Part 19

Napoleon, having met with the most unqualified success in Italy, suddenly stopped short, and proceeded, almost as though panic-stricken, to ask Austria for an armistice, as though he were the vanquished, not the victor. Both Italians and Frenchmen heard of this determination of the Emperor first with incredulity, then with amazement, then with indignation. Victor Emmanuel did his utmost to induce his ally to change his intention, but Napoleon was obdurate. Then the King, who realized to the full what a crushing blow this step would be to the soaring hopes of the Italian cities, resigned himself to the situation as best he could. "Poor Italy!" he said to the French Emperor. "Whatever shall be your Majesty's decision I shall always feel grateful for what you have done for Italian independence, and you may count on me as a friend." It must have been hard for a king who saw his victorious army checked in mid-career to have spoken such dignified words.

Other men did not take Napoleon's action with any such restraint. The men of the provinces who had seen themselves almost free of the yoke they so deeply hated were indescribably bitter at this outcome, Garibaldi and his volunteers felt themselves confirmed in that antipathy to Napoleon they had been at small pains to conceal, and the general was only calmed by the personal appeal of his King. But the effect was most disastrous upon Cavour, who had labored to bring about this war as no other man in Italy had done, and who now believed that the tremendous efforts of his life had gone for nothing. He had shouldered tremendous responsibility, now he felt the disaster overwhelmingly. He hurried to the King's camp, and making small effort to conceal his anger, denounced the Emperor and counseled the King to refuse to accept Lombardy under the terms of peace. Positions were reversed, for the moment Victor Emmanuel was the calm statesman looking to the future, Cavour the man of fiery impulse who would accept no compromise. The meeting was long and difficult, and when Cavour left, having placed his resignation in the King's hands, there was a deep breach between the two men. Cavour returned to Turin, "in the space of three days grown older by many years."

The Treaty of Villafranca was signed July 12, 1859, and by it Lombardy was joined to Piedmont. The Cavour ministry only held office until their successors could be appointed. Rattazzi at last agreed to accept the helm.

The high contracting parties to the treaty had thought that they could dispose of the small Italian states as they pleased, and return them to the dominion of their Grand Dukes and Princes by a stroke of the pen. It proved, however, quite otherwise. Modena, Parma, the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Umbria, Perugia, and the Marches, had been too near freedom to suffer the peaceful return of their old overlords. State after state had sent deputations to the Sardinian King during the war asking for annexation to Piedmont, and some of them had provisional governments with Piedmontese deputies at their head. The ministry at Turin gave orders in pursuance of the terms of peace withdrawing the royal commissioners, but the men in charge felt that they could not abandon their posts and leave the people in a state bordering on anarchy, and the people stated decisively that they would not allow their fugitive Princes to return. So the Treaty of Villafranca was not as effective as its makers had intended it to be.

The central Italian states proceeded to take affairs into their own hands, and sent envoys to the different courts of Europe to represent the true conditions in their respective cities and their ardent desire for annexation to Piedmont. In Florence Ricasoli, in Modena Farini took positive stands, and led in the calling of an Assembly of all the smaller states, which resolved that they would become subjects of the Sardinian King. Deputation after deputation came to the King at Turin, composed of the best known men of the states, and besought him to accept their allegiance. It was a difficult position for the King. He could not refuse requests so ardently made, and which represented the dearest wish of people he had so often declared he would protect, yet he could not easily accept in view of the position of Austria and France. He welcomed the envoys warmly, entertained them at his capital, and spoke to them freely, assuring them of the warmth of his desires and asking them to be patient only a little time longer. In November, 1859, the Powers saw that a conference must meet to consider this problem of Italy. Piedmont looked about for the man to speak her voice, and only one man was thought of. The King had felt Cavour's anger deeply, and could hardly find it in him to call him out of his retirement. He saw, however, that any Congress would be useless without the great statesman, and so he finally consented, and nominated him as first Sardinian plenipotentiary.

Although the King could bring himself to appoint Cavour, the Rattazzi ministry were unwilling to have him act, and it seemed as though no compromise could be effected. Cavour was asked to put his conditions of acceptance in writing, and by chance happened to dictate them to Sir James Hudson, the British Minister at Turin, with whom he was staying. When the conditions were received by the cabinet the ministers did not favor them, and La Marmora, discovering them to be in Sir James Hudson's handwriting, was offended at what he chose to consider foreign interference, and resigned. The cabinet, never very strong, could not stand, and the King at once pocketed his last dislike, and summoned Cavour to form a new ministry. This the Count consented to do.

The Pope was much alarmed at the condition of the Papal States and began publicly to denounce Victor Emmanuel for encouraging both those and the other states in their desire for annexation. The correspondence between Pope and King was most remarkable, always dignified, and on the King's part breathing the desire for reconciliation, but on the Pope's indignant and alarming. The proposed European Congress did not meet, and as month after month passed events showed that the central states would have their way. At length these states took a formal vote in popular assemblies, and declared unanimously for annexation with Piedmont. The King could withstand them no longer, and the annexation was agreed to. Immediately Pius IX. issued a bull of excommunication against Victor Emmanuel, his ministers, soldiers, and subjects, and proclaimed him no better than a sacrilegious robber. This act, formerly so terrifying, had no effect, the people had made up their minds, and in the spring of 1860 the King received Farini, Dictator of Emilia, and Ricasoli, Dictator of Tuscany, and accepted from them the allegiance of central Italy.

That France might take no untoward step at sight of a kingdom growing so rapidly on her southern border Victor Emmanuel had to make the second concession to Napoleon, and cede Savoy and Nice. It was a bitter step for the head of the House of Savoy to take, but he felt that the need of Italy required it of him, and, as with every other sacrifice that need required of him, he met it resolutely. Not so Garibaldi, who saw his birthplace given to a foreign Power; he never forgave Cavour that act, and it widened the gulf already separating them.

The new Parliament met on April 2, 1860, numbering among its members the greatest names of Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany, and Emilia. Ricasoli, Farini, Capponi, Manzoni, Mamiani, Poerio, all had seats. The King, in his speech from the throne, dwelt upon the accession of central Italy, and briefly but with infinite pathos stated that he had made a treaty for the reunion of Savoy and Nice to France. Then he called his hearers' minds to the work that lay before them. "In turning our attention," he concluded, "to the new ordering of affairs, not seeking in old parties other than the memory of the services rendered to the common cause, we invite all sincere opinions to a noble emulation that we may attain the grand end of the greatness of the country. It is no longer the Italy of the Romans, nor that of the Middle Ages; it must no longer be the battle-field of ambitious foreigners, but it must be rather the Italy of the Italians."

How many patriots had voiced that cry "the Italy of the Italians" through the long centuries when Goth and Vandal, Guelph and Ghibelline, Pope and Emperor, France and Austria, had striven to gain the upper hand in the Peninsula!

Soon after Parliament opened the King made a tour of his new possessions, and was hailed in each city as deliverer. The joy of the people in the thought that at last they had an Italian prince in place of the fickle, foreign-bred Bourbons, was wonderful to behold: "At last we are eleven million Italians!" was their proud cry. Florence received the King with decorations of every fashion, arches of triumph, houses draped with the tricolor and rich brocades, streets carpeted with laurels, a rain of roses as he rode from the railway station to the Palazzo Vecchio. The greatest men of Tuscany, poets, artists, musicians, scholars, came to greet him, and with one accord proclaimed him the hero who had brought to fruition the dreams of their lives. His visit to Florence was a memorable one.

We must now glance for a moment at the remarkable events which General Garibaldi was bringing to pass in Sicily and Calabria. The expedition of the Thousand had started from Genoa, openly disavowed by that astute diplomat Cavour, secretly encouraged by him. The hero of the magic Red Shirt had swept over Sicily and crossed thence to the mainland. Men of all classes were speeding from every part of Italy to fight under such a glorious leader, the triumphal march from Reggio to Naples had begun, and the troops of Francis II. of Naples were proving how very little they had the interest of their sovereign's cause at heart. But with Garibaldi in possession of Naples serious questions arose. The victorious general wished to march immediately on Rome, and to hold the dictatorship of southern Italy until he could unite it in one gift to Victor Emmanuel. It was an heroic desire, worthy of its great inventor, but Victor Emmanuel and Cavour both realized that a march on Rome at that time meant the active intervention of French troops, and that a prolonged dictatorship might give the republican element an opportunity to change Garibaldi's plans and destroy the hope of national unity. There were numbers of Mazzinians in Naples and Cavour feared their influence over the great crusader. He appealed to Parliament, and it voted for the immediate annexation of Naples and Sicily. Then the royal army was sent at the double quick to meet Garibaldi before he should start for Rome. When the army was well on its march Cavour gave this note to the foreign ambassadors in explanation: "If we do not arrive on the Volturno before Garibaldi arrives at Cattolica, the monarchy is lost--Italy remains a prey to revolution."

The King led the royal army south and the progress through the Papal States was one continual triumph; General Cialdini met the Papal army at Castelfidardo and defeated them, soon after he took Ancona, and Victor Emmanuel was in possession of Umbria, the Marches, and Perugia, all taken as Cavour diplomatically explained, to save Italy from revolution.

Garibaldi generously acquiesced in the decision of the Parliament at Turin, and prepared to surrender his conquests to the King. As Victor Emmanuel started from Ancona on the last stage of his progress to Naples he issued an address to the people of southern Italy, which concluded, "My troops advance among you to maintain order; I do not come to impose my will upon you, but to see that yours is respected. You will be able to manifest it freely. That Providence which protects just causes will guide the vote which you will place upon the urn. Whatever be the gravity of the events which may arise, I await tranquilly the judgment of civilized Europe and of history, because I have the consciousness of having fulfilled my duty as King and as an Italian. In Europe my policy perhaps will not be without effect in helping to reconcile the progress of the people with the stability of the monarchy. In Italy I know that I close the era of revolutions."

Outside of Naples the King at the head of his troops was met by Garibaldi, riding with some of his red-shirted officers. Garibaldi saluted Victor Emmanuel as "King of Italy," and the King thanked him with simple words. Then they clasped hands and rode side by side towards the capital, which the general was giving to the King. Each of the men was then and always, even in the dismal days of Aspromonte and Mentana, a warm admirer of the other. November 7, 1860, Victor Emmanuel entered Naples, which was given over to triumphal acclamations of King and general. They reigned side by side as popular idols for some days, and then Garibaldi, refusing all gifts and honors, returned to his island of Caprera, and Victor Emmanuel soon afterwards returned to his capital of Turin.

The last strongholds of the Bourbons in Italy fell early in the new year, and the nation lacked only Rome and Venetia for completion. A new Parliament was called at Turin to mark the transition from the Kingdom of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Italy. Representatives of all the new provinces appeared, and Parliament was opened on February 18, 1861. The King, in his speech from the throne, reviewed the great events of the past year, and declared that the valor of the great mediæval cities of Italy had been shown to survive in the sons of the modern kingdom. He was proclaimed the sovereign by the title of Victor Emmanuel II., by the Grace of God and by the will of the nation, King of Italy. He chose that his predecessor of the same name should bear the title of the first Victor Emmanuel, but he was only King of Sardinia, and this sovereign was in fact Victor Emmanuel the First of Italy.

Cavour decided to resign and so allow the new King the opportunity to appoint a new Premier. The will of the King had occasionally clashed with the will of the statesman, and the former now hesitated in the matter of choosing his new Prime Minister. He conferred with the leaders of the various provinces, and found them all in one accord, Cavour must be the first minister of Italy. He was invited to form a new ministry, and agreed to do so. Attacked at home by Garibaldi and those who wished to take Rome by the sword, and vilified abroad by Papal emissaries, the great Minister heeded neither party, but proceeded quietly to lay his plans for the ultimate acquisition of Rome as the national capital. As always, he believed in alternating audacity with patience, and believed that this was the time for the exercise of the latter virtue.

Unfortunately for the course of Italian history, Cavour's labors to induce the Catholic world to have faith in his belief that a free church in a free state was best for civilization were brought to a close that spring. He died June 6, 1861, having worked so hard in Parliament that he had brought upon himself a violent fever. The King had visited him on June 5, and the sick man had roused sufficiently to speak to him. "Ah, Maestà!" murmured the man, to whom Victor Emmanuel represented the central figure of his career. At Cavour's death Victor Emmanuel was prostrated. "Better for Italy if it were I who had died!" he exclaimed, with full consciousness that it had been Cavour who alone of all Italians had possessed the greatness of intellect to raise the throne of Piedmont to an equality among the Powers.

All Italians felt that their greatest guide was lost to them in Cavour's death. Only at this time did they fully realize how monumental had been his force of character, how simple and endearing his nature. For years he had silently shouldered burdens of inestimable weight, and followed his course in the face of attack both at home and abroad. Massimo d'Azeglio wrote to Farini, "Poor Cavour. It is only now I know how much I loved him. I am no longer good for anything, but I have prayed to heaven for our country, and a gleam of comfort has come to me. If God _will_ He _can_ save Italy even without Cavour." There were many men in Italy who felt that only by miracle now could their fragile ship be brought safely into port.

From the date of Cavour's death Victor Emmanuel gave more personal concern to the foreign affairs of his country, he felt that his responsibilities had tremendously increased. Ricasoli, who had been dictator of Florence, became Prime Minister. England and France had acknowledged the new Kingdom of Italy, and now Prussia and Russia did likewise. A marriage was arranged between Victor Emmanuel's youngest daughter Maria Pia and the King of Portugal, and the various countries of Europe all turned with a new interest to the romantic history of the fast-spreading House of Savoy.

The burdens that Cavour had borne so long soon proved too heavy for his successor Ricasoli, and after nine months' service he resigned his office. Rattazzi, Cavour's old ally in the early days of Victor Emmanuel's reign, succeeded him as Prime Minister. He it was who now had to face the increasing complications of the Roman question brought about by the determination of Garibaldi and the ardent spirits of "Young Italy" to take the Papal capital by storm. Cavour had been able, in part at least, to prevent friction between the regular army and the Garibaldians, and to guide the impulsive general. Whether he could have prevented Garibaldi from embarking again from Sicily, this time headed for Rome, no one can say. Rattazzi found the task beyond him.

In midsummer of 1862 Garibaldi and his volunteers crossed from Sicily and took up their march through Calabria with the motto of their endeavor, "Rome or death." The Italian government felt that the advance must be stopped at all costs, or they would be involved in foreign warfare. General Cialdini was sent to oppose Garibaldi, and did so at Aspromonte, where, after a very short resistance, the volunteers surrendered. Unfortunately Garibaldi was wounded in the foot, and the illness that followed was long and trying both to the general and to the Italian government. The wounded hero was lionized and acclaimed, and treated more like a martyr than an insurgent. The King was bitterly grieved at the tragedy of Aspromonte, and the necessity of taking prisoner a man who had labored so valiantly for Italian freedom.

The Rattazzi Ministry could not withstand the loss of popular support after Aspromonte, and resigned. Farini, who had been dictator of Emilia in the days following the last Austrian war, succeeded Rattazzi as Premier, but he in turn was soon forced by ill-health to surrender the control. Minghetti then became Prime Minister. Meantime the Roman question was as far from being settled as ever; Napoleon, protesting that he was the friend of Italian independence, yet in the same breath insisting on the temporal dominion of the Pope, proving an insurmountable obstacle. Fortunately for Italy the time was to come when Napoleon's attention would be wholly directed elsewhere. In these days of indecision and waiting Victor Emmanuel traveled extensively through all parts of the kingdom, and was everywhere greeted with the warmest evidence of gratitude and affection. Italians were not used to a sovereign who was glad to meet all classes of his people, and not afraid to hear their views of his government. His fearlessness, his devotion, his bonhomie all endeared him to the people, and the Rè Galantuomo became indeed a very honest king to all men who had only known Austrian and clerical governors.

Victor Emmanuel expected that Venice would be added to the Kingdom of Italy before Rome was, but the immediate annexation of neither seemed probable. The French government became gradually more conciliatory, but the changes were very gradual. Napoleon foresaw that Rome must inevitably become Italy's capital, and the French minister, Druyn de Lhuys, said, "Of course in the end you will go to Rome. But it is important that between our evacuation and your going there, such an interval of time elapse as to prevent people establishing any connection between the two facts; France must not have any responsibility." Napoleon proposed that the Italian capital be moved from Turin to a southern and more central city, and the Minghetti Ministry accepted the suggestion and proposed to the King that the seat of government be transferred to Florence. The thought of leaving Turin, for so many centuries the home of his family, caused Victor Emmanuel the greatest distress. "You know I am a true Turinese," he said, "and no one can understand what a wrench it is to my heart to think that I must abandon this city where I have so many affections, where there is such a feeling of fidelity to my family, where the bones of my fathers and all my dear ones repose." It appeared, however, that the change must be made if the advantages of the new agreement with France, according to which the French troops were to evacuate Rome in two years, were to be obtained. "Since the cession of Savoy and Nice," said the King, "no public event has cost me such bitter regret. If I were not persuaded that this sacrifice is necessary to the unity of Italy I would refuse."

Turin, when it heard of the determination of the government, gave itself over to consternation of the wildest type. The Minghetti Ministry had to resign, and even the beloved King was not spared open demonstration of his people's disapproval. He summoned General La Marmora to become Premier, and the new minister carried the change through in spite of Turinese disapproval. The change was made early in 1865, and Florence welcomed the King with every tribute of honor. It was some time, however, before Victor Emmanuel could forget the injustice done him by the people of his own city, although they later proved their regret for their unkind treatment by asking forgiveness and celebrating his visits to them with unwonted joy.

Early in 1866 the King's third son, Otto, Duke of Monferrat, who had long been an invalid, died, and at very nearly the same time died that remarkable man, Massimo d'Azeglio. From the days of his early youth the King had relied on the counsels and wise judgment of this man, who was alternately artist, poet, statesman, soldier, and who had the gift of making friends to a greater degree than any Italian in public life. He had sacrificed his own interests time and again at the request of his King or of Cavour, he had traveled throughout Italy studying conditions in the days of Charles Albert, and recording them in his books, he had been honored by almost all the sovereigns of Europe as a man of the noblest character and highest talents. His death was a great loss to Italy.