superstition, and rescue
them from the deceit of the so-called
"reverend fathers" is the question of life
or death to Italy; this, in fact, is the only
way in which to work out the deliverance
of our country. Many will tell you there
are good priests. But a priest, to become
really good, must discard the livery which
he wears. For is it not the uniform
of the promoters of brigandage over the
half of Italy ? Has it not marched as a
pioneer-garb before every sinister foreigner
that ever visited our country ?

Again, the priests, by their continual im-
postures and crafty abuse of the ignorance
and consequent superstition of the people,
have acquired great riches. Those who en-
deavour to retard our progress make a dis-
tinction between the temporal power, which
should be combated, and the spiritual
power, which should be respected ; as if
Antonelli, Schiatone, and Crocco were spi-
ritual ushers, by whom the souls of men

88 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

could hope to be conducted into the
presence of the Eternal. But what are
the sources of their wealth? Firstly,
they exact a revenue for repentance, as the
vicegerents of God upon earth, claiming
power, as such, to pardon all sin. A rich
but credulous man may thus commit any
crime he chooses with impunity, knowing
that he has the means of securing absolu-
tion, and believing implicitly that, by ren-
dering up a portion of his treasure or
profit to the clergy, he will have no diffi-
culty in escaping the wrath to come.

Secondly, there is the tax upon the
agonies of death. At the bedside of the
sick, by threats of purgatory and eternal
perdition, they frighten their unhappy
victims into bequeathing to Mother Church
enormous legacies, if, indeed, they do not
succeed in getting absolute possession of
the whole of their estates, to the detri-
ment of the legal heirs, who are not un-
frequently in this manner reduced to
beggary. Look, for instance, at the island
of Sicily : one half of that country now

THE LEGACY. 39

belongs to the priesthood, or various orders
of monks, by this process.

But, to our tale. One evening, about
nine o'clock, in the month of December, a
thing in black might have been seen tra-
versing the Piazza of the Rotunda — that
magnificent monument of antiquity — every
column a perfect work, worth its weight
in silver — which the priests have perverted
from sublime memories to their cunning
uses. It was a figure which would have
made a man shudder involuntarily, though
he were one of the thousand of Calatifimi.
Enveloped in a black sottana — the covering
of a heart still blacker, the heart, in fact, of
a demon, it was one that contemplated the
committal of a crime which only a priest
would conceive or execute. A priest it
was, and he made his stealthy path to the
gateway of the house of Pompeo, where he
paused a moment before knocking to gain
admittance, casting glances around, to assure
himself no one was in sight, as if he feared
his guilty secret would betray itself, or as
if pausing before he added even to eccle-

40 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

siastical wickednesses a sin so. cruel as the
one he was meditating. He knocked at
last. The door opened, and the porter,
recognising the " Reverend Father Ignazio,"
saluted him respectfully, and lighted him,
as he entered, a few steps up the staircase
of one of the richest residences of the
city.

"Where is Sister Flavia?" demanded the
priest of the first servant who came forward
to meet him.

" At the bedside of my dying mistress,"
replied Siccio, in a constrained voice, for,
being a true Roman, he had little sympathy
for " the birds of ill-omen," as he pro-
fanely styled the reverend fathers.

Father Ignazio, knowing the house
well, hurried on to the sick room, at the
door of which he gently tapped, requesting
admittance in a peculiar tone. An elderly,
sour-looking nun opened the door quickly,
and, with a significant expression on her
evil countenance, as her eyes encountered
those of the priest.

"Is all over?" whispered he, as he ad-

THE LEGACY. 41

vanced towards the bed on which the ex-
piring patient lay.

" Not yet/' was the equally low reply.

Ignazio thereupon, without another word,
took a small phial from under his sottana,
and emptied the contents into a glass.
With the assistance of the nun he raised
his victim, and poured the deadly fluid
down her throat, letting her head fall
heavily back upon the pillows, whilst a
complacent smile spread itself over his dia-
bolical features as, after one gasp, the jaw
fell. He then retired to a small table at
the end of the apartment, where he seated
himself, followed by Sister Flavia, who
stealthily .drew a paper from her dress
and handed it to him.

Father Ignazio seized the paper with a
trembling hand, and after perusing it with
an anxious air, as if to convince himself
that it was indeed the accomplishment of
his desires, he thrust it into his breast,
muttering, with an emphatic nod, " You
shall be rewarded, my good Flavia."

That paper was the last will and testa-

42 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

ment of the Signora Virginia Pompeo, the
mother of the brave Emilio Pompeo, who
perished fighting on the walls of Rome,
where he fell, mortally wounded by a
French bullet. His inconsolable widow
did not long survive him, and committed,
with her last breath, her infant son to the
care of his doting grandmother, La Signora
Virginia Pompeo, who tenderly cherished
the orphan Muzio, the only remaining scion
of the noble house of Pompeo. But, un-
happily for him, Father Ignazio was her
confessor. When the signora's health be-
gan to fail, and her mind to be weakened,
the wily Father spared no means to con-
vince her that she ought to make her will,
and, as a sacred duty, to leave a large sum
to be spent in masses for the release of souls
from purgatory. The signora lingering for
some time, the covetous priest felt his de-
sires grow, and resolvecl to destroy this first
will, and to obtain another, purporting to
leave the whole of her immense estates to
the corporation of St. Francesco di Paola,
and appoint himself as her sole executor.

THE LEGACY. 43

This document lie prepared, and entrusted
to Sister Flavia, whom he had already
recommended to the Signora Virginia as a
suitable attendant. One morning she de-
spatche.d a hurried message to the con-
fessor, reporting that the favourable time
for signing the fraudulent document had
arrived. He came, attended by witnesses,
whom he had had no difficulty in pro-
curing, and, after persuading the sinking
and agonised lady that she ought to add
a codicil to her will (which he pretended
then and there to draw up) leaving a still
larger sum to the Church, he guided her
feeble hand as she unconsciously signed
away the whole of her property, leaving
her helpless grandson to beggary. As if
to jeopardise his scheme, the signora rallied
towards the afternoon, whereupon, fearing
she might ask to see the will, and so
discover his treachery, Father Ignazio
resolved to make such an undesirable
occurrence impossible, by administering an
effective potion, which he set off to procure,
wisely deferring his return till nightfall.

44 THE RULE OF THE MONK,

The result has been already disclosed;
and while the false priest wrought this
murder, the unconscious orphan, Muzio,
slept peacefully in his little bed, still
adorned with hangings wrought by a
loving mother's hands ; to awake on the
morrow ignorant of his injury, but robbed
of his guardian and goods together —
stripped of all, and forthwith dependent
on chance — a friendless and beggared boy.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MENDICANT.

EIGHTEEN years had rolled by since the
horrible murder of La Signora Virginia
related in the last chapter. On the same
piazza which Father Ignazio had traversed
that dark night stood a lazzarone, leaning
moodily, yet not without a certain grace,
against a column. It was February, and
the beggar lad was apparently watching the
setting sun. The lower part of his face
was carefully concealed in his cloak, but
from the little that could be discerned of it,
it seemed decidedly handsome ; one of those
naturally noble countenances, in fact, that
once seen, impresses its features indelibly
on the beholder's memory. A well-formed
Eoman nose was set between two eyes of
dazzling blue ; eyes that could look tender
or stern, according to the possessor's mood.

46 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

The shoulders, even under the cloak,
showed grandly, and could belong only
to a strength which it would be dange-
rous to insult or rashly attack. Poor as
its garb was, such a figure would be
eagerly desired by a sculptor who sought
to portray a young Latin athlete.

A slight touch upon the shoulder caused
the young mendicant to turn sharply ; but
his brow cleared as he welcomed, with a
beaming smile, Attilio's familiar face, and
heard him saying, in a lively tone, " Ah !
art thou here, brother?" And although
no tie of blood was between them, Attilio
and Muzio might, indeed, have been mis-
taken for brothers, their nobility of feature
and brave young Eoman bearing being so
much alike.

" Art thou armed ? " inquired Attilio.

"Armed!" repeated Muzio, somewhat dis-
dainfully. "Assuredly ; is not my poniard
my inheritance, my only patrimony? I
love it as well as thou lov'st thy Clelia,
or I mine own lady. But love, forsooth,"
continued he, more bitterly; "what right

THE MENDICANT. 47

to love has a beggar — an outcast from
society? Who would believe that rags
could cover a heart bursting with the
pangs of a true passion?"

" Still," replied Attilio, confidently, " I
think that pretty stranger does, in truth,
think on thee."

Muzio remained silent, and his former
gloomy expression returned ; but Attilio,
seeing a storm arising in his friend's soul,
and wishing to avert it, took him by the
hand, saying gently, " Come."

The young wanderer followed without
proffering a word. Night was rapidly clos-
ing in, the foot passengers were gradually
decreasing in number, and few footfalls,
except those of the foreign patrols, broke
the silence that was stealing over the city.

The priests are always early to leave the
streets — besides, they love to enjoy the good
things of this world at home after preach-
ing about the glories of the next, and care
little to trust their skins in Rome after
dark, notwithstanding the protection af-
forded by the mercenary cut-throats just

48 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

named. May the day soon come when
their services may be dispensed with alto-
gether !

"We shall be quit of them, and that
before long," answered Attilio hopefully to
some such remark, as they descended the
Quirinale, now called Monte Cavallo, the
site of the famous horses in stone, chefs
d'ceuvres of Grecian art.

Pausing between these gigantic effigies,
the young artist took from his pocket a
flint and steel, and struck a light, the signal
arranged between him and the Three Hun-
dred, some of whom had agreed to help him
in a bold attempt to release Manlio from
his unlawful imprisonment.

The signal was answered immediately
from the extreme end of the Piazza. The two
young men advanced towards it, and were
met by a soldier belonging to a detach-
ment on guard at the palace, who con-
ducted them through a half -concealed
doorway near the principal entrance, up a
narrow flight of stairs into a small room
generally used by the commander of the

THE MENDICANT. 49

guard ; here he left them, and another
soldier stepped forward to receive them,
and, having placed chairs for them at a
table, on which burned an oil-lamp, flanked
by two or three bottles and some glasses,
this one seated himself.

" Let us drink a glass of Orvieto, my
friends," said the soldier; "it will do us
more good on a bitter night like this than
the Holy Father's blessing," handing to
each of them, as he spoke, a goblet filled
to the brim.

" Success to our enterprise ! " cried
Muzio.

"Amen," responded Attilio, as he took
a deep draught. " So Manlio has been
brought hither," said he, addressing
Dentato, the sergeant of dragoons, for
such was the name of their military friend.

" Yes ; he was locked up last night in
one of our secret cells, as if he had been
the most dangerous of criminals, poor
innocent ! I hear he is to be removed
shortly," added Dentato, "to the Castle of
St. Angelo."

VOL. I. E

50 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

" Do you know by whose order lie was
arrested ? " inquired Attilio.

" By the order of his Eminence the
Cardinal Procopio, it is said, who is
anxious, doubtless, to remove all impedi-
ments likely to frustrate his designs upon
the Pearl of Trastevere."

As Dentato uttered these words, a sudden
tremor shook the frame of Attilio. " And
at what hour shall we make the attempt
to liberate him?" he sternly asked, as his
hand clenched his dagger.

" Liberate him ! Why, we are too few,"
the soldier replied.

"Not so," continued Attilio. "Silvio
has given his word that he will be here
shortly with ten of our own, and then we
shall have no difficulty in dealing with
these sbirri and monks."

After a pause, Dentato responded, "Well,
then, as you are determined to attempt
his release to-night, we had better wait a
few hours, when gaolers and director will
be asleep, or under the influence of their
liquor. My lieutenant is, fortunately, de-

THE MENDICANT. 51

tained by a delicate affair at a distance, so
we will try it if your friend turns up."

Before he could well finish his speech,
however, Dentato was interrupted by the
entrance of the guard left at the gate
announcing the arrival of Silvio.

E 2

CHAPTER IX.

THE LIBERATOR.

BEFORE continuing the story we must
remark upon one of the most striking facts
in Rome — viz., the conduct and bravery of
the Roman soldiery.

Even the city troops have a robust and
martial air, and retain an individual force
of character to an astonishing degree. In the
defence of Rome, all the Roman artillery-
men (observe, all) were killed at their guns,
and a reserve of the wounded, a thing un-
heard of before, bleeding though they were,
continued to fight manfully until cut down
by the sabres of their foes. On the 3rd of
June the streets were choked with muti-
lated men, and amongst the many combats,
after the city was taken, between the
Roman soldiery and the foreigners, there
did not occur one example where the

THE LIBERATOR. 53

Romans had the worst of it in anything
like fair fight.

Of one point, therefore, the priesthood is
certain — that in every case of general insur-
rection the Roman army will go with the
people. This is the reason they are com-
pelled to hire foreign mercenaries, and why
the revenues of the " Vicegerent of Heaven "
are spent upon Zouaves, rifles, cartridges,
and kilos of gunpowder.

Silvio was received by the triad with
acclamations of joy. After saluting them,
he turned to Attilio, saying, " Our men are
at hand. I have left them hidden in the
shadows cast by the marble horses. They
but await our signal."

Then Attilio sprang up, saying, " Muzio
and I will go at once to the gaoler, and
secure the keys. You, Dentato, guide
Silvio and his men to the door of the cell,

and overpower the guard stationed before

• i »
it.

" So be it," replied Dentato ; " Scipio (the
dragoon who had introduced Silvio) shall
lead you to the gaoler's room ; but beware

T) 1 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Signer Pancaldo, he is a devil of a fellow
to handle."

"Leave me to manage him," replied
Attilio, and he hastily left the apartment,
preceded by Scipio and Muzio. Such an
attempt as they were about to make would
be a most difficult, if not an incredible
thing, in any other country, where more
respect is attached to Government and its
officers. In Rome little obedience is due
to a Government which, alas ! is opposed
to all that is pure and true.

Dentato, after summoning Silvio's men,
led them to the guards stationed at the
entrance to the cells. Silvio waited until
the sentinel turned his back upon them,
then, springing forward with the agility
that made him so successful when pursuing
the wild boar, he hurled the sentinel to the
ground, covering his mouth with his hand
to stifle any cry of alarm. The slight
scuffle aroused the sleepy quarter-guard,
but before they could even rub their eyes,
Silvio's men had gagged and bound them.
As they accomplished this, Attilio appeared

THE LIBERATOR. 55

with Muzio, convoying the reluctant gaoler
and his bunch of keys between them.

" Unlock !" commanded Attilio.

The gaoler obeyed with forced alacrity,
whereupon they entered a large vaulted
room, out of which opened, on every side,
doors leading to separate cells. At sight
of them, a soldier, the only inmate visible,
approached with a perplexed air.

"Where is Signor Manlio?" demanded
Attilio ; and Pancaldo felt the grip of the
young artist clutch his wrist like iron, and
noticed his right hand playing terribly with
the dagger-hilt.

" Manlio is here," said he.

" Then release him," cried Attilio.

The terrified gaoler attempted to unlock
the door, but some minutes passed before
his trembling hands allowed him to effect
this. Attilio, pushing him aside as the
bolts shot back, dashed open the door, and
called to Manlio to come forth.

Picture the sculptor's astonishment and
joy when he beheld Attilio, and realised
that he had come to release him from his

5C THE RULE OF THE MONK.

cruel and unjust incarceration. Attilio,
knowing they ought to lose no time in
leaving the palace, after returning his
friend's embrace, bade Muzio lock up the
guard in the cell. As soon as this was
accomplished, they led the gaoler between
them through the passages, passing on
their way the soldiers whom they had
previously bound, who glared upon them
with impotent rage, till they gained the
outer door in silence and safety. Dividing
into groups, they then set off at a quick
pace, in different directions. Attilio, Muzio,
and Manlio, however, retained possession a
little while of the gaoler, whom they made
to promenade with them, gagged and blind-
folded, until they thought their com-
panions were at a safe distance. They
then left him, and proceeded in the direc-
tion of the Porta Salaria, which leads into
the open country.

CHAPTEE X.

THE ORPHAN.

WHEN Silvio, with despair in his soul,
was leading the unhappy Camilla out of
the Colosseum towards her father's house,
not a word passed between them. He re-
garded her with tender pity, having loved
her ardently, and feeling that she was
comparatively innocent, heing, as she was,
the victim of deception and violence.

Onward they went in silence and sadness.
Silvio had abstained from visiting her home
since it had been so suddenly deserted by
Camilla, ancl as they neared it a presenti-
ment of a new sorrow took possession of
him. Turning out of the high road into a
lane, their meditations were broken in upon
by the barking of a dog. "Fido! Fido!"
cried Camilla, with more joyousness than
she had experienced for many, many

58 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

months; but, as if remembering suddenly
her abasement, she checked her quickened
step, and, casting down her eyes, stood
motionless, overwhelmed with shame.
Silvio had loved her before too dearly to
hate her now even for her guilt. Or if he
had ever felt bitterly against her, her
sudden appearance that night, wild with re-
morse and misery, had brought back some-
thing of the old feeling, and he would have
defended her now against a whole army.
He had sustained her very tenderly through
the walk from the Colosseum, and, although
silent, had been full of generous thoughts;
while she, timidly leaning on his strong
arm, had now and then learned, by a timid
glance, that he entertained pity for her
and not contempt.

But when she stopped and "trembled at
the sound of the house-dog's bark, Silvio,
fearing the return of a paroxysm of mad-
ness, touched her arm, saying, for the first
time, " Come, Camilla, it is your little Fido
welcoming you; he has recognised your
footstep."

THE ORPHAN. 59

Scarcely had he uttered these words
hefore the dog itself appeared. After paus-
ing a moment in his rush, as if uncertain,
he sprang, towards Camilla, howling, and
jumping, and making frantic efforts to
lick her face and hands. Such a re-
ception would have touched a heart of
stone.

Camilla burst into tears as she stooped to
caress the affectionate animal ; hut nature
was exhausted, and she fell senseless on
the damp ground. Silvio, after covering
her with his mantle, to protect her
from the cold morning air — for daylight
was already dawning — went to seek her
father.

The barking of the dog had aroused the
household, and the young hunter perceived,
as he approached, a boy standing on the
threshold, looking cautiously around, as if
distrusting so early a visitor.

" Marcellino," he shouted; whereat the
boy, recognising the friendly familiar voice,
ran to him, and threw his arms around
his neck.

(30 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

"Where is your godfather, my boy?"
Silvio asked; but receiving no response
save tears, lie said again, " Where is Mar-
cello?"

"He is dead," replied the sobbing
child.

"Dead!" exclaimed Silvio, sinking upon
a stone, overcome with surprise and emo-
tion, while the tears rolled down his
manly cheeks, and mingled with those
of the child, who lay upon his bosom.

"0 God!" he cried aloud; "canst thou
permit the desires of a monster to cause
such suffering to so many and to such
precious human creatures ? Did I not
feel the hope that the day of my beloved
country's release from priestly tyranny was
at hand, I would plunge my dagger into
my breast, and never again behold the
light of day."

Eecovering himself with a violent effort,
he returned, accompanied by Marcellino, to
Camilla, whom he found in a disturbed and
restless sleep. " Poor girl ! poor ruined
orphan ! " murmured Silvio, as he gazed

THE ORPHAN. 61

upon her pale and wasted beauty ; " why
should I arouse you? You will awake
but too soon to a life of tears, misery,
and repentance !"

CHAPTER XI.

THE FLIGHT.

WE left Attilio, Silvio, and Manlio on tlieir
way to the suburbs. Attilio had determined
that the house lately tenanted by poor Mar-
cello, and still inhabited by Camilla, would
be a safe hiding-place for the liberated
sculptor, who could scarcely be prevailed
upon not to return at once to his own
home, so great was his desire to behold
his cherished wife and daughter.

As they trudged on, each busy with his
own thoughts, Attilio turned over in his
mind the visit of Gianni to the studio, for
the information Sergeant Dentato had given
him relative to the arrest confirmed his
suspicion that the Cardinal was plotting
villany against his beloved Clelia. After
some reflection, he concluded to impart
his suspicion to Manlio, who, when he

THE FLIGHT. 63

had recovered from his first surprise and
horror, declared his belief that Attilio's
surmises were correct, and that it was
necessary at once to hasten home in order
to preserve his darling from infamy.

Attilio, however, aided by Muzio, at last
prevailed upon him to conceal himself, pro-
mising to go and inform the ladies of the
designs against them as soon as he had
placed the father in safety.

Attilio, in truth, though so young, had
the talent of influencing and guiding those
with whom he came in contact, and the
soundness of his judgment was frequently
acknowledged, even by men advanced in
years. Though reluctant to part with
them, still Manlio felt that he could not
do better than to entrust the care of his
dear ones to this generous youth.

The day was beginning to dawn as they
neared the cottage at the end of the lane,
and, just as on the occasion of Camilla's
return on the night of the meeting, Fido
barked furiously at their approach. At
Silvio's voice, the dog was quieted instantly,

04 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and again Marcellino met him at the door.
Silvio, after saluting the lad, asked where
Camilla was. " I will show you," was the
answer, and leading the way, he took them
to an eminence near the cottage, from
which they beheld, at a little distance, a
cemetery. " She is there," said Marcellino,
pointing with his finger; "she passes all
her time, from morn till eve, at her father's
grave, praying and weeping. You will find
her there at all hours now." Silvio, with-
out a word to his companions, who followed
slowly, strode on towards the spot indicated,
which was close by, and soon came in view
of Camilla, clad in deep mourning, kneeling
beside a mound of newly-turned earth. She
was so absorbed, that the approach of the
three friends was unperceived. Silvio,
deeply moved, watched her, without daring
to speak, and neither of the others broke
the silence. Presently she rose, and clasp-
ing her hands in agony, cried bitterly, "Oh,
my father, my father, I was the cause of
your death !" " Camilla!" whispered Silvio,
coming close up. She turned, and gazing

THE FLIGHT. 05

at them with a sweet but vacant smile, as if
her lover's face brought her some solace
in her heavy sorrow, passed on in the
direction of her home, for the poor girl
had not yet regained her reason.

Silvio touched her on the arm, as he
overtook her, saying, " See, Camilla, I have
brought you a visitor ; and if any one should
ask who this gentleman is, tell them he
is an antiquary who is studying the ruins
around Borne." This was the role which
Attilio had persuaded Manlio to play, until
some plan for the future had been formed.
After a short consultation as to the precau-
tions they were to observe, Attilio bade
them farewell, and returned to the city
alone, leaving behind him, with many a
thought of pity and stern indignation, this
father's humble household, devastated by
the devices of the foul priest.

VOL. T.

CHAPTEK XII.

THE PETITION.

must return to the sculptor's domicile,
where two days had elapsed after the arrest
of Manlio ; nor had Attilio, who was gone
in search of him, as yet appeared ; so that
the family were reduced to the greatest
anxiety.

" What can they be doing with your good
father ? " repeated constantly the weeping
mother to her daughter. " Although a
Liberal, he has never mixed with any one
whose principles would compromise him.
He hates the priests, I know, and they
deserve to be hated for their vices, but
he has never talked about it to' any one
but me."

Clelia shed no tears, but her grief at her
father's detention was almost deeper than
that of her mother; and at last, saddened by

THE PETITION. 67

these plaints, she said, with energy, " Weep
no more, mother ; tears are of no avail ; we
must act. We must discover where my
father is concealed, and, as Monna Aurelia
has advised, we must endeavour to procure
his release. Besides, Attilio is in search of
him, and I know he will not desist until
he has helped him and us, if he has not
already done so."

A knock interrupted Clelia's consolatory
words. She ran to the door, and opening-
it, admitted a neighbour, whose name has
just been mentioned, Monna Aurelia, an
old and tried friend.

" Good da}r," said she, as she entered the
sitting-room with a cheerful countenance.

" Grood day," answered Silvia, with a faint
smile, wiping her eyes.

" I bring you something, neighbour ; our
friend Cassio, whom I consulted about your
husband's affair, has drawn up this petition
on stamped paper, supplicating the cardinal
minister to set Manlio at liberty. He says
you must sign it, and had better present it
in person to his Eminence."

i 2

08 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Silvia took the paper, and looked at it
doubtfully. She felt a strong aversion to
this proposition. Could she throw herself at
the feet of a person whom she despised, to
implore his mercy? Yet perhaps her
husband's life was at stake ; he might even
now be suffering insults, privations, even
torture. This thought struck a chill to
the heart of the wife, and, rising, she said
decidedly, " I will go with it."

Aurelia offered to accompany her, and
in less than half an hour the three women
were on the road to the palace.

At nine o'clock that same morning, as it
happened, the Cardinal Procopio, Minister
of State, had been informed by the quest or
of the Quirinale of Manlio's escape.

Great was the fury of the prelate at the
unwelcome news, and he commanded the
immediate arrest and confinement of the
directors, officers on guard, dragoons, and of
all, in fact, who had been in charge of the
prison on the previous night.

Despatching the questor with this order,
he summoned Gianni to his presence.

THE PETITION. 61)

" Why, in the devil's name, was that
accursed sculptor confined in the Quirinale,
instead of being sent to the Castle of St.
Angelo ? " he inquired.

" Your Eminence," replied Gianni, con-
ceitedl}r, " should have entrusted such im-
portant affairs to me, and not to a set
of idiots and rascals who are open to
corruption."

" Dost thou come here to annoy me by
reflections, sirrah?" blustered the priest.
" Search in that turnip head of thine for
means to bring the girl to me, or the palace
cellars shall hear thee squeak thy self-praise
to the tune of the cord or the pincers."

Gianni knew that these fearful threats
were not vain ones, and that, incredible as
it may appear to outsiders, tortures too
horrible to describe daily take place in the
Eome of the present day. Meekly sub-
mitting to the storm, therefore, with down-
cast head, the mutilated wretch — for he was
one of those maimed from their youth to
sing falsettoes in the choir of St. Peter —
pondered how to act.

70 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

"Lift up thine eyes, knave, if thou
darest, and tell me whether or no, after
causing me to spend such pains and money
in this attempt, thou hast the hope to
succeed?"

Tremblingly Gianni raised his eyes to
his master's face as he articulated with
difficulty the words, " I hope to succeed."

But just as he spoke, to his considerable
relief, a bell rang, announcing the arrival
of a visitor. A servant in the Cardinal's
colours entered, and inquired if his Emi-
nence would be pleased to see three women
who wished to present a petition.

The Cardinal, waving his dismissal to
the still agitated Gianni, gave a nod of
assent, and assumed an unctuous expression,
as the three women were ushered into his
presence.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER.

EOME is the museum of the fine arts, the
great curiosity-shop of the world. There
are collected the ruins of the ancient
societies, temples, columns, statues, the
remains of Italian and Grecian genius,
the great works of Praxiteles, Phidias,
Raphael, Michael Angelo, and a hundred
masters. Fountains, from which arise
marine colossi, chiefly, alas ! in ruins,
meet the eye on all sides. The stranger
is struck with amazement and admiration
at the sight of these gigantic works of
art, upon many of which are engraved
the mighty battles of a wonderful by-
gone age. It is the fault of the priest
that their beauty is marred by endless
mitres and superstitious signs. But they
are still marvellous and beautiful, and ifc
was among them that Julia, the beautiful

72 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

daughter of England, was constantly to be
found. She had resided for several years in
this city of sublime memorials, and daily
passed the greater part of her time in
sketching all that to her cultivated taste

O

appeared most worthy of imitation and
study. Michael Angelo was her especially
favoured maestro, and she might frequently
be seen sitting for hours before his colossal
statue of Moses, rapt in the labour of depict-
ing that brow, upon which, to her vivid
imagination, sat an air of majestic greatness
that appeared almost supernatural. Born
and bred in free and noble England, she
had separated herself voluntarily from lov-
ing and beloved friends, that she might
thus wander undisturbed among the ob-
jects of her idolatry. Unexpectedly, her
pursuits had been interrupted by a
stronger feeling than art. She had en-
countered Muzio many times in the studio
of the sculptor Manlio; and, poor and appa-
rently humble as he was. Julia had found
under the ragged garb of a painter's model
her ideal of the proud race of the Quirites.

THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER. 73

Yes ! though obscure, still Muzio was
beloved by this strange English girl. He
was poor, but what cared she for his
poverty.

And Muzio, did he know and return this
generous love ?

Ah ! in truth ; but, although he would
have given his life to save hers, he con-
cealed all consciousness of her interest in
him, and allowed not a single action to
betray it, though he longed fervently for
occasion to render her some trifling ser-
vice ; and, at length, the opportunity came.
As Julia was returning from Manlio's
stucJio, some few days previous to his
arrest, accompanied by her faithful old
nurse, two drunken soldiers rushed upon
her from a by-way, and dragged her
between them some little distance, before
Muzio, who secretly kept her in view during
such transits, could come to her succour.
No sooner had he reached them, than he
struck one ruffian to the earth, seeing which,
his fellow ran away. The terrified Julia
thanked him with natural emotion, and

74 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

besought him not to leave her until she
reached her own door. Muzio gladly ac-
cepted the welcome honour of the escort,
and felt supremely happy when, at their
parting, Julia gave him the favour of her
hand, and rewarded him with a priceless
smile. From this evening, Muzio's dagger
was consecrated to her safety, and he vowed
that never again should she be insulted in
the streets of Rome.

It befell that the same day upon which
Silvia went to the palace Corsini to present
her petition, Julia was paying one of her
visits to the studio. Arriving there, she
was informed by a lad in attendance of
all that had occurred. Whilst pondering
over the ominous tale, Attilio entered in
quest of the ladies, and from him the Eng-
lish girl learned the particulars of Manlio's
escape. His narration finished, Julia, in
turn, recounted to him all that the youth
had imparted to her concerning the pre-
sentation of the petition.

Attilio was much distressed, and could
with difficulty be restrained from going

THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER. 75

directly to the palace in search of Silvia and
her daughter. This would have been very
imprudent, and therefore Julia offered, as
she had access at all times to the palace, to
go to the Cardinal's house, and ascertain
the cause of the now prolonged absence of
the mother and daughter, promising to
return and tell him the result.

Attilio, thoroughly worn out with ex-
citement and fatigue, yielded to Spartaco's
invitation to take some rest, whilst the
boy related to him the particulars of what
had passed since he left them to carry
out the rescue of his friend.

CHAPTER XIV.

SICCIO.

LET us return to the year 1849, to the fatal
scene in which the young Muzio was robbed
of his patrimony.

There was an old retainer named Siccio,
already introduced, who had served longer
in the house of Pompeo than any other ; he
had, in fact, been born in it, and had received
very many acts of kindness there. These
benefits he repaid by faithful love to the
orphan Muzio, whom he regarded almost
as tenderly as if he had in reality been
his own child. He was good, and rather
simple, but not so much so as to be blind
to the pernicious influence which Father
Ignazio had acquired over his indulgent
mistress, which he feared would be used
to the injury of her grandchild.

But the guardian of souls, the spiritual
physician, the confessor of the lady 01 the

SICCIO. t i

house ! what servant would dare openly to
doubt him, or cross his path ? Confession,
too, that terrible arm of priestcraft, that
diabolical device for seduction, that subtle
means of piercing the most sacred do-
mestic secrets, and keeping in chains the
superstitious sex ! How could Siccio dare
openly to fight against such weapons ?

The confessor was, however, aware of the
good servant's mistrust, and therefore caused
him to be discharged a few days after the
Signora Virginia breathed her last, though
not before he had overheard a certain dia-
logue between Father Ignazio and Sister
Flavia.

"What is to be done with the child?"
the nun had asked.

"He must pack off to the Foundling,"
replied he ; " there he will be safe enough
from the evil of this perverted century and
its heretical doctrines. Besides, we shall
have no difficulty in keeping an eye upon
him," he continued, with a meaning look,
which she returned, causing Siccio, who
was unseen, to prick up his ears.

78 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

He straightway resolved not to leave the
innocent and helpless child in the hands of
these fiends, and contrived, a few nights after
his dismissal, to ohtain an entrance to the
house by the excuse that he had left some
of his property behind. Watching his op-
portunity, he stole into the nursery, where
he found the neglected child huddled in a
corner crying with cold and hunger. Siccio,
taking him in his arms, soothed him until
he fell asleep, when he glided cautiously out
of the house into the street, and hired a
conveyance to carry them to a lodging he
had previously engaged at some distance
from the city. To elude suspicion and pur-
suit he had cleverly concealed the little
Muzio in a bundle of clothes, and, alight-
ing from the vehicle before he arrived at
his dwelling, quietly unwound and aroused
the child, who trotted at his side, and was
introduced by him to his landlady as his
grandson.

During the lifetime of Muzio's father,
who was an amateur antiquary, Siccio had
gained a considerable knowledge of the

siccio. 79

history of the ruins around Borne by at-
tending him in his researches. This
knowledge, as he could not take service
as a domestic, on account of his unwilling-
ness to part from the child, he determined
to turn to account, and so become a
regular cicerone. His pay for services in
this capacity was so small, that he could
with difficulty provide for himself and his
little charge even the bare necessaries of
existence. This mode of living he pursued
however for some years, until the infirmities
of old age creeping upon him, he found it
harder than ever to procure food and shelter
of the commonest kind. What could he
now do? He looked at Muzio's graceful
form, and an inspiration broke upon him.
Yes, he would brave the danger, and take
him to the city, for he felt that the artists
and sculptors would rejoice to obtain such a
model. The venture was made, and Siccio
was elated and gratified beyond measure at
the admiration Muzio, now in his fifteenth
year, called forth from the patrons of Eoman
ragazzi.

M) THE RULE OF THE MONK.

For a while they were enabled to live in
comparative comfort. Siccio now dared to
reveal to him the secret of his birth, and the
manner in which he had been despoiled, as
the old man at any rate suspected, of his in-
heritance. Great was the indignation of the
youth, and still greater his gratitude to the
good Siccio, who had toiled so uncomplain-
ingly for him, but from this time he steadily
refused to sit as a model. Work he would,
even menial work he did not despise, and he
might have been seen frequently in the
different studios moving massive blocks of
marble, for his strength far exceeded that of
other youths of his own age. He also now
and then assumed the duties of a cicerone,
when the aged Siccio was unable to leave
the house from sickness. His youthful
beauty often induced strangers to give him
a gratuity; but as he was never seen to
hold out his hand, the lazzaroni of Rome
called him ironically " Signer."

In spite of his efforts Muzio was unable,
as Siccio's feebleness increased, to provide
for all their wants ; and he became gloomy

siccio. 81

and morose. One remarkable evening, when
Siccio was sitting alone, shortly after Julia's
adventure, a woman closely veiled entered
his mean little room, and placing a heavy
purse upon the table, she said —

" Here is something, my worthy friend,
which may be useful to you. Scruple not to
employ it, and seek not to discover the name
of the donor, or should you by chance learn
it let it be your own secret." And thus,
without giving the astonished old man time
to recover his speech, she went out, closing
the door behind her.

VOL. i. G

CHAPTEE XV.

THE CORSINI PALACE.

"Tnis is truly an unexpected blessing — a
fountain in the desert," thought the Car-
dinal, as the three women were ushered into
the audience-chamber : " Providence serves
me better than these knaves by whom I
am surrounded." Casting an undisguised
look of admiration at Clelia, who stood
modestly behind her mother, he said aloud,
" Let the petition be brought forward."

Monna Aurelia, considerately taking the
document from Silvia, advanced with it,
and presented it on her knees.

After perusing it with apparent atten-
tion, the Cardinal addressed Aurelia, saying,
" So you are the wife of that Manlio who
takes upon himself to shelter and protect
the enemies of the state, of his Holiness
the Pope?"

."It is I who am the wife of Signor

THE CORSINI PALACE. 83

Manlio, your Eminence," said Silvia, ad-
vancing. " This lady," pointing to Aurelia,
" kindly offered to appear before your Emi-
nence, and assure you that neither my
husband nor I have ever meddled with
politics, and that we are persons of un-
questioned honesty."

"Unquestioned honesty!" repeated the
Cardinal, in simulated anger. " Why,
then, as you are so very honest, do you
first shelter heretics and enemies of the
state, and then assist them to escape in
such an unpardonable manner ? "

" To escape !" exclaimed Clelia, who had
hitherto preserved her presence of mind.
" Then my father is no longer confined in
this dreadful place" — and a flush of joy
spread itself over her lovely features.

"Yes, he has escaped; but ere long he
will be re-taken, and must answer for his
double crime," said the Cardinal.

These words gave a blow to Silvia's new-
born hopes, and, what with surprise, fear,
and excitement, she fell back into her
daughter's arms in a swoon.

G 2

84 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

The Cardinal, hardened to such scenes, at
once determined to take advantage of it, so,
summoning some servants, he ordered them
to convey the fainting woman and her
friends to another room, where proper reme-
dies could be applied to restore the stricken
wife. As they made their exit, he rubbed
his soft hands gleefully, saying to himself,
" Ah, my pretty one ! you shall not leave
the palace until you have paid me a fee."
He then sent for Gianni, who, recognising
the trio at their entry, had remained at
hand, as he divined his services would be
needed. When he presented himself, his
master chuckled out —

" Ebben, Signer Gianni ! Providence
beats your boasted ability out and out."

Gianni, knowing that all was sunshine
again when he was thus dignified by the
title "Signor," answered, "Have I not
always said your Eminence was born under
a lucky star?"

" Well," continued the profane Cardinal,
" since Providence favours me, it now only
rests with you, Gianni, to finish the matter

THE CORSINI PALACE. 85

off." Then he continued, "Follow the
women, and see that every respect is paid
them; and when they are calmed, direct
Father Ignazio to send for the elder woman
and the wife of the sculptor, under pretence
of questioning them about his escape, that
I may have an opportunity of conversing
alone with the incomparable Clelia."

Bowing profoundly, the scoundrel de-
parted to execute his dissolute master's
commands.

As he passed out, a lackey entered, an-
nouncing that " La Signora Inglese "
wished to see his Eminence on business.

" Introduce her," said Procorpio, stroking
his chin complacently ; for he congratulated
himself, in spite of the interruption, on
his good fortune, as he admired the young
Englishwoman excessively.

Julia greeted him frankly as an acquaint-
ance, holding out her hand in the English
fashiop, which he took, expressing in warm
terms, as he led her to a seat, his delight
at seeing her.

"And to what am I to attribute the

86 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

felicity of again receiving you so soon under
iny roof? This room," he continued, "so
lately brightened by your presence, has a
renewed grace for me now."

Julia seated herself, and replied, gravely,
for she was slightly discomposed by the
Cardinal's flattery, " Your Eminence is too
condescending. As you well know, my
former object in coming to the palace was
to crave leave to copy some of the chefs-
d'ceuvre with which it is adorned ; bub
to-day I am here on a different errand."

The Cardinal, drawing a chair to her
side and seating himself, said, " And may I
inquire its nature, beautiful lady ? " placing,
as he spoke, his hands upon hers with an
insinuating pressure.

Julia, resenting the Cardinal's familiarity,
drew her chair back ; but, as he again ap-
proached, she stood up, and placed it be-
tween them, saying, as he attempted to
rise, and with a look that made him flinch,
' You surely forget yourself, Monseigneur ;
be seated, or I must leave you."

The prelate, profoundly abashed by die

THE CORSINI PALACE. 87

dignity of the English girl, obeyed, and she
continued, " My object is to obtain in-
formation of the wife and daughter of the
sculptor Manlio, who, I am told, came to
the palace some hours ago to present a
petition to your Eminence."

" They came here, but have already left,"
stammered Procopio, as soon as he had
recovered from his surprise.

" Is it long since they quitted your
Eminence ? " asked Julia.

"But a few minutes," was the reply.

" I presume they have left the palace,
then?"

" Assuredly," affirmed he, unblushingly.

Julia, with a gesture of incredulity,
bowed, and took her leave.

What is there perfect in the world? The
English nation is by no means exempt from
imperfection ; yet the English are the only
people who can be compared with the
ancient Romans, for they resemble each
other in the splendid selfishness of their
virtues and their vices.

Egotists and conquerors, the history of

88 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

both abounds in crime committed either in
their own dominions, or in those countries
which they invaded and subdued. Many are
the nations they have overthrown to satisfy
their boundless thirst for gold and power.

Yet who dare deny that the Britons, with
all their faults, have contributed immensely
to the civilisation and social advancement
of mankind? They have laid the grand
foundations of a new ideal of humanity,
erect, inflexible, majestic, free ; obeying no
masters but the laws which they them-
selves have made — no kings but those
whom they themselves control.

By untiring patience and indomitable
legality, this people has known how to
reconcile government and order with the
liberty of a self-ruling community.

England has become a sanctuary, an
inviolable refuge, for the fugitive and
unfortunate of all other nations. Those
proscribed by tyrants, and the tyrants who
have proscribed them, flee alike to her
hospitable shores, and find shelter, on the
single condition of taking their place as

THE CORSINI PALACE. 89

citizens among citizens, and yielding obe-
dience to the sovereign laws.

England, too, be it ever remembered,
first proclaimed to the world the emancipa-
tion of the slave, and her people willingly
submitted to an increased taxation in order
to carry out this glorious act in all her
colonies. Her descendants in America
have, after a long and bloody struggle
between freedom and oligarchy, banished
slavery also for ever from the New World.

Lastly, to England Italy is largely
indebted for her reconstruction, by reason
of that resolute proclamation of fair play
and non-intervention in the Straits of
Messina in 1860.

To France Italy is also, indeed, indebted,
since so many of her heroic soldiers fell in
the Italian cause in the battles of Solferino
and Magenta. She has also profited, like
the rest of the world, by the writings of the
great minds of France, and by her principles
of justice and freedom. To France, more-
over, we owe, in a great measure, the aboli-
tion of piracy in the Mediterranean.

90 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

France marched, in truth, for some cen-
turies alone, and as the leader in civilisation.

The time was when she proclaimed and
propagated liberty to the world ; but she
has now, alas ! fallen, and is crouching
before the image of a fictitious greatness,
while her ruler endeavours to cajole the
nation which he professed to emancipate,
and employs his troops to deprive Italy of
the freedom which he helped to give her.

Let us hope that, for the welfare of
humanity, France will, ere long, resume
her proper position, and, united with Eng-
land, once again use her sublime power
to put down violence and corruption, and
raise the standard of universal liberty and
progress.

CHAPTEE XVI.

ENGLISH JULIA.

IN Siccio's little room there was gathered
that same evening a group of three persons
who would have gladdened the heart and
eyes of any judge of manly and womanly
beauty.

Is it a mere caprice of chance to be born
beautiful ? The spirit is not always reflected
in the form. I have known many a noble
heart enshrined in an unpleasing body.
Nevertheless, man is drawn naturally to the
beautiful. A fine figure and noble features
instinctively call forth not only admiration,
but confidence ; and every one rejoices in
having a handsome father, a beautiful mo-
ther, fine children ; or a leader resembling
Achilles rather than Thersites. On the
other hand, how much injustice and mor-
tification are often borne on account of

92 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

deformity, and how many are the wounds
inflicted by thoughtless persons on those
wrongly afflicted by their undisguised con-
tempt or more cruel pity.

Julia, for she it is who shone the love-
liest of our triad, had just returned from
her visit to the palace, and related to her
auditors, Attilio and Muzio, what had
transpired.

" Yes ! " she exclaims, " he told me they
were gone ; but you see how powerful is
gold to obtain the truth, even in that
den of vice ! The ladies are there de-
tained. I bought the fact from one of his
people."

Attilio, much disturbed, passed his hand
over his brow as he paced and re-paced
the floor.

Julia, seeing how perturbed in spirit he
was by her discovery, went to him, and,
placing her hand with a gentle pressure
upon his shoulder, besought him to be
calm, saying that he needed all possible
self-control and presence of mind to pro-
cure his betrothed's release.

ENGLISH JULIA. 93

" You are right, Signora," said Muzio,
who until now had remained silent, but
watchful; "you are ever right."

The triad had already discussed a plan
of rescue ; and Muzio proposed to let
Silvio know, and to engage him to meet
them with some of his companions at ten
o'clock.

Muzio was noble-minded, and though he
loved the beautiful stranger with all the
force of his passionate Southern nature, he
felt no thought of jealousy as he thus pre-
pared to leave her alone with his attractive
friend.

Nor did Julia run any danger from her
warm feeling of compassion for Attilio,
for her love for Muzio, though as yet
unspoken, was pure and inalienable — a love
that no change of fortune, time, or even
death, could destroy. She had but lately
learned the story of his birth and misfor-
tunes, and this, be sure, had not served to
lessen it.

" No," she replied ; " I will bid you both
adieu for the present. At ten o'clock I shall

94 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

await you in a carriage near the Piazza, and
I will receive the ladies, and carry them,
when you have liberated them, to a place
of safety."

So saying, she beckoned to her nurse to
follow, and departed to make the necessary
arrangements for the flight of the sculptor's
family, whose cause she had magnani-
mously espoused, ignoring completely the
personal danger she was incurring.

CHAPTEE XVII.

RETRIBUTION.

JUSTICE ! sacred word, how art thou
abused by the powerful upon earth ! Was
not Christ, the just one, crucified in the
name of justice ? Was not Galileo put to
the torture in the name of justice? And
are not the laws of this unjust Babel,
falsely called civilised Europe, made and
administered in the name of justice ? Aye,
in Europe, where the man willing to
work dies of hunger, and the idle and
profligate flaunt in luxury and splendour !
— in Europe, where a few families govern the
nations, and keep them in a chronic state of
warfare under the high sounding names of
justice, loyalty, military glory, and the like !
And in the name of justice there in the
palace sit Procopio and Ignazio. Outside are
the " rabble " — Attilio, forsooth, Muzio, and

96 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Silvio, with a score of the Three Hundred,
who mean to have justice after their own
fashion. The hearts of these common people
are glad and gay, as on the eve of a feast.
It is true they beat, but it is in confident
hope, for the hour of their duty is near.
They pace the Lungara in parties of twos
and threes, to avoid suspicion, awaiting the
striking of the clock. Whilst they linger
outside, we will enter, and take a retrospect.
When Gianni summoned Aurelia and
Silvio to attend Father Ignazio, Clelia,
suspecting treachery, drew a golden stiletto
from her hair, and secreted it in her belt,
that it might be at hand in the event of
her needing it to defend herself.

The prelate, meantime, having attired
himself in his richest robes, in the hope
that their magnificence might have an effect
upon the simple girl, prepared, as he face-
tiously termed it, "to summon the fortress."
Opening the door of the apartment in which
Clelia was anxiously awaiting her mother's
return, he entered with a false benignancy
upon his face.

RETRIBUTION. 9?

" You must pardon us," lie said, " for
having detained you so long, my daughter,
but I wished to assure you in person that
no harm shall befall your father, as well as,"
he continued — and here he caught up her
hand — " to tell you, most lovely of women,
that since I beheld you first my heart has
not ceased to burn with the warmest love
for you."

Clelia, startled by the words, and the
passionate look which the Cardinal fixed
upon her, instinctively drew back a little,
so as to leave more space, and place a small
table between them.

A shameful burst of insult and odious
entreaty followed this movement. In vain
did Procopio plead, urging that her con-
sent alone could procure her father's pardon.
Clelia continued to preserve her look of
horror, and her majestic scorn, contriving
by her movements to keep the table be-
tween them. Enraged beyond measure,
the Cardinal made a sign to his creatures,
Ignazio and Gianni, who were near at hand,
to enter.

VOL. i. H

98 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Clelia, comprehending her danger, snatched
forth her dagger, and exclaimed in an in-
dignant voice, " Touch me at your peril !
rather than submit to your infamous desires
I will plunge this poniard into my heart !"

The libidinous prelate, not understanding
such virtue, approached to wrest the weapon
from the Eoman girl, hut received a gash
upon his palm, as she snatched it free, and
stood upon the defensive, with majestic
anger and desperation. He called to his
satellites, and they closed like a band of
fiends about the maiden ; nor was it till
their blood was drawn by more than one
thrust from her despair, that Gianni caught
the wrist of Clelia, as she strove to plunge
the knife into her own heart, while Father
Ignazio passed swiftly behind her, and
seized her left hand, motioning to Gianni
to hold the right fast, and the Cardinal
himself threw his arms around her. The
heroic girl was thus finally deprived of
her weapon. This achieved, they proceeded
to drag her towards an alcove, which was
concealed behind a curtain of tapestry.

RETRIBUTION. 99

At this instant, happily for our heroine,
there was a sudden crash in the vestibule,
and as her assailants turned their heads
in the direction of the sound, two manly
forms, terrible in their fiery wrath and
grace, rushed forward. The first, Attilio,
flew to his beloved, who, from revulsion of
feeling, was becoming rapidly insensible, and
tore her from the villains ; while the prelate
and his accomplices yielded their hold with
a cry, and endeavoured to escape. This
Muzio prevented by barring the way; and
bidding Silvio, and some of his men, who
arrived at this juncture, to surround them,
he drew forth a cord, and, after gagging the
three scoundrels, he commenced binding the
arms of the affrighted prelate, his friends
similarly treating Ignazio and the trembling
tool Gianni. Many and abject were the
gestures of these miserable men for mercy,
but none was shown by their infuriated
captors. The prayers and curses of the
Cardinal were choked with his own mantle ;
and Muzio did* not refrain, as Father
Ignazio writhed under the pressure of the

H 2

100 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

cord, from reminding him of his villany in
robbing a helpless child of his lawful in-
heritance.

At dawn three bodies, suspended from a
window of the Corsini palace, were seen by
the awakening people ; and a paper was
found upon the breast of the Cardinal,
with these words : " So perish all those
who have polluted the metropolis of the
world with falsehood, corruption, and
deceit; and turned it into a sewer and
.a stew."

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE EXILE.

THE sun of that avenging morning was
beginning to shed its rays upon the few
stragglers in the Forum who, with pale
squalid faces betokening hunger and misery,
shook their rags free of dust as they rose
from their unrefreshed slumbers, when a
carriage containing four women rolled
through the suburbs. It passed rapidly
along towards those vast uninhabited plains,
where little is to be seen except, here and
there, a wooden cross, reminding the tra-
veller unpleasantly that on that spot a
murder has been committed.

Arriving at the little house already twice
mentioned, its occupants alighted ; and who
shall describe the joy of that meeting.
Julia and Aurelia contemplated in silence
the reunion of the now happy Manlio with

102 THE RULE OF THE M.ONK.

his wife and daughter, for all the prisoners
of the wicked palace were free.

Camilla also watched their tears of glad-
ness, but without any clear comprehension.
Could she have known the fate of the
Cardinal, it might perchance have restored
her reason. After a thousand questions
had been asked and answered, Manlio ad-
dressed Julia, saying —

" Exile, alas ! is all that remains for us.
This atrocious Government cannot endure ;
but until it is annihilated we must absent
ourselves from our home and friends."

"Yes, yes! you must fly!" Julia said.
" But it will not be long, I trust, ere you
will be able to return to Rome, and find
her cleansed from the slavery under which
she now groans. My yacht is lying at
Porto d'Anzo; we will make all haste to
gain it, and I hope to see you embark
safely in the course of a few hours."

A yacht ! I hear some of my Italian
readers cry. What part of a woman's
belongings can this be ? A yacht, then, is
a small vessel in which the sea-loving and

THE EXILE. 103

wealthy British take their pleasure on the
ocean, for they fear not the storm, the
heat of the torrid zone, nor the cold of the
frozen ocean. Albion's sons, aye, and her
daughters too, leave their comfortable fire-
sides, and find life, health, strength, and
happiness in inhaling the briny air on board
their own beautiful craft in pursuit of en-
joyment and knowledge. France, Spain, and
Italy have not this little word " yacht "
in their dictionaries. Their rich men dare
not seek their pleasure upon the waves —
they give themselves to the foolish luxuries
of great cities, and hence is it that names
like Rodney and Nelson are not in their
histories. Britannia has always loved and
" ruled the waves " for centuries. Her
wooden walls have been her inviolable
defence. Long may her new iron-sides
and ramparts prove the same, and pro-
tect her hospitable shores against foreign
foes !

But a yacht is a strange thing for a
woman to possess. True, but English
Julia in childhood was of delicate con-

104 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

stitution; the physicians prescribed a sea
voyage, and her opulent parents equipped
a pleasure- vessel for her use. Thus Julia
became so devoted to the blue waves that,
even when the balmy air of Italy had re-
stored her to robust health, she continued,
when inclination disposed her, to make
little voyages of romance, discovery, and
freedom in the waters of the Mediterranean.
Thus it was that she could offer so timely
a refuge to the family of the sculptor.

CHAPTEE XIX.

THE BATHS OF CARACALLA.

IMAGINE the consternation in Rome on the
15th of February, the day following the
tragic death of the Cardinal Procopio
and his two ahettors. Great, indeed, was
the agitation of the city when the three
bodies were seen dangling from the upper
window of the palace. The rumour spread
rapidly, and the immense crowd under the
facade increased more and more, until a
battalion of foreign soldiers, sent for by the
terrified priests, appeared in the Lungara,
and driving the people back, surrounded
and entered the palace. To tell the truth,
the soldiers laughed sometimes at the jests,
coarse but witty, which were flung by the
mob at the three corpses as they com-
menced hauling them up. Many were
the bitter things that passed below.

100 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

" Let them down head over heels,"
shouted one ; " your work will be finished
the sooner."

"Play the devil-fish steadily, that they
may not slip from the hook," hallooed
another.

By-and-by the cord to which the cor-
pulent body of the prelate was attached
broke as the soldiers attempted to hoist it
up, and hoarser than ever were the shouts
of laughter with which it was greeted as it
fell with a heavy shock upon the pavement.

Muzio, who was surveying the avenging
spectacle, turned to Silvio, saying, with a
shudder, " Let us away ; this laughter is
not to my taste now they have paid their
debt."

In truth, Pasquin is almost the only real
survivor of ancient Rome. Would that
our people possessed the gravity and force
of those times, when our forefathers elected
the great dictators ; or bought and sold, at a
high price, the lands upon which Hannibal
was at the time being encamped. But it
must be long before their souls can be

THE .BATHS OF CARACALLA. 107

freed from the plague of priestly corruption,
and before they can once more be worthy
of their ancient fame and name.

" We must have patience with them,"
observed Silvio. " Slavery reduces man to
the level of the beast. These priests have
themselves inculcated the rude mockery
which we hear. At least, it could have
no fitter objects than those dead carcases.
Eeproach not the people to-day — mud is
good enough for dead dogs."

Thus discoursing, the friends made their
way through the crowd, and separated,
having first appointed to meet at the end
of the week in the studio of Attilio.

On the day in question they found the
young artist at home, and gave him a
detailed account of what they had wit-
nessed under the palace windows. It was
the time for the re-assembling of the Three
Hundred, but, before setting out to meet
their associates at the Baths of Caracalla,
they lay down to rest for a few hours ;
and while they slumber we will give some
account of the" place of assignation.

108 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Masters of the world, and wealthy beyond
compute from its manifold spoils, the ancient
Romans gave themselves up, in the later days
of the Eepublic, to fashion, luxuriousness,
and excesses of all kinds. The toils of the
field — whether of battle or of agriculture —
although they had conduced to make them
hardy and healthy before their triumphs,
had now become distasteful and odious.
Their limbs, rendered effeminate by a new
and fatal voluptuousness, grew at last un-
equal even to the weight of their arms,
and they chose out the stoutest from
among their slaves to serve as soldiers.
The foreign people by whom they were
surrounded failed not to note the advan-
tage which time and change were preparing
for them over their dissolute masters. They
rose with Goth and Ostrogoth to free them-
selves from the heavy yoke. They fell
upon the queenly city on all sides, dis-
crowned her of her imperial diadem, and
bore away her uncounted riches.

Such was the fate of that gigantic em-
pire, which fell, as all powers ought to

THE BATHS OF CARACALLA. 109

fall which have been hased on violence
and injustice.

One of the chief imported luxuries of
the degenerate Romans was the thermae, or
baths, edifices upon which immense sums
were lavished to make them beautiful and
commodious in the extreme. Some were
private, others public. The emperors vied
with each other to render them celebrated
and attractive. Caracalla, the unworthy
son of Severus, and one of the very vilest
of the line of Caesars, built the vast pile
still called by his evil name ; the ruins
of which forcibly illustrate the splendour
of the past sovereignty, and the causes
of its swift decay. The greater number of
these conspicuous and magnificent build-
ings in the city of Rome have subterranean
passages attached to them, provided by
their original possessors as a means of
escape in times of danger, Or to conceal the
results of rapine or violence. It was in the
subterranean passages connected with the
Baths of Caracalla that the Three Hundred
had agreed to meet, and as the darkness of

Ill) THE RULE OF THE MONK.

night crept on, the outposts of the con-
spirators, like ' gliding shadows, planted
themselves silently at the approaches to
this wilderness of antique stones, from time
to time challenging, in a whisper, other and
more numerous shadows, which slowly con-
verged to the spot.

CHAPTER XX.

THE TRAITOR.

THE liberation of Manlio and the execu-
tion of the Cardinal gave an unexpected
blow to the Pontifical Government, and
aroused it from its previous easy lethargy.
All the foreign and native soldiers avail-
able were put under arms, and the police
were everywhere on the qui vive, arresting
upon the slightest suspicion citizens of all
classes, so that the prisons speedily became
filled to overflowing.

A member of the Three Hundred —
shameful to say — had been bought over to
act as a spy upon the movements of his
comrades. Happily, he was not one of
those select members chosen to assist in the
attack upon the Quirinale prison, or the
release of Silvia and Clelia. Of the pro-
posed meeting at the Baths of Caracalla he

112 TUB RULE OF THE MONK.

was nevertheless cognisant, and had duly
given information of it to the police.

Now, Italian conspirators make use of
a counter police, at the head of which
was Muzio.

His garb of lazzarone served him in
good stead, and by favour of it he often
managed to obtain information from those
in the pay of the priests, who commonly
employ the poor and wretched people that
beg for bread in the streets and market-
places of Rome in the capacity of spies.

But this time he was ill-informed. The
last conspirator had entered the subter-
ranean passage, and Attilio had put the
question, " Are the sentinels at their
posts?" when a low sound, like the hiss-
ing of a snake, resounded through the
vault. This was Muzio 's signal of alarm,
and he himself appeared at the arch-
way.

" There is no time to be lost," said he ;
" we are already hemmed in on one side
by an armed force, and at the southern
exit another is taking up its position."

THE TRAITOR. 113

This imminent danger, instead of making
these brave youths tremble, served but to
fill them with stern resolve and courage.

Attilio looked once on the strong band
assembled around him, and then bade
Silvio take two men and go to the en-
trance to reconnoitre.

Another sentinel approached at this mo-
ment from the south, and corroborated
Muzio's statement.

The sentinels from the remaining points
failing to appear, a fear that they had been
arrested fell upon the young men, and their
leader was somewhat troubled on this ac-
count, until Silvio returned, and reported
that upon nearing the mouth of the pas-
sage he had seen them. At this moment
they heard a few shots, and immediately
after the sentinels in question entered, and
informed the chief that they had witnessed
a large number of troops gathering, and
had fired upon one file, which had ventured
to advance.

Attilio, seeing that delay would be
ruinous, commanded Muzio to charge out
VOL. i. j

114 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

with a third of the company, he himself
would follow up with his own third, and
Silvio was to hurl the rearmost section
upon the troops.

Attilio briefly said, "It is the moment
of deeds, not words. No matter how large
the number opposed to us, we must carve
a road through them with our daggers."
He then directed Muzio to lead on a de-
tachment of twenty men, with a swift
rush, upon the enemy, promising to follow
quickly.

Muzio, quickly forming his twenty men,
wrapped his cloak around his left arm, and
grasping his weapon firmly in his right
hand, gave the word to charge out.

In a few moments the cavernous vault
startled those outside by vomiting a torrent
of furious men ; and as the youths rushed
upon the satellites of despotism,- the Pope's
soldiers heading the division had not, even
time to level their guns before they wtere
wrenched from their grasp, and many re-
ceived their death-blow.

The others, thoroughly demoralised at

THE TRAITOR. 115

the cry of the second and third divisions
bursting forth, took to headlong and

o * <—>

shameful flight. The Campo Vaccino, and
the lanes of Rome leading to the Campi-
doo-llo, were in a short time filled with

O '

the fugitives, still pursued hy those whom
they should have taken prisoners.

Helmets, swords, and guns, lay scattered
in all directions, and more were wounded
by the weapons of their own friends in
their flight, than by the daggers of their
pursuers ; in effect, the rout was ludicrous
and complete.

The brave champions of Roman liberty,
satisfied with having so utterly discomfited
the mercenaries of his Holiness, dispersed,
and returned to their several homes.

Amongst the dead bodies discovered next
morning near the baths was that of a mere
youth, whose beard had scarcely begun to
cover his face with down ; he was lying on
his back, and on his breast was the shame-
ful word "traitor," pinned with a dagger.
He had been recognised by the Three
Hundred, and swiftly punished.

i 2

110 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Poor Paolo, alas ! had had the misfortune
—for misfortune it proved — to fall in love
with the daughter of a priest, who, enacting
the part of a Delilah, betrayed him to her
father as soon as she had learned he was
connected with a secret conspiracy. To
save his life, the wretched youth con-
sented to become a paid spy in the ser-
vice of the priesthood, and it was thus
he drew his pay.

The worth of one intrepid spirit, as
Attilio showed, is inestimable ; a single
man of lion heart can put to flight a
whole army.

On the other hand, how contagious is
fear. We have seen whole armies seized by
a terrible panic in open day at a cry of
"Escape who can," "Cavalry," "The
enemy," or even at the sound of a few
shots — armies, too, that had fought, and
would again fight patiently and gallantly.

Fear is shameful and degrading, and we
think the southern nations of Europe are
more liable to it than the cooler and more
serious peoples of the north; but never

THE TRAITOR. 117

may we see an Italian army succumb to
that sudden ague-fit which kills the man,
even though he seems to save his life
thereby !

CHAPTER XXL

THE TORTURE.

As the hour of solemn vengeance had not
yet struck, fright, and fright alone, was for
the black-robed rulers of Rome the result
of the events we have detailed.

The priests were in mortal terror lest
the thread by which the sword of popular
wrath was suspended should be cut.

The hour, however, had not struck ; the
measure of the cup was not full ; the Grod
of justice delayed the day of His retribution.

Know you what the lust of priests is to
torture ? Do you know that by the priests
Galileo was tortured ? — Gralileo, the greatest
of Italians ! Who but priests could have
committed him to the torture ? Who but
a Popish prelate could have condemned to
death by starvation *in a walled-up prison
Ugolino and his four sons?

THE TORTURE. 119

Where but in Rome have priests hated
virtue and learning while they fostered
ignorance and patronised vice ? Woe to
the man who, gifted by God above his
fellows, has dared to exhibit his talent in
Papal Italy. Has he not been immediately
consigned to moral and physical torturers,
until he admitted darkness was light ?

Is it not surprising that, in spite of the
light of the nineteenth century, a people
should be found willing to believe the
blasphemous fables called the doctrines of
the Church, and the priests permitted to
hold or withhold salvation at their
pleasure, and to exercise such power that
rulers court their alliance as a means of
enabling them the more effectually to
keep in subjection their miserable sub-
jects ?

In England, America, and Switzerland,
the torture has been abolished. There
progress is not a mere word. In Rome the
torture exists in all its power, though con-
cealed. Light has yet to penetrate the
secrets of those dens of infamy called

120 THE HULK OF THE MONK.

cloisters, seminaries, convents, where beings,
male and female, are immured as long as
life lasts, and are bound by terrible vows
to resign for ever the ties of natural
affection and sacred friendship.

Fearful are the punishments inflicted
upon any hapless member suspected of
being lax in his belief, or desirous of being
released from his oaths. Eedress for them
is impossible in a country where despotism
is absolute, and the liberty of the press
chained.

Yes, in Rome, where sits the Vicar of
God, the representative of Christ, the man
of peace, the torture, we say, still exists as
in the times of St. Dominic and Torque-
mada. The cord and the pincers are in
constant requisition in these present days
of political convulsion.

Poor Dentato, the sergeant of dragoons
who facilitated the escape of Manlio, soon
experienced this. He had been unfortu-
nately identified as engaged at the Quirinale.
Morning, noon, and night, means too
horrible to divulge were resorted to for

THE TORTURE. 121

the purpose of compelling him to give up
the names of those concerned in the attack
upon the prison. Failing to gain their
point, he had been left by his tormentors
a shapeless mass, imploring his persecutors
to show their mercy by putting him to
death.

Unhappy man ! the executioners falsely
declared he had denounced his accomplices,
and continued daily to make fresh arrests.

Yet the world still tolerates those fiends
in human form, and kings moreover impose
them upon our unhappy countries. God
grant the people of Italy may before long
have the will and the courage to break this
hateful yoke from off their necks ! Grod set
us free — before we are weary of praying —
from those who take His holy name in
vain, and chase Christ himself out of the
Temple to set their money- changing stalls
therein !

CHAPTEE XXII.

THE BRIGANDS.

LET us for a time depart from these scenes
of horror, and follow our fugitives on the
road to Porto d'Anzo. Their hearts are
sad, for they are leaving many dear to
them behind in the city, and their road is
one of danger, until they reach the sea;
but, as they breathe the pure air of their
beloved country, their spirits revive. That
country, once so populated and fertile, is
now all barren and deserted — indeed, it
would be difficult to find another spot on
earth that presents so many objects of past
grandeur and present misery as the Eoman
Campagna. The ruins, scattered on all
sides, give pleasure to the antiquary, and
convince him of the prosperity and gran-
deur of its ancient inhabitants, while the
sportsman finds beasts and birds enough

THE BRIGANDS. 123

to satisfy him ; but the lover of mankind
mourns over it as a grave-yard of past
glories, with the priests for sextons. The
proprietors of these vast plains are few,
and those few clerics, who are too much
absorbed by the pleasures and vices of the
city, to visit their properties, keeping, at
the most, a few flocks of sheep or buffaloes.

Brigandage is inseparable from priestly
government, which is easy to understand,
when we remember that it is supported by
the aid of cowardly and brutal mercenaries1.
These men, becoming robbers, murderers,
and criminal offenders, flee to such places
as this historical desert, where they find
undisturbed refuge and shelter.

Statistics prove that in Rome murders
are of more frequent occurrence in propor-
tion to the population than in any other
city. And how, indeed, can it be otherwise,
when we consider the corrupt education
instilled by the priests ?

But other outlaws are styled brigands,
besides these recruited from the runaway
hirelings of the priests, who have committed

124 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

such dreadful ravages during the last few
years. We have a sympathy for the wild
spirits who are falsely said to live by
plunder, but who retire to the plains, and
pass a rambling life, without being guilty
of theft or murder, in order to escape the
humiliations to which the citizen is daily
subjected.

The tenacity and courage shown by the
latter in their encounters with the police
and national guards are worthy of a better
cause, and prove that such men, if led by a
lawful ruler, and inspired with a love for
their country, would form an army that
would resist triumphantly any foreign
invader.

All "brigands" are, indeed, not assassins.

Orazio, a valorous Roman, though a bri-
gand, was respected and admired by all
in Trastevere, particularly by the Roman
women, who never fail to recognise and
appreciate personal bravery.

This valiant man was reputed to be
descended from the famous Horatius Codes,
who alone defended a bridge against the

THE BRIGANDS. 125

army of Porsenna, and, like him, curiously
enough, he had lost an eye. Orazio had
served the Roman Republic with honour.
While yet a beardless youth he was one
of the first who, on the glorious 30th
of April, charged and put to flight the
foreign invaders. In Palestrina he received
an honourable wound in the forehead, and
at Yelletri, after unhorsing a Neapolitan
officer with his arquebuss, he deprived him
of his arms, and carried him in triumph to
Rome. Well would it have been for Julia
and her friends had men of this type alone
haunted the lonely plain ! But when they
were not far distant from the coast, a
sudden shot, which brought the coachman
down from his seat, informed our fugitives
that they were about to be attacked by real
brigands, and were already within range of
their muskets. Manlio instantly seized the
reins, and whipped the horses, but four of
the band, armed to the teeth, rushed imme-
diately at the horses' heads. " Do not stir,
or you are a dead man," shouted one of the
robbers, who appeared to be the leader.

126 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

Manlio, convinced that resistance was use-
less, wisely remained immovable. In no
very gallant tone, the ladies were bidden to
descend, but, at the sight of so much
beauty, the robbers became softened at first,
for a time, and fixed their admiring looks,
with some promise of repentance, upon the
exquisite features of the youthful Clelia
and the fair Englishwoman. But their
savage natures soon got the better of such a
show of grace. The chief addressed the
disconcerted party in a rough tone, saying,
"Ladies, if you come with us quietly no
harm shall happen to you, but if you resist,
you will endanger your own lives ; while, to
show you that we are in earnest, I shall
immediately shoot that man," pointing to
Manlio, who remained stationary on the
box. The effects produced upon the terri-
fied women by this threat were various.
Silvia and Aurelia burst into tears, and
Clelia turned deadly pale. Julia, better
accustomed to encounter dangers, preserved
her countenance with that fearlessness so
characteristic of her countrywomen. " Will

THE BRIGANDS. 127

you not," said she, advancing close to the
brigand, "take what we possess — we will
willingly give you all we have?" putting,
at the same time, a heavily-filled purse into
his hand ; " but spare our lives, and permit
us to continue our journey."

The wretch, after carefully weighing the
money, replied, "Not so, pretty lady," as
he gazed with ardent eyes from her to
Clelia ; " it is by no means every day that
we are favoured by fortune with such charm-
ing plunder. We are in luck with such
lovely visitors. You must accompany us."

Julia remained silent, not realising the
villain's presumption ; but Clelia — in whom
the chill of despair, which struck her when
her father's life was menaced, was yielding
to a deeper horror still at the scoundrel's
words — with a spasm of anger and terror,
snatching her poniard from her bosom,
and sprang upon the unprepared bandit.

Julia, seeing the heroic resolution of her
friend, also attacked him ; but, alas ! they
had not the chief alone to struggle with.
His comrades came to his assistance and

128 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the English girl was speedily overpowered,
whilst Clelia was left vainly to assail him ;
for, although she succeeded in inflicting
several wounds, they were of so slight a
nature that, with the aid of a follower, he
had no difficulty in wresting her weapon
from her and securing her hands.

When Julia was dragged off by two of
the ruffians towards some bushes, Aurelia
and Silvia followed, entreating them not
to kill her.

Manlio, who had attempted to leap to
the ground to aid his daughter, had been
instantly beaten to the earth, and was
being dragged off in the direction of the
same thicket by the band, while the chief
brought up the rear with Clelia in his arms.

All appeared lost. Death — and worse
than death — threatened them.

But they had not gone many paces before
the knave whose vile arms encircled Clelia
was felled to the ground by a blow from
a sudden hand ; and Clelia gave a cry of
joy as her deliverer raised her from the
ground.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE LIBERATOR.

CLELIA'S liberator, who had arrived so
opportunely on the scene of violence, was
by no means a giant, being not more than
an inch or two above the ordinary height ;
but the erectness of his person, the ampli-
tude of his chest, and the squareness of his
shoulders, showed him to be a man of
extraordinary strength.

As soon as this opportune hero, who had
come to the rescue of the weak, had stricken
down the chief by a blow of the butt-end of
his rifle upon the robber's skull, he levelled
the barrel at the brigand who held Manlio
in his grasp, and shot him dead. Then,
without waiting long to see the effect of his
bullet — for this hunter of the wild boar
had a sure eye — he turned to the direction
pointed out by Clelia. She was still much
VOL. i. j

130 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

agitated ; but when she perceived her
champion so far successful, she cried —

" Avanti ! go after Julia, and rescue her.
Oh, go!"

With the fleetness of the deer the
young man sped away in pursuit of Julia's
captors, and, to Clelia's instant relief, the
English girl soon reappeared with their
preserver, the brigands having taken to
flight upon hearing the shots.

Reloading his gun, the stranger handed
it to Manlio, and proceeded to appropriate
to his own use those arms which he found
upon the dead bodies of the brigands.

All then returned to the carriage, and
found the horses grazing contentedly on
the young grass that bordered the road.
For a little while no one found a voice,
absorbed as they were in thoughts of joy,
agitation, and gratitude ; the women re-
garding the figure of the stranger with
fervent admiration. How beautiful is
valour, particularly when shown in the
defence of honour and loveliness in woman,
whose appreciation of courage is a deep

THE LIBERATOR. 131

instinct of her nature ! Let a lover be bold
and fearless, as well as spotless ; a despiser
of death, as well as graceful in life ; and he
will not fail to win both praise and love
from beauty.

This sympathy of the fair sex with lofty
qualities in the sex of action has been the
chief promoter of human civilisation and
social happiness.

For woman's love alone man has gra-
dually put aside his masculine coarseness,
and contempt for outward appearances, be-
coming docile, refined, and elegant, while
his rougher virtue of courage was softened
by her into chivalry.

So far from being his " inferior," woman
was appointed the instructress of man,
and was designed by the Creator to mould
and educate his moral nature.

We have said our fair travellers gazed
with admiration at the fine person of the
brigand — for " brigand " we must unwill-
ingly confess their deliverer actually was
— and as they gazed, the younger members
of the party, it must be acknowledged,

j 2

132 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

imported into their glance a little more
gratitude than the absent lovers, Attilio
and Muzio, would perhaps have wished.
But admiration gave place to surprise,
when the brigand, taking Silvia's hand,
kissed it, with tears, saying —

" You do not remember me, Signora ?
Look at my left eye : had it not been for
your maternal care, the accident to it would
have cost me my life."

"Orazio! Orazio!" cried the matron,
embracing him. " Yes, it is indeed the
son of my old friend."

"Yes, I am Orazio, whom you received
in a dying condition, and brought back
to life ; the poor orphan whom you
nourished and fed when left in absolute
need," he replied, as he returned her em-
brace tenderly.

After exchanging these words of recog-
nition, and receiving others of ardent
gratitude from the party, Orazio explained
how he had been hunting in the neighbour-
hood, when he saw the attack, and came
to do what he could for the ladies. He

THE LIBERATOR. 133

advised Manlio to put them into the car-
riage again, and depart with all speed ;
" for," said he, " two of these bandits have
escaped, and may possibly return with
several of their band." Then, ascertaining
the name of the port from which they
intended sailing, he offered to become
their charioteer, and mounting the box,
drove off rapidly in the direction of Porto
d'Anzo.

Arrived there without further adventure,
the freshness of the sea air seemed to put
new life and spirits into our jaded travellers,
and the effect upon the beautiful Julia
in particular was really marvellous. A
daughter of the Queen of the Ocean, she,
like almost all Albion's children, was
enamoured of the sea, and pined for it
when at a distance.

The sons of Britain scent the salt air
wherever they live : they are islanders, with
the ocean always near. They can under-
stand the feeling of Xenophon's thousand
Greeks, when they again beheld the ocean
after their long and dangerous Anabasis,

134

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and how they fell upon their knees, with
joyful shouts of " Thalassa ! Thalassa ! "
saluting the green and silver Amphi-
trite as their mother, friend, and tutelary
divinity.

CHAPTEE XXIY.

THE YACHT.

THE English girl broke out into pretty
speeches of gladness when she caught sight
of her little ship. " Dance, graceful naiad,"
ejaculated Julia, when she beheld it upon
the blue waters of the Mediterranean, " and
spread your wings to bear away my friends
to a place of safety. Who says I may not
love thee as a friend, when I owe to thee
so many glorious and free days ? I love
thee when the waters are like a mirror and
reflect thy beauty upon their glassy bosom,
and thou rockest lazily to the sigh of the
gentle evening breeze which scarcely swells
thy sails. I love thee still more when thou
plungest, like a steed of Neptune, through
the billows' seething foam, driven by the
storm, making thy way through the waves,
and fearing no terror of the tempest. Now

136 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

stretch thy wings for thy mistress, and
bear her friends safe from this treacherous
shore ! " Julia's companions were in the
mood to echo this spirit of joy and exulta-
tion, and eagerly gazed at the little vessel.

Not daring, however, to excite suspicion
by conducting the whole of her party at
once into Porto d'Anzo, Julia decided upon
leaving Silvia and her daughter under the
protection of Orazio, who would rather
have been cut in pieces than allow them
to be injured or insulted. They were to
wait in a wood a short distance from the
port, while Julia, taking with her Manlio,
who acted the part of coachman, and Aure-
lia, as her lady's maid, passed to the ship
to make preparations to fetch the others.
Capo d'Anzo forms the southern, and Civita
Vecchia the northern limits of the danger-
ous and inhospitable Eoman shore. The
navigator steers his vessel warily when he
puts out to sea in winter on this stormy
coast, especially in a south-west wind, which
has wrecked many a gallant ship there. The
mouth of the Tiber is only navigable by

THE YACHT. 137

vessels that do not draw more than four or
five feet of water, and this only during
spring. On this left bank of the Tiber,
in the marshes, dwelt of old the warlike
Volsci, who gave the Romans no little
trouble before those universal conquerors
succeeded in subjugating them. The ruins
of their ancient capital, Ardea, bear witness
to its ancient prosperity.

The promontory, Capo d'Anzo, both forms
and gives its name to the port, in which was
stationed our heroine's yacht, awaiting her
orders. The arrival of Julia, if not a delight
and fete day for the priests — who hate the
English, because they are both " heretics "
and "liberals " — was certainly one for the
crew of the Seagull, to whom she was always
affable and kind. The sailor, exposed to
dangers nearly all his life, is well worthy
of woman's esteem, and nowhere will she
find a truer devotion to her sex than among
the rough but loyal and generous tars.

Going on board, the pretty English lady,
after returning the affectionate and respect-
ful greeting of her countrymen and servants,

138 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

descended to the cabin and consulted with
her captain, an old sea-dog (Thompson by
name), as to the best means of embarking
the fugitives.

" Aye, aye, Miss," said he, glad to escape
his enforced idleness, as soon as he saw how
the land lay ; " leave the poor creatures to
me ; I'll find a way of shipping them safe
out of this hole ! "

And in less than an hour the captain, true
to his word, weighed anchor, and sailed
triumphantly out to sea with our exiles on
board, who, though shedding a few natural
tears as the coast faded rapidly from their
view, were inexpressibly thankful to feel that
they were at last out of the clutches of their
revengeful persecutors.

CHAPTEE XXV.

THE TEMPEST.

BUT our readers will remember tliat it was
now the third week in February — the worst
month at sea, at least in the Mediterranean.
The Italian sailors have a proverb, that " a
short February is worse than a long Decem-
ber."- Captain Thompson, in his anxiety to
fulfil his young mistress's wishes, had not
failed to heed the weather-glass, and he had
felt anxious at the way in which the mer-
cury was falling — a sure sign that a strong
south-west wind was brewing nigh at hand,
the most unfavourable for the safety of our
passengers on this rocky coast. The Seagull,
however, sailed gracefully out of port with
all sails set, and impelled by a gentle breeze
— gracefully, we say, that is, in the eyes
of Captain Thompson and her owner ; but
not so gracefully in the eyes of Aurelia

140 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and Manlio, who, never having entrusted
themselves to the deep before, were con-
siderably inconvenienced by the undulating
motion.

Julia had arranged to cruise down the
coast for Silvia and Clelia, still under Orazio's
protection, bringing to off a small fishing
place a few miles from Porto d'Anzo,
where the yacht was to put in and embark
them ; but, though the captain would have
gone through fire and water to obey his
mistress's commands, the wind and waves
were his superiors. The gentle breeze had
given place to strong gusts, and black
clouds were rapidly chasing one another
athwart the sky. A storm was evidently
rising, and every moment the danger of
being driven ashore was becoming more
and more possible. Night was closing in,
and breakers were in sight. The only
chance of escape was to cast anchor.
Thompson, addressing Julia — whom he
found wrapped in a shawl, lying on deck
watching every movement — now acquainted
her with his resolution, in which she

THE TEMPEST. 141

acquiesced. The sailors were about to
obey their captain's orders, when Julia
cried out " Hold ! " for she had already
felt the wind upon her cheek suddenly
shift, and felt that to anchor was no
longer wise. Now they must stand out
to sea, and face the shifts of the tempest.
The sails began to fill, and in a short
time the Seagull moved off, and began
to leave the surf behind her, obedient
to the helm. The wind was fitful, and
now and again terribly fierce ; the sails,
cordage, and masts creaked, and swayed
to and fro. Captain Thompson ordered
his crew, in the energetic yet self-possessed
tone so characteristic of the British sea-
man, to " stand by " the halyards, with
all ready to let go, but to take in
nothing. Luffing a little more, they were
soon free of the immediate peril; but,
the wind increasing, they dared not carry
so much sail, and three reefs were taken in
upon the mainsail, the foresail and jib were
shifted, and everything was made taut and
snug against the fierce blasts which dashed

142

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the billows over her sides, and occasionally
almost submerged the tiny bark.

The Seagull presently put about on
the port tack, always beating out from
the land, and battled bravely with the
storm, which waxed momentarily louder and
stronger. One tremendous wave dashed
over her, and then the captain, addressing
Julia, who had remained on deck, besought
her to go below, for he feared she might
share the fate of one of the crew who had
just been washed overboard by it. Poor
fellow, no help could save him ! Julia
saw the sailor go over the side, and threw
him a rope herself, but the man was
swallowed up in the darkness and foam.
The steersmen (for there were two) were
now lashed to the helm, the captain to
the weather shrouds of the mainmast, and
the men held fast under the bulwarks.

When Julia descended to the cabin to
appease the captain's anxiety, and look
after her friends, the scene that met her
view was so ludicrous that, in spite of her
sorrow for the loss of the poor seaman, she

THE TEMPEST. 143

could not repress a smile. When the ship
reeled under the shock of the wave which
had carried the sailor away, Aurelia had
been precipitated like a bundle of clothes
into the same corner in which Manlio had
taken refuge. The poor woman, frightened
out of her wits, and thinking her last hour
had come, clung to the unfortunate sculptor
with all her might, as if fancying she could
be saved by doing so. In vain Manlio
implored her not to choke him : the more
he entreated, the closer became her grasp.
The sculptor, accustomed to move blocks
of marble, was powerless to release him-
self from the agonised matron, but, aided
by the motion of the ship, contrived to
hold her off a little so as to escape suffo-
cation. In this tragic and yet comic atti-
tude Julia beheld them, and, after giving
way for one moment to her irrepressible
amusement, she called a servant to assist
her, and succeeded in pacifying Aurelia,
and in liberating Manlio from his uncom-
fortable position.

All night the Seagull struggled bravely

144

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

against the storm; and had it not been
for her superior construction, and the
skill of her commander and the gallant
seamen in Julia's service, she must have
perished.

Towards morning the tempest subsided,
and the wind having changed to south-
south-west, Captain Thompson informed
Julia that it would be necessary to put in
at Porto Ferrajo or Longone to repair the
damages the yacht had sustained, which,
indeed, were not slight. The two light
boats had been carried away, also every
article on deck, and the starboard bulwarks
from amidships to stem. The foremast,
too, was sprung, and Julia, seeing the im-
possibility of setting the vessel to rights
at sea, consented to make the land. Here
we will take leave of them for a time.

CHAPTEE XXVI.

THE TOWER.

IT is time to return to Clelia, and see how
it fares with her and her companions, Silvia
and Orazio. As night approached, Orazio
made a large fire, which he had been
directed to do by Julia, in order that the
smoke might be a guide to her vessel. He
then looked out for a boat to hire, in which
to convey the women to the yacht ; but
as the storm rose, he felt there would be
no chance of embarking that night, and
therefore cast about for a place of shelter
until the morning.

He found a ruined tower: such towers
abound on the coasts of the Mediterranean,
and are the remains of places which were
erected by the mediaeval pirates, who used
them chiefly to signal to their vessels when
it would ] be safe to approach the shore.

VOL. I. K

146

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Here, after making the ladies as comfort-
able as circumstances permitted, he left
them, and paced up and down the beach,
straining his eyes for a glimpse of the Sea-
gull, which, he feared, could scarcely live
in such a tempest. Half blinded by the
spray, he continued his watch, dreading most
of all to see the signs of a wreck. Some
hours had elapsed when he perceived a dark
object tossing about in the water, nearing
and then receding; and finally stranded
on the beach. Orazio ran towards it, and
was horrified to discover that it was a
human body, apparently lifeless, but still
clinging to a rope and buoy. He snatched
it up in his sturdy arms, and carried it into
the tower, where he found Silvia and Clelia
sitting by the fire which he had kindled for
them. The lad whom Orazio had rescued
was no other than the young English sailor
washed overboard from the Seagull.

Silvia, aided by her daughter, stripped
the inanimate lad, laid him before the fire,
and chafed him with their hands for a very
long while, until, to their great delight, he

THE TOWER. 147

slowly returned to consciousness. Then
they wrapped him in some of their own dry
garments, and hung his wet ones before the
fire, Orazio supplying them with fresh fuel.
Some of his native " grog " was needed for
poor Jack, but none was to be had. For-
tunately, Orazio had a flask of Orvieto,
which he had given to the travellers to
warm their chilled bodies during the bitter
night, and Silvia wisely administered
a liberal dose to the exhausted mariner,
who, with a stone for a pillow, and his
feet towards the friendly fire, fell by-
and-by into a sound sleep, till yacht, tem-
pest, shipwreck, and angelic nurses were all
lost in oblivion. His slumber could not
have been more profound had he lain
upon a bed of down. The youthful
Clelia, also wearied with the fatigue of
the past day, soon followed his example,
and with her head in her mother's lap, she
slept the sleep of the innocent.

Orazio returned to his lonely post, and
after pacing up and down the shore in the
fear of seeing some other sign of disaster,

K 2

148

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

returned at dawn to the tower to dry his
dripping clothes, and refresh himself after
his dreary vigil.

Silvia alone could not sleep all that
night, but only dozed occasionally, as she
thought over the misfortunes that had be-
fallen them. Her delicate and graceful
frame had been much shaken by the terri-
ble occurrences of the past few days. Affec-
tionate mother ! Though weary, she bore
the weight of her precious Clelia, and
though her position was a constrained one,
remained immovable lest she should awake
her. She was tormented with fear, too,
on account of her beloved Manlio, who had
escaped the fury of the priests only to be
exposed to the merciless waves ; and then,
as if struck with remorse for thinking solely
of him, she murmured, in bitter accents,
" Ah, my poor Aurelia, to what a fate has
your generous kindness brought you also ! "
And with these reflections she fell into
another troubled doze.

The Roman outlaw slept not, even after
daybreak. He felt he was too near the

THE TOWER. 149

cunning priests of Porto d'Anzo to be very
safe. Seating himself upon a stone placed
near the fire, which he fed from time
to time with the wood he had previously
gathered, he dried his garments one by
one, with the exception of his cloak, which
he had politely insisted upon wrapping
around the ladies in the early part of the
evening, as they were but indifferently pro-
tected from the cold. Orazio was gaily
dressed in a dark velvet suit, ornamented
with silver buttons ; gaiters buckling at
the knee covered a comparatively small
and well-shaped foot, and a leg now dis-
played to advantage ; while a black cravat
was knotted round his handsome throat,
and a red satin handkerchief, loosely tied,
fell upon his wide shoulders. A hat,
resembling in shape those worn by the
Calabrians, nattily inclined a little to the
right, crowned his head; a leathern powder-
bag, embroidered with silk and silver, slung
round his waist, in the band of which ^rere
placed two revolvers and a broad-bladed
dagger, serving both as a weapon of defence

150 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and hunting-knife. These gave him a
well-prepared air ; not to speak of his trusty
carbine, which he had taken the precaution
to reload, and which he always rested upon
his left arm. .As the flickering light of the
fire fell upon him and lit up his bronzed
features, an artist would have given much
to have depicted what was truly a type of
strength, courage, and manly beauty; while
now and then, awakening from her uneasy
slumber, Silvia regarded him with admiring
eye, and forgot for a moment her anxieties,
while guarded by that faithful sentinel.
It is to be regretted that our hero, Orazio,
was a "brigand;" but then he was a
brigand of the better sort, and one only
from the force of circumstances, his sin
being that, like all brave and loyal men,
he wished Italy to be united, and Eome
freed for ever from priestly despotism.

Towards dawn Orazio approached Silvia,
saying respectfully, " Signora, we must not
remain here till broad day ; as soon as there
is sufficient light to show us the path to
take we must depart. We are too near

THE TOWER. 151

our mutual enemies here to be out of
danger."

" And Manlio, Julia, Aurelia, where are
they?"

" Probably far out at sea," he replied ;
" and let us only hope it, for so they will
be safe ; but it would be well before we
strike out into the woods once more to
examine the beach. God grant we may
not find any more bodies there."

" Grod grant they may not have been cast
upon the coast during this fearful storm ! "
ejaculated Silvia, with clasped hands and
raised eyes.

A mournful silence fell upon them, broken
at last by Orazio, who had been looking out
for the first streak of light in the leaden
sky.

" Signora, it is time we were off."

Silvia shook her daughter gently, to
arouse her, and Clelia got up, feeling
greatly restored by her peaceful slumber;
while Orazio, touching Jack with the butt-
end of his carbine, awoke him. Then, for
the first time, the sailor-boy was able to

152

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

tell how he was washed overboard, and
his account gave hopes to the listeners
that the Seagull was safe.

Our bandit, going first, led his party in
the direction of the coast ; but, although the
rain had ceased, the wind had not subsided,
and the women made their way with diffi-
culty along the rough, uneven pathway, the
spray from the sea beating in their faces.
Orazio and Jack, who was now nearly re-
covered, searched for the tokens of a wreck,
but, happily, none were found, and they
returned to Silvia and Clelia, whom they
had left in a sheltered place, with relieved
countenances and cheerful voices, saying,
"Our friends are out of danger." Orazio
added, " And now, ladies, we will begin our
own journey," turning at the same time to
the right, and taking a narrow footpath
through the wood well known to him. His
charges, attended by Jack the English boy,
followed in silence.

. CHAPTEE XXVII.

THE WITHDRAWAL.

AFTER the affair at the Baths of Caracalla,
the position of Attilio and his companions
became very much compromised. The traitor
had, indeed, paid for his infamy with his
life; but though the Government's mer-
cenaries had had the worst of it, the police
were now on the alert, and, if not quite
certain, could make a shrewd guess as to
who were the leaders of the conspiracy.

If, however, the friends of liberty out-
side had been as ready as the Komans,
the conspirators might yet have had it all
their own way on the 15th of February,
or, indeed, at any other time. But the
" Moderates," always indissolubly bound
to the chariots of selfishness, would not
hear the words "To arms!" They pre-
ferred waiting, at whatever cost, until

154 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the manna of freedom fell from heaven into
their mouths, or the foreigner should come
to their relief, and set their country free.

What cared they for national dignity,
or the contemptuous smile of all other
European nations at the open buying and
selling of provinces ! They were thinking
first of gain and remunerative employment,
and were consequently deaf to all generous
propositions likely to set in risk their
Eldorado of profits ; though they would, if
successful, procure national unity and pros-
perity by energetic action.

This middle-class cowardice is the cause
of Italy's degradation at the present day,
and were it not for that, the kissing of the
slipper would be an infamy of the past. It
is the reason, too, why Italy's soil is so
often vainly wet with the blood of her
nobler, braver sons ; and why those who
escape the sword wander in forests to avoid
the vengeance of the robed hysenas ; and
why the poor remain in abject misery.

Such was the condition of Rome at the
beginning of the year 1867. Yet she might

THE WITHDRAWAL. 155

have been happy, regenerated, and powerful,
crowned with glorious liberty and inde-
pendence, had not the foreigner have come
to the aid of the falsely-called " father of
his people." Now she grovels in bondage,
loaded with French chains.

One evening, early in March, Attilio,
Muzio, and Silvio met at Manlio's house to
discuss their future movements. They had
remained in Rome in the hope of achieving
something, but the labyrinth was far too
involved to allow our youthful and inex-
perienced heroes to extricate themselves,
or the Three Hundred to extricate their
countrymen.

" There is no use," spoke Attilio, bitterly,
" in dedicating one's life to the good of
one's country in these days, when the
' Moderates ' * check all our efforts, and
basely reconcile themselves with the enemies
of Italy. How is it possible for Romans to
do so ? How can they ever live in harmony
with those who have sold them and theirs
so many times ! who have precipitated us

* See Note 4.

156

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

from the first rank among the nations to
the lowest ! who have corrupted and pol-
luted our city ! who have tortured our
fathers and violated our virgins ! "

In his wrath Attilio's voice had risen
until he literally shouted.

Silvio, more composed, said, " Speak
lower, brother, thou knowest how we are
pursued ; perchance there may even now be
some accursed spy near. Be patient, and
for the present let us leave Eegola in charge
of our affairs, and quit the city. In the
country we have true and courageous
friends. Let us leave Borne until she is
tired of being the laughing-stock of these
leeches, who live by imposture and tyranny.
Let us go. Our generous countrymen will
call us brigands, adventurers, as they did
" the Thousand " during the glorious ex-
pedition of Marsala, which by-and-by
astonished the world. What matters it
to us ? Now, as then, we shall work and
watch for the liberty of this our unhappy
country. When she is willing to emanci-
pate herself, we will fly to her rescue."

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE FOREST.

AFTER walking for about two hours through
the forest, where to Silvia's and Clelia's
inexperienced eyes there appeared to be no
path ever trodden by man, Orazio stopped
at a clearing, and they beheld a small
pleasant-looking glade. Jack the sailor
had proved of great use in removing fallen
branches strewn across the way, which
would else have greatly impeded the pro-
gress of the ladies. The weather had
cleared up, and although the wind still
moved the crowns of the trees, it fanned
but gently the cheeks of the fugitives.

" Signora, sit down here with your
daughter," said their guide, pointing to a
large flat stone, "and take some rest, of
which I see you are in need. Jack and I
will go in search of some food ; but, before

158 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

we do so, I will spread my cloak upon your
hard bench, that you may repose in greater
comfort."

Orazio was repaid with a graceful bow,
and starting into the wood at a rapid pace,
accompanied by the sailor boy, was soon
hidden from their view.

Silvia was really tired, but Clelia,
being of a more elastic constitution, and
refreshed by her sound sleep during the past
night, was not so much fatigued ; never-
theless, she found it very welcome to rest
in that agreeable place, where no human
being save themselves was visible.

Yielding presently, however, to the
vivacity of her age, the young girl sprang
up, and began to gather some pretty wild
flowers she had observed, and forming them
into a bouquet, presented them with a smile
to her mother, and reseated herself at her
side. Just then, the report of a musket
re-echoed through the wood. Silvia was
greatly startled by the sudden echo in that
lonely silent retreat, which had in it some-
thing solemn.

THE FOREST. 159

Clelia perceiving the effect upon her
mother, embraced her, and in reassuring
tones, said, " That is only a shot from our
friend, mia madre, he will soon return with
some game."

Silvia's colour came back again, and very
soon afterwards Orazio and Jack rejoined
the ladies, carrying between them a young
boar, struck down by a ball from the
carbine of the Roman.

At Orazio's request, Clelia, who had some
knowledge of the English language, bade
Jack gather some sticks, and light a fire,
which he did willingly, and in a little time
the cheerful pile was blazing before them.
Animal food may be necessary to man,
in part a carnivorous animal, still the trade
of a butcher is a horrid one, while the con-
tinual dabbling in the blood of dumb
creatures, and cutting up their slaughtered
carcases, has something very repulsive in it.
For our own part we would gladly give up
eating animal food, and as years pass on,
we become more and more averse to the de-
struction of these innocent creatures, and

100 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

cannot even endure to see a bird wounded,
though formerly we delighted in the chase.
However, habit had made slaying and
preparing the boar natural and easy to
Orazio, who, compelled to live in the forest,
had, indeed, no choice in the matter, being
obliged either to kill game, or starve. He
laid the boar upon the grass, and, with
his hunting knife, skinned a portion, and
carving some substantial slices, fastened
them on a skewer, cut by Jack out of a
piece of green wood, and laid them over the
fire. When fairly cooked, he presented
them to the famished travellers. It was a
roast well fitted to appease the cravings of
a moderate appetite, and the wild dinner
was heartily relished by all the party.
The meal was, indeed, a cheerful one, much
merriment being caused by the absurdities
uttered by Jack, whom Clelia was laugh-
ingly endeavouring to teach Italian.

The sailor is always a light-hearted
fellow on land, and more particularly
after he has been a long time at sea.
Jack, forgetting his narrow escape, was

THE FOREST. 101

now the gayest of the four, and, in the com-
pany of the gentle and beautiful Clelia,
did not envy his late shipmates, who were
still tossing on the tempestuous ocean.
For Orazio, his preserver, and the Italian
ladies, his gratitude knew no bounds,
although he had but a vague idea of
their position and purposes.

When the repast was ended the party
continued their journey, resting occasionally
by the way; and in this manner arrived,
late in the afternoon, in sight of one of
those ancient edifices along the Ostian
shore which appear to have escaped the
destroying touch of time. It stood away
from the sea, on the edge of the forest,
and at the entrance to a vast plain ;
several fine oaks, many centuries old, were
growing about it, planted apparently by
medieval possessors, with some attempt
at regularity.

Orazio, begging the ladies to recline
upon a mossy bank, stepped aside, and
drawing a small horn from his pouch,
blew a blast, shrill and long.

VOL. i. L

162

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

The signal was answered by a similar
sound from the ancient building, and an
individual, dressed much in Orazio's style,
issued from it, who, approaching the
brigand with an air of respect, cordially
saluted him.

Orazio took the new-comer's hand in
a friendly manner, and, pointing to his
party, held a short conversation with him
in an undertone. The man then retired,
and Orazio, returning to the ladies, begged
them to rise, and permit him to conduct
them to this secure place of refuge.

CHAPTEE XXIX.

THE CASTLE.

THE period of highest glory for the ancient
capital of the world vanished with the Re-
public and with the majestic simplicity of
the republican system ; for after the battle
of Zama, in which Hannibal was defeated
by Scipio, the Romans had no longer any
powerful enemies. It therefore became
easy to conquer other nations, and, en-
riched by the spoils of the conquered, the
Romans gave themselves up to internal
contentions, and to every kind of luxury.
In this way they were dragged down to
the last stage of degradation, and became
the slaves of those whom they had enslaved.
And right well it befitted them that God
should pay them in the same coin which
they counted out. The last generation of
the Republic, however, had truly a sunset

L 2

164 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

grandeur about it, and splendid names.
Before passing away it presented to his-
tory some men at whom one cannot but
marvel. Sartorius, Marius, Sylla, Pompey,
and Caesar, were men of such stature that
one alone would suffice to illustrate the
valour of a warlike nation. If perfection
in a military ruler were possible, Caesar,
with his superb qualities as a general,
needed only to possess the abnegation of
Sylla to have been a perfect type of the
class. Less sanguinary than the Pro-
scriber, he possessed more ambition, and
desired to decorate his forehead with a
crown, for which he fell a victim, stabbed
to the heart by the daggers of the Roman
republicans. Sylla was also a great general,
and a reformer ; he struggled hard to wean
the Romans from their vices, and even
resorted to terrible means, slaying with this
view at one time 8.000 persons. Subse-
quently, wearied with the ineffectual struggle
against the tide of the time, he assembled
the people in the Forum, and, after re-
proaching them for their incorrigible vices,

THE CASTLE. 165

declared, that as his power as Dictator had
failed to regenerate them, he would no
longer retain that dignit}?-, but before he
laid it aside he challenged the city to
require from him an account of 'his actions.
Silence ensued, no man demanding redress,
though there were many present whose re-
latives and friends he had sacrificed. With
an austere mien he then descended from the
tribunal, and mingled with the crowd as a
simple citizen.

The Empire rose on the ruins of that
wonderful Republic. And here it may be
remarked that no republic can exist unless
its citizens are virtuous. This form of go-
vernment demands moral education and
elevation. It was the vice and degrada-
tion to which the Romans had sunk that
inaugurated the Empire.

Among the emperors there were some
less deplorable than others — such as
Trajan, Antoninus, and Marcus Aurelius.
The greater part, however, were monsters,
who, not satisfied with the enormous
wealth they possessed, and with their

166

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

lofty position, set themselves to plunder
the substance of others. They sought
every pretext for robbing the wealthy
citizens. Many of those, therefore, pos-
sessing wealth, retired from Rome — many
sought refuge in foreign lands, others in
far distant parts of the country, where
they were safe from molestation. Among
the latter, a descendant of Lucullus, in the
reign of Nero, built the original walls of
the antique castle where we left Clelia
and her companions. Perad venture, some
of the enormous oaks by which it was
surrounded had sprung in but few re-
moves from the acorns of the trees which
shaded the courtier of Nero. However
this may be, the architecture of the castle
is certainly wonderful, and wonderfully
preserved. The outbuildings are covered
with ivy, which age has rendered of extra-
ordinary growth. The interior had been
completely modernised by mediaeval owners,
and although not adorned with all the luxu-
ries of the nineteenth century, it contains
several dry-roofed and spacious apartments.

THE CASTLE. 167

Uninhabited for some time, the castle had
been almost buried out of sight by the
surrounding trees, which circumstance made
it all the more suitable for Orazio and his
proscribed comrades. Built in dark and
troublous times, this stronghold, like all
those of the same kind, possesses immense
dungeons and subterranean passages spread-
ing over a large space in the bowels of the
earth. Superstition also guarded the lonely
tower. Travellers making inquiries about
the neighbourhood from the shepherds who
tend their flocks in the forest openings,
had heard, and duly related, that some-
where in this district was an ancient castle
haunted by phantoms ; that no one ever
dared to enter it, and that those un-
happy beings who summoned up courage
to approach its gateway were never seen
again. Moreover, was there not a story
told that the beautiful daughter of the

wealthy Prince T , when staying with

her family at Porto d'Anzo for the benefit
of sea-bathing, had one day wandered with
her maids into the woods, where the

168

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

affrighted and helpless women saw their
mistress carried up into the air by spirits,
and although every nook of the forest was
searched by the command of her distressed
father, no traces of the young princess
were ever afterwards discovered?

To this haunt of marvels Orazio then
conducted our travellers, as we have before
described.

CHAPTEE XXX.

IRENE.

UPON the threshold of the castle, as our
travellers drew near, stood a young woman,
whose appearance betokened the Roman
matron, but of greater delicacy perhaps than
the ancient type possessed. She numbered
some twenty years ; and, though a charm-
ing smile spread itself over her lovely
features, and her eyes and soft abundant
hair were extremely beautiful, still it was
the majestic natural bearing of Irene which
most struck the beholder.

As if unconscious of the presence of
strangers, she rah to Orazio, and folded
him in a warm embrace, whilst the blush
which glad love can excite suffused both
their faces, as they regarded each other
with undisguised affection. Then, turn-
ing to the two ladies, she bowed grace-

170 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

fully, and welcomed them with a cordial
salute, as Orazio said —

"Irene, I present to you the wife and
daughter of Manlio, our renowned sculptor
of Koine."

Honest Jack was perfectly astounded
at seeing so much beauty and grandeur
where he expected to find nothing except
solitude and savage desert. But his as-
tonishment was greater still when he was
invited, along with the rest, into the castle,
and beheld a table covered with a profusion
of modest comforts in a handsome and
spacious dining-hall.

" You expected me, then, Carissima ? "
observed Orazio, as he entered it, to Irene.

"Oh, yes ; my heart told me you would
not pass another night away," was the
reply ; and the wedded lovers exchanged a
look, which made the thoughts of Clelia,
as she beheld it, fly to Attilio, and we
do not overstep the bounds of truth if
we say that Silvia also remembered her
absent Manlio with a sigh.

Jack, with the appetite of a young

IRENE. 171

boy after his very long walk, felt no-
thing of the pangs of love, but much of
those of hunger. And now another scene
amazed mother and daughter as well as
the sailor — who stood, indeed, with wide
open mouth staring at what seemed en-
chantment— for, as Orazio blew his horn
again, fifteen new guests, one after another,
each fully armed and equipped like their
leader, filed into the room. The hour
being late, there was little daylight in
the apartment, which gave to their en-
trance a more melodramatic air; but when
the room was lit up with a lamp, the open
and manly countenances of the new-comers
were seen, and inspired our party with
admiration and confidence. The strangers
made obeisance to the ladies and their
hostess. Orazio, placing Silvia on his
right hand, and Clelia on his left, Irene
being seated by her side, called out, " To
table." When their chief (to whom they
showed great respect) was seated, the men
took their places, silently, and Jack found
a vacant seat by the side of Silvia, which

172 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

he took with calm resignation at his good
luck. The repast began with a toast
"to the liberty of Rome," which each
drank in a glass of vermuth, and then
eating commenced, the meal lasting some
time. When all had appeased their
hunger, Irene rose, . with a sweet grace,
from the table, and conducted her fair
visitors to an upper chamber of the tower ;
and while a servant prepared, according
to her orders, some beds for her guests,
she exchanged with them, after the uni-
versal manner of ladies, a few words about
their mutual histories.

Silvia's and Clelia's you already know,
so it only remains for us, who have the
privilege of their confidence, to narrate
what Irene imparted to them.

" You will wonder to hear," said she,

" that I am the daughter of Prince T ,

whom perhaps you know in Borne, as he
is famous for his wealth. My father gave
me a liberal education, for I did not care
about feminine accomplishments, such as
music and dancing, but was attracted by

IRENE. 173

deeper studies. I delighted in histories ;
and when I commenced that of our
Rome, I was thoroughly fascinated by
the story of the republic, so full of deeds
of heroism and virtue ; and my young
imagination became exalted and affected
to such an extent that I felt ashamed of
my name and time. Comparing those
heroic days with the shameful and selfish
empire, and more especially with the*present
state of Borne under the humiliating and
miserable rule of the priest, I became inex-
pressibly sorry for the loss of that ancient
ideal, and conceived an intense hatred and
disgust for those who are the true instru-
ments of the abasement and servility of
our people. With such a disposition, and
such sentiments, you can imagine how dis-
tasteful the princely amusements and occu-
pations of my father's house became to me.
The effeminate homage of the Roman
aristocracy — creatures of the priest — and
the presence of the foreigner palled upon me.
Balls, feasts, and other dissipations, gave
me no gratification; only in the pathetic

174 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

ruins scattered over our metropolis did I
find delight. On horseback or on foot,
I passed hours daily examining those
relics of Eome's ancient grandeur.

"When I attained my fifteenth year I
was certainly better acquainted with the
edifices of the old architects and our
numerous ruins than with the needle,
embroidery, and the fashions. I used to
make very distant excursions on horseback,
accompanied by an old and trusty servant
of the family.

" One evening, when I was returning
from an exploration, and crossing Traste-
vere, some drunken foreign soldiers, who
had picked a quarrel at an inn, rushed
out, pursuing one another with drawn
swords. My horse took fright, and galloped
along the road, overleaping or overturning
everything in his way, in spite of all my
endeavours to check his speed. I am a
good rider, and kept a firm seat, to the
admiration of the beholders ; but my steed
continuing his headlong race, my strength
began to fail, and I was about to let

IRENE. 175

myself fall — in which case I should cer-
tainly have been dashed to pieces on the
pavement or severely hurt — when a brave
youth sprang from the roadside, and, fling-
ing himself before my horse, seized the1
bridle with his left hand, and, as the animal
reared and stumbled, clasped me with the
right.

"The powerful and sudden grasp of my
robust preserver caused the poor beast
indeed to swerve sharply round, and,
striking one foot against the curb, he
stumbled and fell, splitting his skull open
against the wall of a house. I was saved,
but had fainted ; and when I returned to
consciousness I found myself at home, in
my own bed, and surrounded by my
servants. And who was my preserver ?
Of whom could I make inquiries ? I sent
for my old groom, but he could tell me
little, except that he had followed me as
quickly as he well could, and had arrived at
the scene of the catastrophe just as I was
being carried into a house. All he knew
was that my deliverer seemed a young man,

176 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

and that he had retired immediately after
placing ine in the care of the woman ol
the house, who was very attentive when
she learned who I was.

" Still my ardent imagination, even in
that dangerous moment, had traced more
faithfully than they the noble lineaments of
the youth. His eyes had but flashed an
instantaneous look into mine, but it was
indelibly imprinted on my heart. I could
never forget that face, which realised at
last, as in my memory, the heroes of the
past. I shall know him again, I said to
myself. He is certainly a Roman, and if
a Roman, he belongs to the race of the
Quirites ! My ideal people ; the objects of
my worship ! You know the custom of
visiting the Colosseum by moonlight, which
then displays its majestic beauty to per-
fection. Well, I went one night to view it,
guarded by the same old servant ; and as
I was coming back, and had arrived at the
turning of the road which leads from the
Tarpeian to Campidoglio, my servant was
struck down by a blow from a cudgel, while

IRENE. 177

two men, who had concealed themselves in
the shadow cast by an immense building,
sprang out upon me, and, seizing me by
the arms, dragged me in the direction of
the Arch of Severus. I was terror-stricken
and in despair, when, as Heaven willed it, I
heard a cry of anger, and we were quickly
overtaken by a man, whom I recognised
in the dim light as my late preserver.
He threw himself upon my assailants, and
a fearful struggle began between the three.
My young athlete, however, managed to
lay the assassins in the dust, and returned
to my side ; but, perceiving that my servant
had risen, and was approaching unhurt,
he took my hand, and kissing it respect-
fully, departed before I could recover from
the sudden shock of the unexpected attack,
or could articulate a single word.

" I have no recollection of my mother ;
but my father, who loved me tenderly, used
to take me every year to bathe at Porto
d'Anzo, for he knew how much I delighted
in the ocean, and how pleased I was to
escape from the aristocratic society of
VOL. i. M

178 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Home, where, had he studied his own
inclinations, he would gladly have remained.
My father possessed a little villa not far
from the sea, to the north of Porto d'Anzo,
where we resided during our visits to the
Mediterranean, the sight of which I dearly
loved. Here I was happier than in Eome ;
hut I felt a void in my existence, a craving
in my heart, which made me restless and
melancholy. In fact, I was in love with
my unknown preserver.

" Often I passed hours in scrutinising
every passer-by from the balcony of my
window, hoping vainly to obtain a glimpse
of the man whose image was engraven upon
my heart. If I saw a boat or any small
craft upon the sea, I searched eagerly, by
the aid of my telescope, among crew and
passengers for the form of my idol.

"I .did not dream in vain. Sitting

c

alone in my balcony one evening, wrapped
in gloomy thoughts, and contemplating
almost involuntarily the moon as she
rose slowly above the Pontine marshes, I
was startled from my reverie by the noise

IRENE. 179

of something dropping to the ground from
the wall surrounding the villa. My heait
began to beat violently, but not from fear.
I fancied I saw by the dim light a figure
emerging from the shrubbery towards me.
A friendly ray from the moon illumined the
face of the intruder as he approached, and
when I beheld the features I had sought for
so many days in vain I could not repress
a cry of surprise and joy, and it required
all my womanly modesty to restrain a
violent desire to run down the steps
leading to my balcony and embrace him.

" My love of solitude, and my disdain for
the pleasures of the capital had kept me
in comparative ignorance of worldly things,
and, with good principles, I had remained
an ingenuous, simple daughter of nature.

" 'Irene,' said a voice which penetrated
to the inmost recesses of my soul ; ' Irene,
may I dare ask for the good fortune to
say two words to you, either there or here ? '

' To descend appeared to me to be more
convenient than to permit him to enter
the rooms ; I therefore went down imme-

M 2

180 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

diately, and, forgetting, for the moment,
his fine speeches, in joy, he covered my
hands with burning kisses. Conducting
me towards some trees, we sat down upon
a wooden bench under their shady branches
side by side. He might have led me to
the end of the world at that strange and
sweet moment had he pleased.

" For a while we remained silent ; but
presently my deliverer said, ' May I ask
pardon for this boldness— r-will you not
grant it my loved one?' I made no
reply, but allowed him to take possession
of my hand, which he kissed fervently.
Presently he went on, ' I am only a
plebeian, Irene — an orphan. Both my
parents perished in the defence of Borne
against the foreigner. I possess nothing
on this earth but my arms, and my love
for you, which has made me follow your
footsteps.'

" Predisposed to love him, even before I
had heard his voice, now that his manly yet
gentle and impassioned tones fell upon my
ear, I felt he might do what he would with

IRENE. 181

me — I was in an Eden. Yes, he belonged
to me, and I to him ; but I could not find
the voice to say so as yet.

" ' Irene,' he continued, ' I am not only a
portionless orphan, but an outlaw, con-
demned to death, and pursued like a wild
beast of the forest by the bloodhounds of
the Government. Yet I have presumed to
hope that you might be gentle to me for my
love, with the strength of your generous
nature; and more so, alas! when I saw that
you were unhappy, for I have watched you
unseen, and noted with sorrow and hope the
melancholy expression of your face. I am
come, though your sweet kindness flatters
me, Irene, to tell you these things which
make it impossible, of course, that you can
ever be mine. I have no claim or right
but my ardent love ; the small services I
have rendered you have blessed me, and
made me proud and happy; therefore you
owe me nought of gratitude. If I should
ever have the delight of laying down my
life for yours, my happiness will then, in-
deed, be complete. Adieu, Irene, farewell !'

182 THE RULE OP THE MONK.

lie continued, rising and pressing my hand
to his heart, while he turned to leave me.

" I had remained in an ecstacy of silent
joy, forgetful of the world, of myself, of all
save him. At the word 'farewell,' I started
as if electrified ; I ran to him, crying ' stay,
oh, stay !' and clasping him by the arm,
drew him back to the bench, and quite
forgetting all reserve myself, exclaimed,
' Thou art mine, and I am thine for life !
thine, yes, thine for ever, my beloved!'

"He told me all his story — he pictured
to me the hope and aim of his life. His
burning words of love for Italy and hatred
of her tyrants added to my strength of
resolve. I replied, that I would share his
fortunes forthwith as his wife, and with
no regrets, except upon my father's account.
It was then arranged that we should live
here together. A few days of preparation,
and we were privately married. I followed
my Orazio to the forest, where ever since I
have dwelt with him. I will not say I am
perfectly happy — no ; but my only grief is
the remembrance that my disappearance

IRENE. 183

accelerated, I fear, at least in a measure,
the death of my aged and affectionate
parent."

Tired as our poor Silvia was, she could
not but listen with interest to the narrative
of Irene, down whose beautiful cheeks the
tears coursed at the mention of her father's
name. Clelia, too, had not lost a single
word, and more than one sigh from her fair
bosom seemed to say, during her hostess's
recital, " Ah, my Attilio ! is he not also
handsome, valorous, and worthy of love,
yes, of my love ! " But now, wishing repose
to her guests, Irene bade them good-night.

CHAPTEE XXXI.

GASPARO.

THE history of the Papacy is a history of
brigands. From the mediaeval period
robbers have been paid by that weak and
demoralising Government to keep Italy in a
state of ferment and internal war ; and at
this very day it makes use of thieves to
hold her in thraldom and hinder her rege-
neration, or drives honest men to the wilds.
I repeat, then, that the history of the
Papacy is a history of brigands.

Whoever visited Civita Vecchia in 1849
must have heard of Gasparo, the famous
leader of a band of brigands, a relative of
the Cardinal A . Indeed, many per-
sons paid a visit to that city simply for
the purpose of beholding so extraordinary
a man.

Gasparo, at the head of his band, hud

GASPARO. 185

long defied the Pontifical Government, and
sustained many encounters with the gen-
darmes and regular troops, whom he almost
invariably defeated and put to flight.

Failing to capture the brigand by force of
arms, the Government had recourse to
stratagem. As I have already stated,
Gasparo was related to a cardinal, one of
the most powerful at Court; and as they

were both natives of S , where many of

their mutual relations resided, these rela-
tions were made use of by the Government
to act as mediators between it and the
brigand, to whom it made several splendid
offers.

U . Gasparo, putting faith in the promises
made by his kinspeople at the instance of
the Government, disbanded his men, but
was then shamefully betrayed, arrested, and
taken in chains to the prison in Civita
Vecchia, where he was found during the
Eepublican period in 1849.*

Prince T , the brother of Irene,

having obtained some clue, through the

* See Note 5.

186 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

shepherds, whose description of a beautiful
dweller in the forest left little doubt upon
his mind as to her identity, consulted with

the Cardinal A , and determined at

any cost to recover his sister.

Although backed by the Government, and
authorised to make use of the regiment
which he commanded, the Prince, from his
ignorance of the many hidden recesses in
the forest, did not feel at all certain of
success ; and in his dilemma applied to the
Cardinal to secure for him the services of
the prisoner Gasparo, his relative, as a
guide.

"It is a good thought," said the
Cardinal ; " Gasparo is better acquainted
with every inch of the forest than we are
with the streets of Koine. Besides, they
say, that such are his olfactory powers,
that by taking a handful of grass, and
smelling at it, even at midnight, he could
tell you what portion of the forest you
were in. He is old now, it is true ; but
he has courage enough still to face even
the devil himself."

GASPARO. 187

When Gasparo heard he was to be con-
ducted to Rome, he gave himself up for
lost, and said to himself, " Better were it to
die at once, for I am tired of this miserable
existence ; only then I should go to my
grave unrevenged for the treachery and
injury I have suffered at the hands of
these villanous priests."

Two squads of gendarmes, one on foot,
and the other mounted, conducted this
formidable brigand from Civita Vecchia to
Rome. The Government would have pre-
ferred removing him at night, but darkness
would have facilitated his rescue, which it
was feared some of his old companions might
attempt if they heard of his journey. It
was therefore decided Gasparo should travel
by day, and the road was thronged by so
dense a multitude, who pressed forward to
gaze at the celebrated chieftain, that the
progress of the Pope could scarcely have
attracted greater numbers.

Arrived in Eome, Gasparo was afterwards
introduced into the presence of his relative,
Cardinal A , and the Prince T ,

188

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

who with many words, and promises of a
large reward in gold, to all appearance
prevailed upon him to assist them in
destroying the hands of " libertines " by
which the forest was infested.

llejoicing in such a chance of escape and
opportunity for revenge upon his persecu-
tors, Gasparo affected to be delighted at
the proposition, and consented to it with
much apparent pleasure.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE SURPRISE.

SILVIA, Clelia, and Jack had passed
several days very pleasantly in the Castle
of Lucullus, as the guests of Orazio and
Irene.

Among Orazio's band were several well-
connected men, whose friends in the city,
unknown to the Government, sent them
regularly sums of money, which enabled
them to supply the table of their chief.
The gallantry of the young Romans to the
"Pearl of Trastevere" was profound. Clelia
would have been more glad, though, to have
had her Attilio at her side. And Silvia, the
gentle Silvia, sighed when she remembered
the uncertain fate of her Manlio. But the
two ladies were nevertheless well pleased.
As for Jack, he was the happiest being
on earth, for Orazio had presented him with

190 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

one of the carbines taken from the brigands
who had assaulted Manlio and his party;
and it was inseparable from him in all his
hunting and reconnoitring excursions in the
woods.

One day Orazio took the sailor with
him to seek a stag, and directed Jack to
beat, whilst he placed himself in ambush.
Their arrangements were so effective, that,
in less than half an hour, a hart crossed
Orazio's path. He fired, and wounded him,
but not mortally ; he therefore fired a
second time, and, with a cry, the noble
animal fell.

As he discharged his second shot, Orazio
heard a rustling in the bushes near him.
Listening for a second, he was convinced
some one was approaching from the thickest
part of the cover. Jack it could not be ;
he was too far off to have returned so
quickly.

A suspicion that he was to be the object
of an attack caused him to curse his in-
caution as he looked at the empty barrels
of his carbine. He appeared not mistaken ;

THE SURPRISE. 191

for, hardly had he placed the butt-end of
his gun upon the ground in order to re-
load it, than a head, more like that of
some wild creature than a human being,
was thrust from between the bushes.

To the valorous fear is a stranger, and
our Eoman, who was truly brave, sprang
forward, dagger in hand, to confront the
apparition, which, however, exclaimed,
"Hold!" in such a tone of authority and
sang-froid, that Orazio fell back astonished,
and paused.

foot, and had, as we have said, a striking
appearance. His head, covered with a
tangled mass of hair, white as snow, was
surmounted by a Calabrian hat; his beard
was grizzled, and as bristly as the chine of
a wild boar, concealing almost the whole
of his face, out of which, nevertheless,
glared two fiery eyes. Held erect and
placed upon magnificent shoulders, years
had not bowed nor persecution subjugated
that daring front. His broad chest was
covered by a dark velvet vest; around his

192 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

waist was buckled the inseparable cart-
ridge-box. A velvet coat, and leather

o

gaiters buttoned at the knee, completed
his costume.

"I am not your enemy, Orazio," said
Gaspare — for it was he — "but am come
to warn you of an approaching danger,
which might prove your ruin, and that
of your friends."

" That you are not my enemy I am
assured," replied Orazio ; " for you might,
had you chosen, have killed me before I
found a chance of defending myself. I
know well that Grasparo can handle a gun
skilfully."

" Yes," answered the bandit, " there was
a time when I needed not to fire many
second shots at deer or wild boar, but now
my eyes are beginning to fail me ; yet I
shall not be behind my companions when
the time for attacking the common enemy
arrives. But let us talk a while, for I
have important news to communicate to

you."

Seating himself upon the trunk of a

THE SURPRISE. 193

fallen tree, Gasparo related to Orazio the
projects of the Papal court, aided by
Prince T at the head of his regi-
ment; and how he himself had heen sent
for, from confinement, to assist the Prince
in discovering the retreat of the "Libe-
rals ; " also how, burning to be revenged
upon the priestly Government, he had
effected his escape, and now offered his
services, and those of his adherents, to
Orazio, on the simple condition of being
accepted amongst the " Liberals " as one
of their band.

" But, Gasparo, you have so many
serious crimes to answer for, if the reports
about you be true, that we could not
possibly admit you into our company,"
observed Orazio.

" Crimes ! " repeated the friendly bri-
gand ; " I own no crimes but those of
having purged society from some bloody
and powerful villains and their wicked
agents. Is that a crime ? and is it a
crime to have helped the needy and the
oppressed? or do you believe that, if I

VOL. I. N

194 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

had been a mere paltry criminal, the
Government would have been in such awe
of me, or that I should have been so be-
loved by the populace? The Government
fears me because I have no sin upon my
soul but resentment against its wicked-
ness, and because it is conscious of having
betrayed me in a cowardly and deceitful
manner, and that, when I return 'once
more to my free life, I shall make it pay
dearly for its deceit and treachery.

" Yes, I have sometimes," he continued,
after a pause, "made use of my carbine
as an instrument of justice, in accordance
with the laws of humanity and of right-
eousness. Can the priests say as much of
their accursed scaffold?"

Jack arriving at this moment, Orazio
explained by signs that the stranger was
friendly ; and, after making preparations
to carry off the game, they returned with
Gasparo to the castle, to equip themselves
against the approaching assault.

CHAPTEE XXXIII.

THE ASSAULT.

THE Prince having ascertained from other
spies — who proved more docile than
Gasparo — that the band of " Liberals "
were occupying the castle of Lucullus,
made active arrangements to besiege it ;
and, after approaching the place, disposed
his men in such a manner that it might
be surrounded on all sides, so that escape
from it in any direction should be impos-
sible. The brother of Irene — like many
other generals — committed the error of
spreading his men over a large space of
ground, and detaching a number of senti-
nels, pickets, videttes, and scouts, so as to
leave himself with too small a body against
assailants. Not knowing the exact site of

the castle, Prince T had sent Grasparo

on to explore, who took advantage of his

N 2

196 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

freedom, as the reader is aware, to desert
to the threatened little garrison. Impatient
at his prolonged absence, the Prince com-
manded his officers to cause their men —
about a thousand strong — to narrow the
circle, and to assault the castle when each
column arrived in sight of it. As might
be expected, so complex a scheme proved
unfortunate. The detachment to the
north, commanded by the Prince in
person, marched in a straight line for
the tower; but the others, partly through
the ignorance of the officers, and partly
through the disinclination of the guides
to begin the affray, instead of following
the right path, struck out into the wood,
and were soon in inextricable confusion,
calling hither and thither to each other,
and often returning to the point from
which they started. In this way several
hours were lost.

The Prince, with two hundred of his
most serviceable men, arrived, however,
within sight of the spot, which they only
discovered about four o'clock in the after-

THE ASSAULT. 197

noon, and then perceived, to their chagrin,
that preparations for defence had been made.
But reckoning on the numbers of his
troops, and on the co-operation of the other
detachments, he drew his sword, disposed
of half his men as skirmishers, and keep-
ing the other half as a reserve, ordered the
signal to be given for attack.

Orazio and his young Romans could have
avoided the combat by taking refuge in
the subterranean passages, but disdaining
a retreat before measuring strength with
the Papal mercenaries, he determined to
show fight, and upon returning to the castle
with Grasparo, hastened to have the doors
barricaded and holes made in the walls
for the musketeers, while every necessary
instrument was put in readiness for the
siege.

The young leader had ordered his men
not to fire at the enemy so long as they
were at a distance, but to wait until they
were close under the walls, so that each
might shoot down his man. The assailants
advanced boldly on the castle, and the front

198 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

rank of skirmishers had nearly reached the
threshold, when a general discharge from
the guns of those within laid nearly as
many of the Papal troops on the ground
as there were shots fired. This sudden
discharge disconcerted those behind, who,
seeing so many of their comrades fall,
turned and fled. The Prince, with his
column, was treading sharply on the heels
of the skirmishers, and arrived at this
juncture.

Orazio had taken the precaution to have
all the spare fire-arms in the tower loaded
and placed ready for use, and now com-
manded the domestics to help the ladies to
reload them as soon as they were discharged.
Jack, however, declined to remain with the
women, as Orazio had proposed, and seizing
his musket, placed himself at the side of his
preserver, following him like a shadow
throughout the attack.

When the Prince arrived under cover of
the outer mound, and saw the slaughter
that had taken place, he understood at last
the disposition of the enemy with whom he

THE ASSAULT. 199

had to deal. Eemarking the fear depicted
on the countenances of his men, and per-
ceiving that retreat under such a murderous
fire would be disastrous, to say nothing of
the disgrace of such a movement, he re-
solved to storm the wall. He passed the
word, accordingly, to the aides-de-camp, by
whom he was surrounded, to order the trum-
pets to sound the charge ; and, springing
forward himself, he was the first to climb
the barricade, striking right' and left with
his sabre at the few defenders posted there.
Orazio, who was among these few, stood
without moving at the first sight of the
Prince, in whose lineaments he traced so
plainly the likeness to his beloved Irene.
One of the barrels of his musket was still
undischarged, and he could easily have sent
the contents through the body of his enemy,
but he refrained. Jack, who was fighting
by his side, not understanding the cause
of this hesitation, raised his gun to a level
with the Prince's breast and fired; but as
he did so Orazio knocked up the muzzle
with all the force of his strong arm, and

200 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the ball struck one of the Prince's men,
who had just appeared above the barricade.
The Prince's followers who mounted with
him were few in number, and those few
were quickly despatched by the valiant
garrison of the castle.

An unexpected circumstance finally freed
our party from their assailants, and made
them fly in every direction, scattered like
a flock of sheep.

As the officers were urging the men
crowded under the barricades to follow the
Prince, a cry of "Enemies in the rear ! " was
heard from the' east side of the wood. A
small band of ten men appearing, sprang like
lions on the right flank of the little army.
The soldiers, in the panic, thinking the
" ten " might be a hundred, dispersed like
chaff before the wind. Some few paused,
hoping that the new-comers would prove
some of their own missing allies, but upon
a nearer view it was plain that they were
dressed in the uniform of the Liberals, and
the blows they dealt upon the nearest Papa-
lini were so terribly in earnest, that these

THE ASSAULT. 201

latter turned and fled in dismay, leaving
their opponents masters of the field, and the
Prince a prisoner. Realising the generous
act of his enemy, and finding out that he
was left alone, he delivered up his sword
to Orazio, who received it courteously, and
conducted him to the presence of Irene.

CHAPTER XXXIY.

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION.

THE most earnest reformer must confess
that immense progress has been made
during the present century. We are not
speaking of mechanical or physical arts — in
which the advance is really wonderful — but
we are thinking solely of the political and
moral achievements of the age.

The emancipation of the nations from
the power of the priest is a vast object not
yet attained, but towards the. accomplish-
ment of it, nevertheless, our generation is
making gigantic strides.

Above all, this progress seems marvel-
lous and divinely impelled, when one re-
members that the gradual destruction of
priestcraft is the work of the priesthood it-
self. What enduring consolidation would
not the Papacy have obtained, had Pius IX.

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION. 203

but continued the system of reform with
which he commenced his reign, and sincerely
identified himself with the Italian nation !
An overruling Providence, however, blinded
the eyes of the wavering monk for the good
of his unfortunate people, and left him to
travel on the perverse and misguided road
of his predecessors — that is to say, to trade
away Roman honour and Christian spirit for
the help of the foreigner, vilely selling the
blood of his countrymen. The Italian
nation, which might have been so well and
long deceived, has now seen these impostors,
the priests, walking with cross in hand at
the head of the foreign troops pitted against
Italian patriots. The writer has with his
own eyes more than once witnessed priests
leading the Austrians against the Liberals.
To serve the Papacy, they have excited
and maintained brigandage, devastating the
southern provinces with horrible crimes,
and fomenting by every means in their
power the dissolution of national unity, so
happily but hardly constituted.

Another sign of human progress in our

204 THE RULE 0V THE MONK.

day is the closer tie establishing itself be-
tween the aristocracy and the people. There
still exist some oligarchs everywhere, more
or less callous, more or less insolent, who
affect the arrogance and authority of former
times, when the outrageous and intolerable
feudal pretensions were in full force. But
they are few in number, and the greater
part of the nobility (noble not only by birth,
but in soul) associate with us, and mingle
their aspirations with ours.

To this last type belonged the brother of
Irene, who undertook the unlucky military
affair we related in the last chapter, in
the idea of rescuing his beloved sister from
the brigands, into whose hands he believed
she had fallen an unwilling victim. But
when he learned that those he had fought

o

against were Romans of noble and lofty
spirit, and very far from the assassins he
had pictured, he did not fail to compliment
the valour of his countrymen ; and when
he further learned that Orazio, to whose
generosity he owed his life, was the
legal husband of his sister, and that she

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION. 205

loved him so tenderly, his manner and
opinion changed entirely.

These considerations had pleaded already
in favour of Irene, who, upon seeing her
brother, threw herself at his feet, clasping
his knees, in a flood of tears, which flowed
the faster at the remembrance of her dead
father, whom he represented in face and
voice.

The Prince, raising her gently, mingled
his tears with hers, as he affectionately em-
braced her. Orazio, touched to the depths
of his soul, was also affected, and taking the
Prince's sword by the point, handed it back
to him, saying, " So noble a soldier ought
not to be deprived, even by accident, of his
weapon." The Prince accepted it with
gratitude, and shook the bronzed hand of
this son of the forest amicably.

And Clelia ! what had made her rush
away from this charming scene ? what had
she heard amid the noise of the conflict?
She had recognised the voice of her Attilio
during the assault, and for her and him too
this was a supreme moment. Yes, during

206 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

the battle, when the shouts of the new-
comers made the arches of the castle ring
again, Clelia distinguished her betrothed's
accents. She threw down a gun which she
was loading, and rushed to a balcony,
whence she could survey the scene of
action. For one second, through the smoke,
she obtained a view of the face engraven
upon her heart, but that second was suffi-
cient to make her feel surpassingly happy.
Attilio, indeed, it was, who, with Silvio,
Muzio, and some other companions, had
thus charged and scattered the Papal
troops.

Silvio, it must be known, was well ac-
quainted with the castle of Lucullus, where
he had often been a guest, as well as an
associate of Orazio in his hunting and fight-
ing expeditions. Through him a communi-
cation was kept up between the Liberals in

w*

the city and those in the country. Before
quitting Eome he had come to the determi-
nation of taking the field, and placing him-
self under Orazio's flag, and, as we have
seen, he happily arrived with his associates

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION. 207

just in time to give the last blow to the
Papal soldiers.

The gentle reader must himself imagine
the joy in the castle caused by the arrival
of friends who could contribute so power-
fully to the safety of the proscribed. What
interrogations ! what embracings ! what in-
quiries after parents, relatives, and friends !
what new and happy hopes ! what soft illu-
sions, dreams of peace and rest !

"Oh, my own, my own!" whispered
Clelia, when Attilio for the first time im-
printed a kiss upon her beautiful brow,
"thou art mine and I am thine, in spite
of the wicked priests ; in spite of the
world!"

The smell of the gunpowder had perhaps,
turned her dear little head, so that we may
pass over the slight indiscretion of such
confessions. She should have been more
coquettish, but she was a Roman girl, and
her love was true. And is not true love»
sublime, heroic, such as these two happy
beings bore to one another? Is it not
the life of the soul, the incentive of all

208 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

that is noble, the civiliser of the human
race ?

The Liberals had a glorious acquisition
in the person of Prince T ; he was en-
tirely converted by the scenes he had wit-
nessed, and the words which he heard ; for,
generous and brave by nature, he felt with
shame the humiliation of his country, and
desired to see her liberated from the bad
government of the priest and the foreigner.
Educated away from Kome, however, and
moving in a different sphere from those
patriots who held in their hands the plot
of the Revolution, he had remained in
ignorance of much that was passing, and
had even accepted, at his father's desire, a
post in the Pontifical army, which removed
him farther than ever from the influence of
our brave friends. But a film had now
passed from his sight, and -he discerned
at last with clearer vision the greatness
of his country's future, and how surely
Italy — now divided into so many parts,
despised and scorned by the world — would
yet be re-united, and become one grand

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION. 209

and noble nation, looked up to and re-
spected, as in the days of her past glory,
as the patriotic Italians of all periods have
ever dreamed and prayed she should be.

The Prince was enchanted with his new
quarters and with his new companions, and
vowed to himself to live and die for the
sacred cause of his country.

Rich, powerful, and generous, he became
in the future the strongest supporter of the
proscribed ; and they had reason to congratu-
late themselves for having put faith and
hope in so noble a patriot, and one whom
they had thus doubly conquered.

VOL. I.

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE AMELIORATION OF MANKIND.

ORAZIO having received and welcomed his
friend and brethren, now began to think
of their general safety. He therefore called
aside Attilio and the Prince (who by this
time had become firmly devoted to them
and the national cause), and addressed
them as follows : —

"It is true we have been victorious in

our last encounter, and have vanquished

t

you, Prince, whose noble conduct now
conquers our hearts; but I fear that this
castle has become too notorious for us
to remain longer in it in safety. The
Government will employ every means
in its power to hunt us out of our
retreat, and to destroy us, and is capable
of sending a whole army with artillery to
demolish these old walls. I do not, how-

THE AMELIORATION OF MANKIND. 211

ever, advise an immediate retirement, as the
cardinals will require time to form projects
and make arrangements ; but it behoves
us now to use all vigilance, and from this
moment to ascertain the movements of the
enemy and guard against surprise. As
for yourself, Prince, you had better return
to Eome ; your presence here is not needed
for the present, and there you may be of
the greatest use to us. Let it be thought
that you were set at liberty on parole, on
condition that you would not bear arms
against us, and then send in your resig-
nation."

"Yes," replied the Prince, "I can be of
more service to you in Eome, and I
pledge my word of honour to be yours
until death."

Attilio was of the same opinion, and
added that Eegola would advise them of
the movements of the Pontifical troops.
On the Prince desiring some secure means
of remaining with them, Attilio presented
him with a piece of paper — so small that
it might easily be swallowed in case of

o 2

2 12 Till: RULE OF THE MONK.

emergency — containing a line of recom-
mendation for the Prince to Regola.

The rest of the day was devoted to the
interment of the dead, of which there were
not a few, and to tending the wounded,
nearly all of whom were Papalini. Three
of the Liberals only were wounded, and
those not seriously. This proves that, in
the strife of battle, the valorous run the
least danger; and if the statistics of the
field were referred to, it would be seen
that fugitives lose more men than any
army which stands its ground.

At midnight the Prince started for Kome.
And who acted as his guide ? Who, bu
Gasparo, the veteran chief of the bandits
in old times, now an affiliated Liberal, as
he had proved in the last affray, in which
he had done wonders with his unerring
carbine.

I who write this am well persuaded of
the truth of the perpetual amelioration of
the human race. I am wholly opposed
to the cynic and the pessimist, and be-
lieve with all my heart and soul in the

THE AMELIORATION Ol1 MANKIND. 213

law of human progress by various agencies,
under many forms, and with many necessary
interruptions. Providence has willed that
happiness shall be the final end of this sad
planet and suffering race ; but its decrees
work slowly, and only by the submission
of mankind to the higher law of light is
happiness attainable. Not by miracles will
men become regenerated. Voltaire has
well said —

" .Pen ai vaincu plus d'un, je n'ai force personne,
Efc le vrai Dieu, mon fils,
Esfc Tin Dieu qui pardonne."

If humanity does not improve along with
the progress of knowledge, as it should do,
the fault must lie with the various govern-
ments, for with kind treatment and judi-
cious care, even the wild beasts of the
forest become domesticated, and their fierce
passions are tamed. What, then, may we
not accomplish with the very lowest grade
of mankind? But can anything be ex-
pected from a people kept purposely in
ignorance, and reduced to misery by ex-
actions, imposts, and taxes ? We know

214 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

that these taxes and exactions are not, as
it is stated, imposed upon the Eomans for
the defence of the state, or for the support
and maintenance of national honour, but
to fatten the Pontifical government and its
multitude of parasites, who are to the
people what vermin are to the body, or
what the worm is to the corpse, and who
exist only to plunder and devour. Who
can deny that the people of Southern Italy
were more prosperous in 1860 than at the
present day, and is not the reason because
they were better governed ?

In those days brigandage was scarcely
known ; there were no prefects, no gen-
darmes, no bravos. Now, with the multi-
tude of satellites existing in the South, who
ruin Italian finance, anarchy, brigandage,
and misery prevail. Poor people ! They
hoped, after so many centuries of tyranny,
and after the brilliant revolution of 1860,
to obtain in a reformed Government an era
of repose, of progress, and of prosperity.
Alas, it was but a delusion ! " Put not
your trust in princes," says Holy Writ.

THE AMELIORATION OF MANKIND. 215

Grasparo had baptised himself a Liberal
in the blood of the oppressors. He was
received by the young brigand with indul-
gence, and even enthusiasm ; and entrusted,
as already mentioned, with the mission of

conducting Prince T out of the forest

into the direct road to Rome.

The prediction of Orazio respecting the
steps that would be taken by the Papal
Government fulfilled itself exactly. After
the reverse it had sustained at the castle
of Lucullus, the bishops decided in council
to send a large body of troops, with artil-
lery, against this stronghold of the Liberals;
and as it was thought they would not tarry
long for such a descent, the resolution was
to carry the assault into immediate execu-
tion.

With this in view, it was determined
that not only the Papal, but also the
alien troops at the service of the Pope,
should be drawn upon for the expedition.
A foreign general of note was called in to
direct the enterprise, and everything was
made ready with alacrity, that the critical

216 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

assault might be delivered on Easter Day,
generally so propitious to the priests ; who
on that occasion, after their long fast,
gorge even more than usual their capacious
stomachs at the expense of their ignorant
and superstitious flocks.

Orazio and his companions, meanwhile,
were not sleeping, and received regular in-
formation from their friends in Eome of the
plans and preparations made by the Pon-
tifical Government, albeit it kept them as
secret as possible. The first thing Orazio
did was to explore the subterranean pas-
sages thoroughly. These were known, even
to him and to a few of his comrades, only
partially; but Gasparo, who had already
returned from his mission, had had bet-
ter opportunities of examining them, and,
with his assistance, a thorough explora-
tion was to be made.

CHAPTEE XXXVI.

THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES.

AMONG the wonders of the metropolis of
the world the catacombs or subterranean
vaults and passages are certainly not the
least.

The first Christians, persecuted with
atrocious cruelty by the pagan imperial
government of Eome, sought refuge for
safety occasionally in the catacombs ; and
sometimes, also, that they migh£ assemble
without incurring suspicion, in large num-
bers, to instruct themselves in the doctrines
of their new religion. These subterranean
passages were also undoubtedly the resort of
fugitive slaves and other miserable beings,
who sought refuge from the tyrannical
government of imperial Rome, over which
have presided some of the direst monsters
that ever existed — Nero, Caligula, Helio-
gabalus, and other despots in purple.

218 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Among these subterranean passages there
are, it appears, different kinds. Some were
constructed for the purpose of receiving the
dead, others were used as water conduits,
and supplied the city with rivers of fresh
water for a population of two millions.
The Cloaca Maxima, which led from Rome
to the sea, is a famous example of many
more smaller hidden roads, constructed by
rich private individuals, at an enormous
expense, in which they could secrete
themselves from the depredations of those
greatest ot all robbers, the emperors, and
in later times from the persecution and
massacres of the barbarians.

The soil upon which Borne is built, as
well as that in its immediate neighbour-
hood, offers great facilities to the excavator,
being composed of volcanic clay, easy to
pierce, yet sufficiently solid and impenetrable
against damp to form a secure habitation.
In fact, to this day many shepherds, with
their flocks, lodge in these artificial caverns.

Before the exploration of the subter-
ranean passages of the castle, it was

THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES. 219

thought desirable to send the severely
wounded to Rome, attended by those who
were only slightly injured, and conducted
by some shepherds. Among the Liberals
very few were wounded, and none severely
so. Many of the Papalini, moreover,
requested permission to remain and follow
the fortunes of the proscribed; for there
are not many Italian soldiers, however
debased, who willingly serve the priest-
hood ; and there is no doubt that when the
hour for liberating Italy and Rome from
their pollution arrives, not a soldier, with
the exception of the foreign mercenaries,
will remain to protect them.

After despatching the wounded, Orazio
and his men removed to the subterranean
passages all that the castle contained
which was valuable and useful, with pro-
visions of all kinds to last for some time,
and then awaited calmly the coming of the
enemy. They did not fail to take all
military precautions, and that in spite of
the notices from Rome of every movement,
of the enemy. Orazio also sent scouts, and

220 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

placed sentinels in all directions, that he
might be apprised at the earliest moment
of their approach.

The original party had been considerably
augmented by the arrival of Attilio and his
followers, as well as by those of the Eoman
soldiers who had resolved to serve the priest
no longer ; -not to mention certain youths
from the capital, who, having heard of the
victory won by the Liberals, determined
forthwith to join them. They now num-
bered sixty individuals, without counting
the women, while Orazio's authority over
his band was increased rather than lessened
by this addition, and Attilio, although at
the head of the Roman party, and com-
mander of the' Three Hundred, showed
the greatest fidelity in obeying the orders
of his brave and warlike brother in arms.

Orazio divided his little army into four
companies, under the command of Attilio,
Muzio, Silvio, and Emilio the antiquary.
The latter had been second in command
before the advent of the chief of the Three
Hundred, but made it a point of honour to

THE SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES.

221

yield this post to him. A generous dispute
ensued, which would never have ended, had
not Orazio persuaded Attilio to accept the
first command, and assigned the second to
Emilio. Such was the disinterestedness of
these champions of Rome's liberty ! " Free-
dom for Rome or death! " was their motto.
Little did they care for grades, distinctions,
or decorations, which they, indeed, held as
instruments used by despotism to corrupt
one half of the nation, and humiliate and
hold in bondage the other half.

CHAPTEE XXXVII.

THE ANTIQUARY.

IT was Easter Eve. Everything in the
antique monument was in readiness for the
siege, and those of the band who were not
on duty were assembled with Orazio and
the ladies in the spacious dining-hall. After
a truly Homeric supper, which was enli-
vened by some patriotic toasts, Emilio the
antiquary, who desired to put them on their
guard against any contretemps that might
arise, asked permission of his commander
to speak a few words. Consent being
given, Emilio began thus : —

"As we shall soon have to take refuge
in the subterranean passages, I wish, by
way of precaution, to narrate a circumstance
that happened to me a few years ago in the
vicinity of Rome. You all remember the
superb mausoleum of Cecilia Metella,

THE ANTIQUARY. 223

erected by a Roman patrician in honour
of his daughter, who died in her twelfth
year.

"You know, too, that that mausoleum
is beautiful among all our ruins, and, like
the Pantheon, one of the best preserved.
But what you do not, perhaps, know, is that
under it is the opening to a subterranean
passage, leading no one knows whither.
One day I determined to investigate this
dark place, and as, in my youthful folly
and pride, I thought I should not have so
much merit if I were accompanied by any
one, I resolved to go alone. Providing
myself with an immense ball of twine, so
large that I could scarcely grasp it, and a
bundle of tapers, some bread, and a flask
of wine, I ventured out very early in the
morning, descended into the bowels of the
earth, having previously secured the end
of my twine at the entrance to the tunnel,
and commenced my mysterious journey.
Onward, onward I went under the gloomy
arches, and the further I went the more
my curiosity was excited. It appeared

224 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

truly astounding to me that any human
being destined by God to dwell upon the
earth, and enjoy the fruits and blessed light
of the sun, should ever have condemned
himself to perpetual darkness, or have
worked so hard, like the mole, to construct
such a secure, but fearful habitation.
Wretched, and bitterly terrified, although
rich, must have been those who, at the
cost of so much labour, excavated these
gigantic works for hiding-places.

"While such thoughts were passing
through my mind, I continued to walk,
lighted by my taper, unrolling my ball
at the same time, and endeavouring to
follow in a direction originally indicated
by the narrow passage at the entrance ;
but I discovered that the gloomy lane
gradually widened, and was supported by
columns of clay, from between which
opened various alleys, spreading out in
all directions. These were fantastically
and unsymmetrically arranged, as if the
architect had wished to involve any tres-
passers in an inextricable labryinth. The

THE ANTIQUARY. 225

observations I made troubled me somewhat,
and I speak frankly when I say that I
occasionally felt my courage failing me,
and was several times on the point of
turning back, but Pride cried, 'Of what
use were these preparations if your expe-
dition is to be a failure?'

" I felt ashamed of myself for my terror ;
besides, had I not my guiding thread that
would lead me back to security ? Onward
I went again, unwinding my twine, and
lighting, from time to time, a fresh taper, as
each became consumed. At last I came to
the end of my twine, and, much to my
discontent, I had encountered nothing but
a profound solitude. I was tired and rather
discouraged at having such a long road to
retrace. While I stood contemplating my
position, and holding the end of the thread
firmly, lest I should lose it, and anxiously
regarding my last taper, which I feared
every moment would be extinguished, I
heard a rustling, as of a woman's dress,
behind me, and, while turning round to
discover the cause, a breath blew out my
VOL. i. p

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

light, some one tore the thread violently
out of my fingers, and my arms were seized
with such force that the very bones seemed
to crack, while a cloth was thrown over my
head, completely blinding me.

"A presentiment of danger is ofttimes
harder to bear than the danger itself. I
had felt very much terrified when I first
heard the footsteps approaching me, but
now that I was being led by the hand
like a child, my fear fled : I had to do
with flesh and blood. I walked boldly
along. Although I was blinded, I was
conscious another light had been struck,
and that the touch and footsteps near me
were those of living beings, and not of
spirits. In this manner I proceeded for
some minutes, and then the veil or bandage
was removed from my eyes, and, to my
amazement, I found myself in a small room,
brilliantly illuminated, with a table in the
centre splendidly laid out, around which
sat twenty hearty fellows feasting merrily."

During the antiquary's narrative, a smile
had passed over Gasparo's face from time

THE ANTIQUARY. 227

to time ; now he rose, and extending his
hand to Emilio, said, with some emotion—

"Ah, my friend, were you then that
incautious explorer? I dwelt in the cata-
combs in those days with my band ; and
the emissaries of Rome, before venturing
into them, generally made their wills, if
prudent. The woman who blew out your
light, and who afterwards showed you so
much kindness, was my Alba, who died a
short time since from grief on account of
my sufferings and imprisonment."

" Oh ! " exclaimed the antiquary, " was
it you who sat at the head of the table,
and received as much homage from your
men as if you had been in reality a
sovereign ? "

"Yes, it was I," replied the bandit,
somewhat mournfully, noting Emilio's sur-
prise ; " years and the irons and cruelties
of those wretched men calling themselves
ministers of God have wrinkled my fore-
head and silvered these hairs. But my
conscience is pure. I have treated every
unhappy creature kindly, and you know

p 2

228 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

whether you received any harm from us,
or if even a hair of your head were touched.
I wished only to humiliate those proud
voluptuaries who live in luxury and vice
at the expense of suffering humanity ; and
with Grod's help and yours, although I am
old, I yet hope to see my country freed
from their monstrous yoke."

" Yes," answered the antiquary, affec-
tionately, " I received the greatest kindness
from you and your lady. I shall never
forget it as long as I live."

And then turning to the company, he
continued his recital —

" I was much shaken by my solitary
exploration, and a little, too, by my un-
expected encounter; and was so feverish
in consequence, that I was compelled to
remain two days in the subterranean abode;
and during that time I received, as you
have heard, the greatest care, and the most
delicate attentions from the amiable Alba,
who not only provided me with every
necessary, but watched assiduously by my
pillow. Having regained my strength at

THE ANTIQUARY.

the end of the two days, I requested to be
allowed to depart, and was conducted by a
new and shorter road into the light of the
sun, which I had thought never to see
again. Upon giving my word of honour
not to betray the secret of their existence,
two of the band pointed out the road to
Some, and left me to pursue my way."

CHAPTEE XXXVIII.

THE ROMAN AIIMY.

" Now opens before us," says a great
writer on ancient Italy, "that splendid
region in which, man grew to grander stature
than in any other part of the world, and
displayed prodigies of energy and moral
judgment. We are about to enter that
land consecrated by heroic virtues, from
which came a light of empire that illu-
mined the universe. To that proud life
has since succeeded deep death ; and now
in many places of ancient majesty you
will find nought but ruins — monuments of
departed grandeur amidst vast deserts of
death — dreary solitude, and the decayed
achievements of man. The city of the
rulers of the world fell, but the remains
of her past glories cannot be destroyed.
They have for ages sent, and still send
forth a mighty voice, which breaks the

THE ROMAN ARMY. 231

silence of her grave, proclaiming the great-
ness of those ancient inhabitants. The
country of the Latins is desolate, but
grand in its desolation; an austere nature
adds solemnity to the vacant sites of the
cities, their sepulchres, and relics. In the
midst of a wilderness, at every step, one
meets with tokens of a bygone power that
overawes the imagination. Frequently, in
the same spot, on the same stone, the
traveller reads the record of the joys and
the sorrows of generations divided by pro-
digious intervals of time. Here, also, are
to be seen the columns of those temples
in which the priests of old, with their
auguries and idols, deceived the people,
and reduced them to moral slavery. In
this, however, little is changed ; for further
on may be viewed modern temples, in
which religion is still made an instru-
ment of infamous tyranny. Sadnesses
ancient and sadnesses modern blend to-
gether ; memories of past dominations, and
tokens of dominations ruling down to the
present day.

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

" If the far-off cry of the wretched ple-
beians whom the savage aristocracy of a
past age precipitated from the cliff, makes
us shudder, shall we not feel something
akin to this when we hear the cry of
living victims of Popish fury imprisoned
in dungeons in our own day? Mingled
with the ashes of the leaders of the an-
cient people, you may here dig up those
of the martyrs of our own age, who shed
their blood for the new Republic, and fell
protesting against the bitter dominion of
the priesthood ; and pondering over these
memories, antique and recent, each true
Eoman may draw comfort for his afflicted
soul, seeing that in spite of the passage of
centuries, and the debasing strength of
tyrannies, the children of Rome, far as
they are from her heroic days, have never
quite lost the energy of their forefathers,
and thence, on this soil of auguries, each
may rightly draw the joyful presage that
now, as then, the genius of this sublime
country will never long leave her to such
shameful vicissitudes."

THE ROMAN ARMY. 233

We have introduced this noble patriotic
piece to aid in the difficult task of de-
picting the Rome of heroic times along
with the living hut paralysed virtues of
modern Latium. We may thus proceed
to discuss that strange and sad hetero-
geneous hand, native and foreign, which
forms what is called "the Roman army."
What manner of men are those who dedi-
cate themselves to the service of a govern-
ment like that of " Pio Nono " — a service
that cannot fail to inspire an honest man
with disgust? And here, we may repeat,
none hut a priesthood could hare so de-
graded a people, and placed them on a
level with the basest upon earth — a people,
too, born in a region where men have
attained to greater perfection of manhood
than in any other part of the known world.

The " Roman army," so called, is at
present composed partly of Romans, under
the observation of foreign soldiery, and
partly of foreign soldiers under the sway
of foreign commanders, while the people
themselves are under the protection (or

234 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

rather subjection) of a set of scoundrels
called gendarmes. For what are these
hired mercenaries but knaves thirsting for
profit, who, without principle and without
honour, enter this disgraceful service ? The
title, therefore, of " Papal soldier " is by
no means a martial distinction, but one
despised by a true man ; while, on the
other hand, the foreign interloper, scoundrel
though he be in embracing so dishonour-
able a calling, despises none the less the
native soldiery, whom he is called upon to
aid and abet. Hence, the native soldier
and the foreign hireling (not being in the
the true sense of the term brothers in
arms) frequently come to blows, when the
foreigner usually comes off" second best, for,
in spite of the influence of the priesthood
to render the Roman soldiery degenerate
and corrupt, some remains at least of their
ancient valour still exist.

This, is the condition of the Roman
army of the day, and this the reason
why it was despised by the "proscribed,"
who informed themselves of its move-

THE ROMAN ARMY.

ments, and quietly waited its approach.
In the case of the impending assault
upon Orazio's castle, time was lost by
the quarrels which prevailed as usual in
it. The foreigners, looking with contempt
upon the native soldiers, claimed to have
the right wing in the assault assigned
them; but the natives, not fearing the
foreigners, and believing themselves, with
reason, to be superior to them in the
art of war, resolutely refused to concede
this honour to alien troops. The priests,
too impotent to restore order, begun to
gnaw their nails at such junctures with
impatience, rage, and fear.

Easter day, then — the day destined for
the destruction of " the brigands " — would
most probably have seen the extermina-
tion of these mercenaries had not the
" Moderates " raised the cry of " Order
and brotherhood ! " And thus this fine
opportunity for finishing off a set of
knaves — • the plague and dishonour of
Italy — was lost.

Eegola, with the greater number of the

236 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

Three Hundred, seeing they could do no-
thing of themselves, for some time, to-
wards the liberation of Rome, had enlisted
in the ranks of the Pontifical troops —
according to the orders received from
outside — and were active in influencing
the Romans to demand the honour of
conducting the right wing in the order
of march. This being disputed, they
mutinied, and ill-treated their officers.
General D was sent with a com-
pany of foreigners to restore order, but
the strife was almost as serious as in a
pitched battle, and the foreigners fled dis-
comfited to their barracks.

The chief instigator of the mutiny was
our old acquaintance, Dentato, the ser-
geant of dragoons. Being released from
the pains and penalties inflicted upon him
by the Inquisition, which he had sus-
tained with a stoicism worthy of the
olden times, he resolved to be revenged
upon his persecutors at the first oppor-
tunity, and did not fail to make good
use of this occasion. At the head of his

THE ROMAN ARMY. 237

dragoons (for he had been restored to his
post), sabre in hand, he plunged into the
thickest of the fray, and made serious havoc
amongst the foreign troops. The affair
over, knowing what to expect at the
hands of his masters, he set out from
Home without dismounting, accompanied
by the better part of his men, sought
out the proscribed in the forest, who
received him most cordially, and heard
with satisfaction the account of his ad-
ventures in the capital.

CHAPTEE XXXIX.

MATRIMONY.

OF a surety the most holy and the closest
tie in all the human family is marriage.
It binds together two beings of an opposite
sex for life, and makes them, if they be
but worthy of that condition, supremely
happy. We say if they be worthy ad-
visedly, because that solemn rite should
only be contracted with the mutual pur-
pose that each is to seek the happiness
of the other, and such a union has for its
base true love — that is, celestial love — which
the ancients rightly distinguished from
sensual passion, the former being that love
of the soul which no worldly or selfish
views can ever influence. Even before
the marriage contract its anticipation does
much to soften and improve the character
of each, from the new feeling that they
must not fail to contribute to each other's

MATRIMONY. 239

welfare. The very atmosphere of happi-
ness makes married life nobler than lonely
life, while the love of parents for their off-
spring renders them gentle and forbearing,
and indulgent to their own first ; and finally
to others, whose good-will they wish to
win. Unfaithfulness, however, is, unhap-
pily, too frequently an incident of modern
marriages, but those of either sex who sin
against that loyalty in wedlock, which
should bind both indissolubly, unless hard-
ened in vice beyond all hope, feel such
remorse that they would, if they could,
return to their former purity by any
sacrifice. But truth, among other things,
should suffice to fortify the good against
temptation and dishonour, which brings
shame and ruin to the soul. Oh, you
whom this sacred tie has newly bound, be
true as Heaven to one another ! By your
fidelity you will secure your conscience in
the future against sharp and stinging re-
flections. Out of noble and heart-felt con-
stancy will spring a paradise upon earth,
— the foretaste of a blissful life beyond.

240 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

But priestly interference in this holy
communion of hearts blights and blas-
phemes the name of love, sowing the seeds
of hatred ; while this plague is felt more or
less all over the globe, by reason of the
number of unhappy marriages brought
about or directed by these busy tonsured
meddlers. What, then, must this baneful
influence be in Rome, where the priests
are so numerous as to reign almost
supreme in society ?

We have before stated that in the city
of Rome the largest number of illegitimate
births takes place, which arises naturally
(or rather zmnaturally) from the infamous
influence of priests, who traffic in matches,
and control the market of men and women
for their own profit.

But we will draw the veil of silence
over these lamentable facts, and ask pardon
of refined readers if we have shocked them,
even by a hint. Nevertheless, when we
remember the degradation and misery to
which our beloved but unhappy country
has been reduced by the despotism and

MATRIMONY. 241

corruption of her clerical Government,
shame and grief are hard to restrain. Oh,
pardon me, you whose chaste eyes have
no Rome to weep for !

Yes, marriage is a sacred act. By it a
man imposes on himself the duty to
love, protect, and support his wife, and
the children she may bear him. And this
act is the first cause of the progress and
civilisation of mankind. The priest, being
no other than a meddler and impostor, is
consequently unworthy of celebrating that
most important act of life. The municipal
authorities, who ought to be cognisant of all
that concerns the citizens, and register all
acts, should preside at the ceremony of
marriage, or, as immediate representatives
of these, the parents of the contracting
parties, who are their natural and lawful
guardians.

To these latter authorities Attilio and
Clelia referred themselves.

" My own ! my own ! " Clelia had whis-
pered to herself during Irene's narration;
and in the hour when her beloved was at
VOL. i. Q

THE RULE OF THE MONK.

her feet, overjoyed by the blissful atmo-
sphere that surrounded her, she resisted his
passionate and honest solicitations for some
time, but at last gave him permission to
demand her in marriage of her mother,
adding, "If she consents, I will be thine
for life."

Although Silvia was of a somewhat
hesitating temperament, and would have
preferred having her Manlio at hand to
consult as to the destiny of her dearly
beloved child, still she had sufficient good
sense to see that a union between the
two ardent lovers was very desirable, and
felt that, under the peculiar circumstances
of their banishment and forest life, she
might be assured of her husband's sanction,
and therefore accorded them hers.

Silvia could not endure priests, and
civil authorities there were none to consult
or employ, except the sylvan jurisdiction
of their honest preserver, Orazio, and her
own maternal governance. These, she
opined, were sufficient for the occasion,
and it was not difficult to persuade her

MATRIMONY. 243

bold but gentle and enlightened conscience
that this simple, natural, and legal
solemnisation was all that was requisite.

The celebration of the marriage of our
young friends, thus determined upon and
permitted, was a true feast for all in the
castle, and particularly for Irene, who, as
the happy example herself of a rural
marriage, was thoroughly proud of being
priestess to the natural and noble rite.
She erected, without their knowledge, an
altar at the foot of the most majestic oak
in the neighbourhood. With the help of
her maidens, and the sailor's assistance —
who prided himself upon his marine
agility — Irene reared above this a small
temple, formed of green boughs and
garlands of wild flowers, the crown of
the oak serving as a cupola, illuminated
far above by the sun, and at night by
beautiful stars and planets, the first-born
creations of God.

The ceremony was not long, for it was
simple, but serious. It took place in the
presence of those faithful children of Eome,

244 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

who stood in a circle around the handsome
couple, while Irene joined their right hands,
pronounced them to be man and wife, and
solemnised the sacred union by the follow-
ing address : —

"Dear and true-hearted friends, the act
you have solemnised this day unites you
indissolubly body and soul. You must
share together henceforward the prospe-
rities and reverses, the joys and sorrows of
this life. Kemember that in mutual love
and faithfulness you will find your only
and enduring happiness, while, if affliction
descends, it will be diminished and dissi-
pated by your reciprocal love. May Grod
bless your union !"

Then Silvia, her eyes bedewed by
maternal tears, placed her hands upon the
heads of her beloved children, and repeated
che Dio m benedica! More she could not
say for her emotion. 'The marriage con-
tract, which had been previously prepared,
was now presented to the united couple by
Orazio for their signature, and then to the
witnesses, the chief finally signing it himself.

MATRIMONY. 245

In this manner was celebrated, with the
greatest order and propriety, in the Al-
mighty's own temple, illuminated by the
bright golden lamp of all the world, that
solemn act of wedlock, none the less solemn
or binding for being so celebrated. Never
did human pair feel themselves more
sacredly bound one to the other than
Clelia and Attilio.

From the altar our joyful party directed
their steps towards the castle, where a right
goodly woodland banquet awaited them.
All were rejoiced at the auspicious event,
and many joyous toasts were given.
Patriotic songs were freely sung, and
Jack, elated by the general hilarity,
treated his friends to his own famous
national airs, "God Save the Queen," and
" Rule Britannia."

CHAPTER XL.
THE SEAGULL'S CRUISE.

THE "army of Rome," as already related,
gave the proscribed a long time for pre-
paration, and they, knowing the nature of
the delay, troubled themselves little about
the matter. And now we must return to
some of the principal and most cherished
personages of our book — namely, Julia and
her companions, of whom we took leave
when they escaped so narrowly from the
storm, and whom we have neglected far
too long.

Two days after the departure of the Sea-
ffull from Porto d'Anzo she entered Porto
Longone, with all her sails set, and her
colours flying. As soon as she anchored,
our friends saw a group of persons issuing
from Liberi, a small village overlooking the
port, who, on reaching the shore, embarked
in a boat and rowed out to the yacht.

THE SEAGULL'S CRUISE. 247

Julia received the party — which was
composed of both sexes — gracefully and
courteously, and offered them refreshments
in her saloon, which they cordially accepted.

Seated at table, each with a glass of
Marsala in hand, the guests turned to-
wards Manlio, whom they imagined to be
the master of the vessel, and addressed
him with a Tuscan accent. It is one less
manly than the Roman, but sweeter and
more sympathetic, and though it be but
a dialect of the real Italian, to it Italy
owes much of her revival; and in this
dialect, dignified by so much genius, must
be found the language of Italian national
unity.

" Sir," said the elder of the visitors,
talking Tuscan, "in Liberi there exists a
custom that if a vessel comes into port at
the same time birth is given to an infant,
the captain is requested to stand godfather
to the newly-born child. Will you there-
fore vouchsafe to comply with this custom,
and do us the honour of becoming a god-
father, and your gracious young lady a

248 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

godmother, to a little one who has this
day entered upon existence?"

Manlio smiled at this odd request, and
all present admired the facility with which
the visitor in Elba can form an alliance
with the islanders. Manlio replied, " I
am simply a guest on board, like yourself,
Signor; this young English lady is the
owner of the vessel, and must decide what
shall be done."

Julia — the traveller, the artist, the anti-
quary, and the friend of Italian liberty —
was enchanted to find such simplicity of
manners among these good people, and
said, " For my part I gladly accede to your
proposal, and as I hear the captain of the
ship must be godfather, I will send for him,
when, if he be agreeable, we will place our-
selves at your service."

Captain Thompson was immediately sum-
moned, and the English lady explained to
her commander what was required. He
laughed merrily, and accepted the invita-
tion as she had done, declaring that he
should feel immensely honoured to stand

THE SEAGULL'S CRUISE. 249

godfather with his charming mistress as
godmother. Captain Thompson then gave
his orders to the mate, and all embarked
in company for Liberi.

Here our narrative stumbles again upon
the topic of the priesthood, and it is a
fatality that, in spite of the invincible
antipathy which they excite in us, they
are thus continually coming in contact
with the progress of our tale. But the
cure of Liberi was a man of a different
stamp.

A modest but hospitable table was spread
for the christening party in the house of
the islanders, and it was made pleasant by
the .cordiality and simplicity of these kind
islanders. The guests were all delighted,
while Captain Thompson, although a little
confused, was happy beyond measure at
the honour the beautiful Julia did him by
leaning on his arm, and still more so at
being sponsor to her godchild. So elated
was the worthy seaman that he neither
heard or saw as they walked towards the
village, and, stumbling over some obstacle

250 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

in the way, had well nigh fallen, and, to
use his own phrase, "carried away his
bowsprit."

Luckily Julia did not perceive the pro-
found confusion of her companion, and
walked on with a calm and stately de-
meanour, in unintentional contrast to the
tar's awkward gait, for the excellent
Thompson, dreading another stumble,
counted every stone on the road as he
paced by her side.

In this manner they arrived at the
church. Captain Thompson here put on
a very imposing appearance, and, although
a little wearied by the inordinate length
of the ceremony, gave no sign of im-
patience. Having an excellent disposition,
the tediousness was relieved by the pleasure
of holding his new godson in his strong
arm, to which, although a plump and well-
formed babe, it appeared but as light as
a feather. '

The ceremony ended, the guests invited
to the christening bent their steps to the
house of the second godfather, who enter-

THE SEAGULL'S CRUISE. 251

tained them at a more formal banquet, the
excellent wine of Liberi receiving much
favour. Captain Thompson, having to
re-conduct Julia, and remembering the
stumble, partook very moderately of the
liquor, contenting himself with passing a
disinterested eulogy upon it.

The captain had another motive for
being temperate and keeping in check his
decided predilection for good drink. He
was most anxious to please the Signora
Aurelia, who, though past the bloom of
youth, was extremely amiable, and had a
brilliant complexion. She was full of
gratitude for the many attentions the
captain had lavished upon her during the
terrible storm, and by no means repulsed
the signs of sympathy, loyal and honest,
if not courtly, which the gallant sailor
manifested.

All went very merrily for our amphibious
friends, for, much as one may resemble a
sea-horse in constitution, land with its
pastimes and comforts is always preferable
to the tempestuous sea. On leaving, Julia

252 THE RULE OF THE MONK.

was covered with, blessings and thanks by
her new acquaintances, after the manner of
olden times.

Manlio was meditating over a statue in
marble, which he determined to carve when
he should return to Eome, representing the
beautiful Julia as Amphitrite guiding a
stumbling Triton. Aurelia and Thompson,
absorbed in thoughts of tenderness, were
oblivious of the incidents of the past ;
and thus our yachting party returned on
board, accompanied to the shore by all the
villagers, with music and joyful hurrahs.

END OF VOL. I.

CASSKLL, PETTEB, AND GALPIN, BELLE 8AUTAOB WORKS, LONDON, B.C.

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Garibaldi, Giuseppe
The rule of the monk

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