.^j>M A" :'!/»■« W/^X^' ^^/^^: '^ r F, P,3lOJT:S^TGAMmS.TT . ffi ^n '" '-^/ ;;-^ ^^-^li' ■Hitr fl.:"=-' "-l. './.^:^?;:'^ .IR Af ,^/\ - : :0A »l .:;A;nr^'^^\ .: •< ^ r ' V '^ V 'V A M^^^; ^M Ip^ J^^J^^-^4^-^^^^ HISTORY THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES 1734-1825. IJY GENERAL PIETRO COLLETTA. TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY S. HORNER. WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 1825-1856. VOL. I. EDINBURGH: T. CONSTABLE AND CO. HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO., LONDON. MDCCCLVIII. EDINBURGH : T. CONSTABLE, PRINTER TO JIER IIAJESTY. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. BOOK I. REIGN OF CHARLES OF BOURBON.— 1734-1759. CHAPTER I. PACK liiti'ocliiction to the reign of Charles of BourLon — Reigning Houses — Viceregal Government until 1700 — Continuation of the Viceregal Government under Philip V. — Conspiracy of the Macchia — Philip v. visits Naples in the year 1702 — War with the Empire — Viceregal Government under Charles vi. — Peace of Utrecht — Peace of Rastadt — War in Sicily — Treaty of London accepted by Philip v. — Auto-da-fe in Sicily — Expedition against Naples by Charles of Bourbon — State of Naples on the arrival of Charles of Bourbon, 1-28 CHAPTER II. Conquest of the Sicilies b}' the Infant Charles of Bourbon — Movements of the Spanish army in Italy — Preparations for defence b}' the Imperial Viceroy^ Advance of the Spaniards — Charles of Bourbon makes his public entiy into Naples — Battle of Bitonto — Final Conquest of the kingdom — Expedition against Sicily — Charles visits Sicily — His Coronation, . . , 29-50 CHAPTER III. The reign of Charles from the Conquest to the victory of Velletri — Reforms in the kingdom — Marriage of Charles — The Orders of St. Januarius and St. Gennaro — Disputes with the Pope — Investiture of Charles in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies — Concordat — Renewed war in Italy — Charles prepares for war — Feats of arms in the camp at Velletri — Charles surprised by the enemy — The German army retires — Charles returns to Naples, , . 51-81 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV Continuation and end of the reign of Charles — Public works — Discovery of Her- culaneum and Pompeii — Measures of Charles deserving of both censure and praise — Popular risings against the introduction of the Inquisition — Continu- ance of the war of Italy — Death of Philip v. — Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle — Attempts of Charles to subvert the feudal system — The third Estate — Death of Ferdinand vi. — Charles succeeds to the throne of Spain — Charles provides for the succession in the kingdom of Naples — His departure, . . 82-102 BOOK II. EEIGN OF FEEDINAND I Y.— 1759-1790. CHAPTER I. Minority of the king — Title and investiture of the new king — The jurisdiction of the Church — Education of the king — Famine in the kingdom, . . 103-112 CHAPTER II. The king attains his majority, and assumes the government — State of Europe, and its relations with Naples — Expulsion of the Jesuits — Disputes with the Pope — Marriage of the king — Reconciliation with the Pope — Fresh disputes with Rome — Abolition of the CIdnea — National education — Defects in the administration — Coral fisheries — Colonies — Poverty of the Exchequer — Feu- dalism — Reforms in the law tribunals — The office of Syndic restored — Bad laws — Commerce — State of the army, . . . - . 113-141 CHAPTER III. Continuation of the reign of Ferdinand — Birth of a Prince — Tanucci deprived of power — Concordat with Rome commenced and interrupted— -Sir John Acton — Earthquakes in Calabria — Journey of the King and Queen of Naples — Death of remarkable persons — Public works — Colony of San Leucio — Mar- riages in the royal family, ...... 142-164 CHAPTER IV. The Revolution in France, and its first effects in the kingdom of Naples — First movements in France — The As.sembly of Notables — The States-general — The Bastile taken — Progress of the Revolution — The Royal Family returns to Paris — Wise laws of the National Assembly — Effects of the French Revolu- tion on Naples — State of Naples at the end of the year 1790— Fears for the future, . 165-182 CONTENTS. V BOOK III. REIGN OF FERDINAND IV.— 1791-1799. CHAPTER I. PAliR Preparations for war and defence — Retnrn of tlie sovereigns of Naples — Internal measures — Continuation of the history of France — Persecution of the liberals in Naples — Execution of Louis xvi. — Resolution of the sovereigns of Naples for the defence of Italy — French fleet at Naples — Reconciliation with France — Suspicions and persecution — Origin of the Lazzaroni — Confederation with England, ......... 183-201 CHAPTER II. War with France — Peace — -Violation of treaties — Indictments for treason, 1793- 1798 — Exi>edition to Toulon — Subsidies and levy of troops — Robbery of the National Banks — Disputes between Naples and Sweden — Memorable erup- tion of Vesuvius — Condemnations for treason — Plots of Acton against the Chevalier Medici — Attempted revolution in Palermo — Honourable conduct of the Neapolitan troops in Italy — Encampments along the frontiers of the kingdom — Peace of Paris — Marriage of Prince Francis, heir to the throne — The Prince of Paterno carried into slavery — Assassination of General Du- phot at Rome — A republic established at Rome — Trials for treason — The battle of Alioukir — Nelson arrives in Naples, . . . . 202-247 CHAPTER III. Disastrous war with the French Republic — Insurrections in the kingdom — Flight of the king — Victorj' and triumph of the arms of France, 1798, 1799 — Prepa- rations of the French on the frontiers of Rome — Irruption of the Neapolitan array into the Roman States — The King of Naples enters Rome in triumph — Disasters of the army — Flight of the king from Rome — Retreat of the army — Enterprise of the French against Naples — The king's proclamation — The Commander of Gaeta surrenders that fortress — Assault and defence of Capua — Risings inNaples — Flight of the king — Mistakes of the Regent — Truce with the French, and worse disorders in the city — Seizure of the Castle of Sant' Elmo — Anarchy — Attack on the city — Victory of the French, . 248-283 BOOK IV. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC— Jaklary to June 1799. CHAPTER I. Laws tor the organization of the Republic — Speeches and celebration of the eveut — Moral condition of the people — Regulations for the new government and various laws — Finances — War-tax — General discontent — State of the pro- vinces — Proposal for a Neapolitan Constitution by Mario Pagauo — Departure of General Championnet — Tuscany occupied by the French, . . 289-310 a 2 CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. rxr.ii Insurrectiolis of the Bourbonists in the provinces — Attempts against the Repub- lic by the King of Sicily and the English — Retreat of the French — Risings in the Abruzzi ; in the Terra di Lavoro ; in the Principality of Salerno ; in the Basilicata — Disturbances in Puglia ; in Calabria — Cardinal Ruffo in Cala- bria — Sack of Cotrone — Stipulations of Catanzaro — Misfortunes of the geo- logist Dolomieu — Massacre of the French at Agosta — Military expedition of the French into the provinces — Schipani defeated — Conquest of Sanseverino — Destruction of Andria ; of Trani — Submission of Puglia to the Frencb — Progress of Cardinal Ruifo — ^New Constitution of the Neapolitan Republic — Destruction of Altamura by the Cardinal — The French at Caserta — Revolt of Lettere, Castellamare, and Gragnano — The French abandon Naples— The fall of the Republic, after the retreat of the French army — Measures of the Republican Government — Capture of Procida and Ischia — Conspiracy of Baker — The army of the Holy Faith advances to attack Naples — Measures of public safety — Defeat of Schipani — Defence of Vigliena — Death of Luigi Serio — The Republicans take refuge in the castles — Capitulation of the fort of Castellamare — Offers of Peace of the Cardinal to the Directory — Truce — Consultations — Peace — Capitulation of the castles — Violation of the treaty by the king — Surrender of Sant' Elmo, Capua, and Gaeta — End of the Piepublic, 311-36(i BOOK V. REIGN OF FERDINAND IV.— 1799-1806. CHAPTER I. King Ferdinand of Bourbon resumes the throne — Massacres in the city — Ijady Hamilton and Lord Nelson — Death of Admiral Caracciolo — Royal decrees — The Junta of State — Trials and executions — Rewards bestowed on the king's adherents — Ordinances for the army, ....... 367-392 CHAPTER II. Enterprises of the Neapolitan Government — Expedition against Rome — General Bourcard succeeded by General Naselli — Return of Bonaparte from Egypt — Cardinal Ruffo at the conclave at Venice — Discovery of Vaccination — A general pardon — The Order of St. Ferdinand instituted — Levy of men and horses — Preparations of Bonaparte for the war of Italy — Battle of Marengo — Armistice of Alessandria — Election of Pius vii. — Cession of Malta to Eng- land — Birth of Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Two Sicilies — War be- tween Naples and France — Peace of Luneville — Treaty of Florence, . 393-430 CHAPTER III. I'eace of Amiens — Renewed hostilities with France — Double marriage with the House of Spain — Don Giuseppe Zurlo — State of the finances — England CONTENTS. Vll PAliK breaks the Treaty of Amiens — War — Bunaparte Emperor — Intrigues of the Jesuits — Earthquake in the county of Molise — Bona2iarto crowned King of Italy — The camp at Boulogne — ^Mai'itimc war — Battle of Trafalgar — Bona- parte prepares to iuvade Naples — Treaty of neutrality between Naples and France — Treaty of Naples with the enemies of France — Arrival of Russian and English troops in Naples, 431-453 CHAPTEK IV. Final events of this period, 1805, 1806 — The French conquests in Germany — Battle of Austcrlitz — Peace of Presburg — Advance of the French against Naples — Joseph Bonaparte and General Massena approach the kingdom — Departure of the king for Sicily followed by the queen — the Eegents send envoys to Prince Joseph — The French army enter Naples, . . 454-4()'J BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE GENERAL PIETRO COLLETTA. PiETRO CoLLETTA was bom in Naples on the 23d January 1 775. He early sliowed a predilection for the study of mathematics, but applied liimself diligently to Latin, for the sole purpose, it is be- lieved, of reading Tacitus, whose writings he afterwards used as a model for composition and style. His natural inclinations, how- ever, led him to prefer a life of activity to one of study and con- templation, and he entered the army as an officer of artillery in 1796. He distinguished himself in the war against the French in 1798, and had then an opportunity of observing the superiority of the enemy, and the great want of discipline in the Neapolitan troops. After the entrance of the French into Naples, Colletta hoped for improvements in his country, but while admiring the liberal form of government now introduced, he learnt to despise the boasts of demagogues, and of shallow philosophers. He was, however, in- volved in the ruin of the Republic, and was shut up in prison with some of the most illustrious men of the age, whom he saw, one by one, taken out, only to be led to the scaiFold. Llis own life was saved by the exertions of one of his relations, who, by bribery and a false attestation respecting his identity, obtained his liberation. X BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF Having been dismissed the army, Colletta now entered upon the profession of a civil engineer, and assisted to drain the Marshes of Ofanto, at the time when Fra Diavolo occupied the province in the name of the king. In 1806, the French again invaded Naples, when Colletta, already distinguished among the friends of order and reform, aided by his voice and example in forming the guard of citizens, to which Naples is indebted for having been frequently saved from the fury of the mob. King Joseph restored him to his rank, and he attracted the notice of the Minister Saliceti by his conduct during the liarassing war which followed. The minister recommended him to King Joachim, as capable of greater things. Colletta was accordingly intrusted to explore the island of Capri, then garrisoned by the English under Sir Hudson Lowe, and to discover the best place for landing the troops intended for its con- quest. The success of the expedition justified the recommendation of Saliceti, and Colletta was next sent as Intendente or civil gover- nor to Calabria Ultra, at that time agitated by civil war, instigated from Sicily. Colletta resided two years in the capital city of Monteleonc, where he had ample opportunity to collect materials for his future History. He accompanied Joachim on his attempted enterprise against Sicih'', and in 1812 returned to Naples as superintendent of roads and bridges, and with the rank of general. In 1813, he was appointed to the chief command of the military engineers, and in 1814, he was made councillor of state. In 1815, he gained fresh laurels when fighting the Austrians on the Panaro, and after following Joachim through this disastrous campaign, he was employed by him to negotiate the treaty of Casalanza. Despairing for Naples, he now thought of abandoning liis country, and hoped to serve her cause better in foreign lands. But though under suspicion as a Muratist, his rank was confirmed by Ferdinand, and he was appointed to the command of a division at Salerno. The Minister Medici courted his friendship, but Col- letta predicted another revolution in the kingdom, which Medici GENERAL PIETRO COLLETTA. XI refused to believe, or to use measures to prevent, and an alienation subsequently took place between these two men. Wlien the Revolution of 1820 broke out, Ferdinand sent for Col- letta, and restored him to the command of the engineers. Soon afterwards he was sent to Sicily with the authority of royal lieu- tenant, to suppress the revolt there ; and where, by his own con- fession, he was merciless to the revolutionary party. After two months he returned to Naples just as the fortunes of the constitu- tionalists were nearest their ebb. Colletta succeeded Parisi as minister of war ; he entered on office on the 26th February 1821, and on the 23d March the Germans had possession of Naples, and were followed by King Ferdinand, accompanied by Canosa. First among the victims reserved for vengeance was Colletta ; he was arrested and thrown into the Castle of Sant' Elmo. Here he had to endure the insults and menaces of Canosa for three months ; until the Austrian policy saw fit to put some curb on the violence of the Neapolitan government, when Colletta, with four of the most illustrious members of Parliament and officers Avere removed from their dungeons, and without any form of trial, hurried on board a German vessel bound for Trieste. Colletta was finally conveyed to Briinn in j\Ioravia, at the foot of that Spielberg whicli has been made a living tomb for so many Italian patriots. The sight of this fortress, the severity of the climate, and the unceasing longing for his home, aggravated his sufiierings. His health at last began to decline, and the physicians fearing for his life, he was allowed after two years to reside in Florence, where he arrived in March 1823. In his dreary exile in Moravia, he conceived the first idea of his History, which he commenced writing in Florence, and this work occupied the remaining eight years of his life. His first literary labour had been a military narrative of the last war of Joachim, which he wrote in 1815. In 1820, soon after the outbreak of the revolution, he published two short pamphlets, which excited some attention at the time. "While in Florence he formed a close inti- Xll BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE OF GENERAL PIETRO COLLETTA. macy with two of the most celebrated authors in Italy, and fre- quently consulted them on his History. He lived a life of the strictest retirement and economy, seeking in Leghorn a more genial climate in the winter ; he died at Florence on the 11th November 1831, and was buried in a little chapel on the road between that city and Pisa. The Translator of this history has added footnotes where they were felt to be needed for the explanation of the text ; and for many of these, begs to achnowledge the valuable assistance of friends, as well as in the compilation of the Supplementary Chap- ters. HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. BOOK I. REIGN OF CHARLES OF BOURBOK 1734-1759. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO THE REIGN OF CHARLES OF BOURBON. The river Tronto, the Liri, the petty stream of San Magno near Portella, the chain of the Apennines, whence tliese rivers take their rise, and tlie shores of the Mediterranean skirting- tlie Tyrrhenean, the Ionian, and the Adriatic Seas, from the Lake of Fondi to the mouth of the Tronto, are the boundaries of that land, which, in the eleventh century, obeyed the Greek Empire, and the Lombard lords of Capua, Salerno, and Benevento. By the valour of the Norman Robert Guiscard, these detached sove- reignties were united and transmitted entire to his nephew Roger, who had already made himself king of Sicily, which he had con- quered from the Saracens and Greeks (1130). The kingdom passed from him to William the Bad, William the Good, Tancred, and, for a short time, to William in. When tlie second William lost all hopes of an heir, he united the last survivor of the blood of Roger, the Princess Constance, in marriage with the Emperor Henry of the house of Swabia, who, upon tlie death of Tancred, succeeded to the crown of Sicily and Puglia. Thus, in the year 1189, the kingdom passed from the Norman race, distinguished for their warlike virtues, to the Swabian. VOL. I. A 2 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1268. To Henry succeeded the great king, Frederic ii., and to him, for a short period, Conrad, followed by Manfred, another but ille- gitimate son. The Popes of Rome, who pretended to the supre- macy of the world, and more especially to that of the Sicilies, after having given much disquiet to the princes of the Norman dynasty, turned their sacred weapons and warriors against the Swabian. Always defeated, although they fought in an age of ignorance, but from the very ignorance of their contemporaries, incapable of being either crushed or annihilated, the pontiffs rose from their losses more enraged and hostile than before. After three preceding Popes had vainly tempted the ambition of Henry iii. of England, Clement iv. instigated Charles of Anjou, the brother of Louis of France, and a celebrated warrior, to take up arms against Manfred ; and, urged on by the restless desires of his wife,^ Charles arrived with an army prepared for this enter- prise. He was crowned king of the Sicilies in Rome (1266), and, entering the kingdom, attacked Manfred, who was encamped near Benevento. The valour of the Swabian was not proof against the fortunes of France, and the infamous treachery of his subjects in Puglia. Manfred perished in the battle, and Charles was already happy in the possession of his throne, when Conrad in, the son of Conrad, advanced to attack him (1268). The youth, having con- quered the Guelphic cities of Italy, and having been victorious at Tagliacozzo, where the hostile armies met, was rejoicing in the camp over his success, and his hopes for the future, when the king- sent against him a fresh legion, which he had kept in reserve. Defeated and forced to fly, Conradin was next betrayed and made prisoner by the fortunate Charles ; and, a year later, by the inhu- manity of the king, or the cruel advice of the pontiff, this last representative of the house of Swabia was beheaded ; the race of Anjou was thus established in the kingdom of the Sicilies. Six kings and two queens of this dynasty ruled over the king- dom for a period of 175 years, during which time it was a prey to foreign and domestic wars. The Swabian monarchs, Manfred and Conradin, perished by order of the kings of the house of Anjou ; and Andrew and Joanna i. of their own race likewise died violent * Beatrice, foiirtli daughter of R:iymoni.l three elJer sisters had married the sove- Berenger, hist Count of Proveuce, whuse reigns of France, Germany, and Enghmd. 1441. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 3 deaths. King Charles of Durazzo, discovered in conspiracies against the two queens of Hungary.^ was murdered, and Ladislaus died from poison. During this period, 8000 French, the tyrants of Sicilj'", were massacred at the Vespers of John of Procida ; the barons of the kingdom were constantly divided among themselves, and, through the agency of tlie princes of tlie House of Anjou, arose the schism in the Church, by which two and even three con- temporaneous Popes divided the spoils of the Apostolic See, and the consciences of Cliristendom. But while in the recesses of their palace these kings concealed crimes of the utmost enornnty, when upon their thrones the}^ displayed the greatest veneration for the Church ; they built and endowed churches and monasteries, gave dominion to the Popes, and granted privileges to ecclesiastics. Charles i. and Ladislaus were valiant in war, and Robert governed wisely, though the virtues of all three were tarnished by the vices inherent in their blood ; the remaining sovereigns of this dynasty were scouro-es to the kingdom. In the year 1441, after Rene, the last of the House of Anjou, had fled, Alphonso i. of Arragon established the dominion of the Arrago- nese princes, which terminated in 1501, with the flight of Frederic. Five kings of that dynasty succeeded one another in less than sixty years, four of whom, Ferdinand i., Alphonso ii., Ferdinand ii., and Frederic, filled the throne in the short space of three years, including the interruption caused by the conquest and dominion of Charles viii. Wars were frequent during the reign of this proud and cruel race of Arragon ; the most noble and influential families in the kingdom were crushed ; the exchequer impoverished ; and the spirit of party kindled among the barons. These dissensions, and the general weakness, caused the State to sink from a power- ful kingdom to an insignificant province of a distant empire. I shall briefly describe the miseries which ensued, but let the reader remember tliat in little more than three centuries and a half, four dynasties had succeeded one another, giving twenty-two sovereigns to Naples, without including the transitory reigns of Louis King of Hungary, of Pope Lmocent iv., of James of Arragon, and of ^ Elizabeth, widow of the last king, Himgarj'. Charles of Durazzo rested his Louis the Great, and her daughter, Mary, claim on that of his wife. Mar}', daughter only child and heiress to the crown of of Stephen, of the race of Arpad. 4 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1441 Charles viii. ; that for short intervals of peace, the people had endured long years of war ; that amidst suffering, civilisation had advanced, and that, during these vicissitudes, the peculiar defect remarked in the Neapolitan cliaracter was political inconstancy, or rather hatred of the existing government, and a perpetual craving after a new State, at once the cause and the result of their unhappy condition. When Frederic, tlie last of the Arragonese princes, attacked by the King of France, and betrayed by his uncle, the King of Spain, was obliged to fly from Italy, the two successful monarchs, while dividing the kingdom they had usurped, contended, by their lieutenants and armies, for the right of sole possession. Gonsalvo, the great captain, conquered ; the whole kingdom fell to Ferdinand the Catholic, and was thenceforward governed by his viceroys as a province. This was the commencement of that viceregal government, which afflicted the nation for a period of 230 years. The first viceroy was Gonsalvo. All the political institutions of the country underwent a change. The old magistracies lost authority and influence before a new tribunal called the Collateral Council ;l the importance of the ministers of State diminished, and the officials in the palace re- tained nothing but tlie name ; the army was disbanded, and the navy became subordinate to the navy and commerce of Spain, while the viceroy, who levied the taxes for the supply of the finances, resided within the kingdom, and the king, who dispensed the money and other advantages, resided abroad. The feudal lords were humbled now tliat they were deprived of their arms, and the nobles were degraded by being associated with new princes and dukes, whose titles had been purchased. Although, by the terms of the peace, the adherents of the House of Anjou had their possessions restored to them, they only received a small part, and after con- siderable delays ; and the adherents of the Swabian and Arrago- nese princes were entirely despoiled. Ghibelines and Guelphs were alike persecuted, and, while the pride of Rome revived, every- thing else degenerated. 1 Consic/lio CoUaterale, a board, partly last resort, and the bead of the executive go- composed of Spaniards, at once the liighest vemment. — Italy and the Italian Islands, legislative body, the court of justice in the W. Spalding, vol. ii. p. 267. 1700. CHARLES OF BOURBON. O Thus elapsed two centuries of ijrovincial servitude, more or less miserable, until the accession of Philip y} and Charles vi.^ to the thrones of Spain and of the Empire. During- this period, seven kings of the House of Spain, from Ferdinand the Catiiolic to Charles ii., had ruled with despotic power ; and tliirty Roman Pontiffs, from Alexander vi. to Clement xi., had, in various ways, persecuted both the princes and people. Numerous viceroys had succeeded one another ; some good, some indifferent, and others bad. Tlie dominion of the House of Spanish- Austria ended by the death of Charles ii., in the year 1 700, at which period Pietro Giannone concludes his history, — a historian who has been highly praised, but whose merits exceed his reputation. Though I no more presume to compare my work with that of this exalted but unhappy genius, than to recommend myself to the public by the similarity of our misfortunes, I propose (in order to connect my history with his) to give a more detailed account of the events relating to the viceregal government from 1700 to 1734, when Charles of Bourbon began his reign ; and hoping that my readers are already well acquainted with tlie works of Giannone, it will be enough if I at times merely allude to those parts of early his- tory necessary for the comprehension of the facts I may have to describe. Towards the end of the year 1700, Philip v. ascended the throne of Spain ; and, by the will of the deceased king, Charles ii., succeeded to all the dominions appertaining to that Crown. But the Emperor Leopold disputing the riglit of Philip to the throne, armies were prepared to decide this great contest. When Metlina- cceli, the viceroy of Naples, proclaimed Philip v., the people listened with indifference ; while the nobles, who were attached to Austria, and opposed to the House of France, lamented his accession, be- cause he was one of that family, and Duke of Anjou ; but their hopes were revived by the war in Lombardy, where the imperial arms were successful, and by the fame of the captain, Prince ^ Philip v., grandson of Louis xiv. of ^ Charles vi., second son of the Emperor France, second son of Louis Dauphin of Leopold, was destined by his father for France, and of Marie Anne of Bavaria, the throne of Spain, which Louis xiv. of born 1683, called to the Crown of Spain, France had resolved should be occupied 1700, by the will of Charles ii., King of by his grandson. He became emperor in Spain, who died without issue. 1711. 6 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1701. Eugene, whose deeds were the talk of Italy. The Neapolitan nobles, accordingly, sent Don Giuseppe Capece, as secret envoy to Leopold, and after promising the emperor to raise the people in his favour, he obtained from him the following conditions : That he should send immediate aid in arms, change the State from a pro- vince to an independent kingdom, and give them the Archduke Charles for their king ; maintain the privileges conceded by for- mer princes ; institute a senate composed solely of Neapolitans, to advise him in the affairs of the kingdom ; preserve the ancient rights of the nobility, and grant new titles and lands to the con- spirators. Capece then returned to Naples to render an account of the success of his mission, and concert the plan for this difficult enterprise. Don Girolamo Capece and Signer Sassinet arrived from Rome at the same time, each feigning some good reason for his ap- pearance, as well as Don Jacopo Gambacorta, Prince of Macchia, from Barcelona. Capece had been a colonel in the army of the emperor, Sassinet secretary of the imperial embassy to tlie Pope, and Gambacorta was a young man, bold, eloquent, poor, and ambi- tious. Endowed with all the qualities which best titted him for a conspirator, he was chosen leader, and the conspiracy received from him the name of Macchia (1701). It was the middle of September, when, after calculating time and action, they fixed on the 16th day of October to commence operations. Their design was to kill the viceroy; to gain possession of the fortresses of the city ; to proclaim Prince Charles, son of the Emperor Leopold, king; to overpower the small body of Spanish troops who were reposing carelessly on their posts ; and to rule the State until the arrival of the armed succour promised by the emperor. The conspirators included in their numbers almost the whole nobility of the kingdom, who shared the anxieties and dangers of the enterprise. But fresh incidents arrived to prevent further delay. Upon the information of the Duke de Uzeda, minister of Philip v. at Naples, the viceroy intercepted letters written by Cardinal Grimani, the emperor's ambassador at Rome, to one of the conspirators, which revealed the existence of a conspiracy, though leaving the con- necting links and its actual condition obscure. Suspicious, there- fore, of everything around him, Medinacoeli kept a strict watch 1701. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 7 within his palace, altered his hahits of life, collected the few troops he had with him, and placed spies upon the nobles and people; ho then instituted the " Giunta degl' Inconfidenti,"^ a tribunal with the power to punish, and caused Father Vigliena of the Theatine Order,- to be imprisoned, upon which Father Torres, a Jesuit, fled ; the ministers of the Government and the con- spirators were equally alarmed. At length, either confident of their strength, or hurried on by their evil destiny, the conspirators hastened their preparations, and rose in an insurrection on the 23d September. Unable to fulfil their intention of killing the viceroy (whose death had been con- certed with his coachman and two other of his menials), because lie did not drive out as usual in his carriage, they invested Castel Nuovo, and found the gates closed and guarded ; thus the first hopes of the conspiracy failed. But after these irrevocable steps had been taken, they were obliged to proceed, led on by pre- sent necessity, and trusting to the irresistible force of a lawless mob. Raising the standard of the emperor, they proclaimed the new king, and increased the tumult, while overthrowing the images of Philip, and setting up thOse of Charles. They harangued the people in the public squares, promising them abundance, and, in conformity with the despotic usages of that period, impunity, favours, and privileges. In the midst of this excitement, these noble conspirators, either hoping to increase their influence, or from youthful arrogance, assumed the new titles of princes and dukes, for which they had stipulated with the Emperor. Doctor Saverio Pansuti, a proud man, but learned and eloquent, one of the conspirators, and chosen in the conspiracy Eletto^ of the people, ascended an elevated part of the Mercato,^ which was densely crowded by a populace easily moved by any novelty, and ' Degr Inconfidenti, want of confidence. canonized, who died at Naples (1547), and A tribunal appointed to try suspected per- who is one of the patron saints of the city, sons. only second to St. Januarius. * Theatine Order. So called from the <-, „ fpii • i- T i- /T i- rpi L \ ■ sLletto. In every commune the tax- town ot Lhieti, or leti (Latin, I heatej.m ,, , , f, ,. . , n-, , A 1 1 • 1 Ti- i pavers annually elected a Syndic, and two Abruzzo (>itra, where Archbishop Pietro ' ^^ ^ t^i ■ \ • ■ , r^ /J- f. 1 T) 1 \^ n ^ otncers called ±jLetti, to administer the Caraiia, atterwards Paul IV., was the first , ,. ,. , „,, ,. , . o .1 rv 1 TT i- 1 1 •. • public lunds ot the district, superior ot the Order. He founded it m ^ conjunction with Gaetano of Yiceiizn, since * The great market-place of the city. 8 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1701. made a sign to them to listen. He then informed them that he Avas their new Eletto, reminded them of the evils of the Spanish rule, exaggerated the hopes to be entertained of the government of the emperor, magnified the forces of the conspiracy, promised gifts and rewards, and entreated the people to join the nobles. As he concluded his oration, a working-man, from amidst his audience, grey with age, spoke, in a loud voice, as follows : — " You Eletto, and ye people, hearken to me ; it is now many years ago, since we, led by Masaniello, the man of the people, aimed a blow at the bad government of the Spaniards : the nobles then ranged themselves against us, or stood aloof, and frequently harangued us (as the new Eletto has just done), to lead us back to servitude, which they called peace. I, then a boy, followed the people, and witnessed the deceptions practised by the great lords, the treachery of the Government, and the deaths of my relatives and friends. As an old man, grown wise with years, I now address you, and propose, that in this conspiracy of nobles, the people should abandon them, as, in the conspiracy of Masaniello, he was abandoned by the nobles. You hear the names tliey have already assumed, of Prince of Piombino, Prince of Salerno, and Count of Nola ; and you may expect as many more unheard-of titles, but all of which will prove new tyrannies for us : I shall now quit this place, and let all who believe my words follow me." The square was immediately emptied, and the first speaker retired in confusion. The conspirators, however, were reinforced by many of the lowest of the populace, and by the peasantry, not from any attachment to the cause, but from the love of plunder. In the midst of the con- fusion they went about ransacking houses, and murdering those belonging to either party without distinction. On witnessing these atrocities, several of the nobles, though themselves either conspi- rators, or secret partisans, sought refuge in the castles garrisoned by the Spanish soldiers ; some fled from the turbulent city, and others barricaded their houses, and filled them with armed retain- ers. The unrestrained license of the populace, and the want of foresight on the part of the leaders, had so diminished the forces of the enterprise, that the Prince of Macchia issued an edict threatening the plunderers with the punishment of death, as well 1702. CHARLES OP BOURBON. 9 as those nobles who should delay a day lending their aid to the party of King Charles. This edict, by driving some to desperation, and appearing to others too violent a measure, served doubly to prejudice the interests of the conspiracy. The viceroy, therefore, perceiving the indifterence of the people, the want of union among the nobles, and that the conspirators were few, and had taken alarm, ordered, on the third day, that the crews of galley-slaves, on board the Spanish vessels anchored in the har- bour, should be landed ; after they had been formed into a band of soldiers, they were sent from Castel Nuovo against the rebels, who were encamped behind barricades in different quarters of the city. Meanwhile, in order to support the attack and add to the panic, the castles kept up a continual thunder of artillery. The tower of Santa Chiara, which had been taken possession of by the conspirators to hoist the standard of Austria, to reconnoitre the city from its summit, and to ring a double peal, was suddenly stormed, and the otlier posts were attacked and taken. The de- fenders were dispersed; Macchia and others fled; Sassinet and Sangro were taken prisoners ; the standard of Cliarles was lowered and insulted, and the images and colours of Philip restored. No- thing remained of this attempt at rebellion, but its recollection, the mischief it had caused, and the reflection on dangers overcome. Immediately afterwards, Medinacoeli was recalled, and the Duke of Ascalon came as viceroy, from Sicily. Don Carlos di Sangro, a colonel in the service of the Emperor, was beheaded in the square of Castel Nuovo, and several of the conspirators shared his fate; others were barbarously murdered in their dungeons; Sassinet, although secretary to the Embassy, was sent prisoner to France; many besides languished in chains, and the property of all was confiscated to the exchequer. An increase of rigour, of punish- ments and tortures for all manner of crimes, and towards all classes of the citizens, now alarmed the people, who became exasperated against the Government, and repented not having joined the con- spiracy of the nobles. When King Philip was informed of this conspiracy, he coolly calculated the extent of the danger, and remembering that the issue of the wars in Italy and Spain was yet doubtful, resolved, by a display of liberality and clemency, to dispel the odium occa- 10 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1707. sioned by rebellion, and its consequent punishments. With this intention he embarked at Barcelona, and reached Naples in June 1702, where he was welcomed with the joyous reception an op- pressed people are ever ready to bestow on him to whom they look for relief. They did not, however, obtain what they most desired, to retain their king in Naples, for a higher destiny called him to Spain ; but he amply rewarded their demonstrations of attachment by abolisliing many taxes, remitting several millions of ducats^ owing to the exchequer, granting an amnesty for past political offences, and conferring titles on those nobles who had supported his claims, while his manners were kind and affable towards all his subjects. The clergy, barons, and eletti assembled to vote a donation of three liundred thousand ducats to the king, as a token of the universal feeling of gratitude, and the erection of an equestrian statue in bronze to his honour, in the largest square of the city. But the advance of the Austrian army in Lombardy obliged Philip to leave Naples, after two months' agreeable sojourn, to assume the com- mand of the French armies, which were opposed to Eugene of Savoy. He left Ascalon regent. In the year 1705, tiie Emperor Leopold died, and was suc- ceeded by his eldest son Joseph. No relaxation in the fierceness of the wars in Germany and Italy followed ; Ascalon therefore sent soldiers, ships, and money to tlie aid of Spain, and harassed the overburdened people for levies of men and money. The attach- ment to Philip declined, a change to be attributed to the oppressive conduct of his representatives. Such was the state of affairs in 1707, when Prince Eugene, having defeated the French troops in Lombardy, sent five thousand infantry and three thousand German cavalry, under the command of Count Daun, by the way of Tivoli and Palestrina to Naples. The viceroy, Ascalon, having only a small force with him, appealed to the people, but found them un- willing to comply, partly from an aversion to war, and partly from their inclinations always leading them to favour a new govern- ment. Only Don Tommaso d'Aquino, Prince of Castiglione, and Don Niccolo Pignatelli, Duke of Bisaecia, with a few thousand armed followers, encamped behind the Garigliano, but on the ap- proach of Daun they returned to Naples. Capua and Aversa ^ The Neapolitan ducat is about three shillings and fourpence. 1707. CHARLES OF BOUEBON". 11 yielded to the conqueror, and the Duke of Ascalon repaired to Gaeta. The vanguard of the Germans, led bj the Count of Mar- tinitz, who had been appointed viceroy by the emperor, was pre- paring to march to Naples as an enemy, when messengers of peace met them, and offered them the keys of the city ; and thus, before being conquered, she voluntarily submitted to a new ruler. The entrance of the imperial troops was triumphant, tlie people greeted the victor with shouts of applause, and, vehement as usual in their demonstrations of joy, they overthrew the statue of Philip v., wliich had so lately been erected ; broke it in pieces, and threw the fragments into the sea. A few days later, the three castles of the city surrendered, and the garrison of Castel Nuovo, officers and soldiers, Spaniards and Neapolitans, without a sentiment of shame at their own inconstancy, passed into the service of the new prince. The Prince of Castiglione, either because his hopes were not yet extinguished, or, more to his honour, because he refused to aban- don his colours in times of misfortune, repaired to Puglia with a thousand horse ; but finding the pass of Avellino occupied by the enemy, turned off by Salerno. A more numerous body of Gorman cavalry followed in pursuit of him ; he was abandoned hy his men, and, with the few who remained of his thousand soldiers, was cap- tured. The effect of this example spread throughout the kingdom. The inhabitants of the Abruzzi, wliom tlie Duke of Atri was vainly exciting to war, submitted to General Vetzeel, and soon afterwards the fortress of Pescara surrendered. Gaeta alone, reinforced by the galleys of the Duke of Tursi, made a show of resistance for a considerable time. The siege, which was directed by Count Daun, was hard pressed, and before the end of September a breach was opened, which the assailants mounted, and the besieged fled in disorder behind an embankment thrown up some days previously, to replace the ruined walls ; the weakness of the place, the alarm of the defenders, and the impetuosity of the attack, with the good fortune of the Ger- mans, carried them beyond the moat and the trench, and they entered the panic-stricken city, where they massacred and plun- dered the inhabitants. Ascalon, with a few others, took refuge in the little tower of Orlando, but surrendered the following day on 12 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1712 the sole condition of tlieir lives being spared, and thus entered Naples as prisoners. Among the most distinguished of those cap- tured, besides the viceroy, were the Duke of Bisaccia, and tlie Prince of Cellamare, who had both shortly before held places of autliority, and been among the highest in the kingdom ; valiant in war, and of noble blood, they had been favourites of fortune, until now when fallen into adversity they were prisoners in the hands of a foreign barbarian. The people pursued this unhappy band of captives, and insulted Ascalon, while reminding him of the cruelties lie had perpetrated after the conspiracy of Macchia ; in a still more inhuman and cowardly spirit, they turned their in- sults against those two Neapolitan nobles, who alone, or with only a few adherents, had in misfortune maintained the fidelity they had sworn to Philip. The government of the emperor was estab- lished in the kingdom, but the Count of Martinitz being recalled into Germany, Count Daun remained as viceroy. His first care was to recover possession of the fortresses, called the Presidii of Tuscany,^ which were guarded by Spanish soldiers. Santo Stefano and Orbitello surrendered to General Vetzeel, who was sent thither with a large body of troops ; Porto Longone next yielded after a stouter resistance ; and lastly, Por- tercole, in 1712. Daun, having been summoned to the Avar in Lombardy, was succeeded in the viceroyalty by the Venetian, Car- dinal Vincenzo Grimani. The war in Naples was at an end ; but the occupation of Comac- chio by the imperial soldiers, the intimation from the emperor to the Duke of Parma no longer to consider himself a feudatory of the Pope but of the empire ; and, lastly, the prohibition to the kingdom of the Sicilies to pay the customary tribute to the poii- tifi", — induced Clement xi. to raise twenty thousand men-at-arms, placing them under the command of Count Ferdinand Marsili, a Bolognese, who encamped in the territory around Bologna, Ferrara, ^ The Presidii of Tuscany. By a treaty republique, savoir ; Orbitello, Porto Ercole, concluded between Philip ii. of Spain and Telamone, Monte Avgentero et Porto San Cosmo I., Duke of Florence, in 1557, Philip Stefano ; cette petite province a forme des- agreed to cede the State of Sienna to the lors ce qu'on a nomme I'etat des Presidii." latter. Sismondi, in his History, continues Sismoxdi, Jlistoire des Bepid). Italiennes, thus : — " Philippe reserva toutefois a la vol. xvi. p. 15-1. mouarchie espagnole les ports de cette 1713. CHARLES OF BOUEBON. 13 and Comaccliio. Upon this, Daun left Lombardy, and advanced to meet these troops, while other forces were collected in Naples to be sent against Rome. The Emperor Joseph did not wish to quarrel with the Pope, but intended by this menacing attitude to oblige him to recognise his brother Charles as sovereign of Spain. Daun, therefore, while approaching the encampments, proposed terms to the pontiff, who, by his bold and unflinching replies, evinced his determination to trust to the decision of war ; a novel spectacle ! when the leader of successful armies sued for peace, and a Pope invoked an appeal to arms ! After this obstinate repulse, the German troops advanced, and, without much opposition,, gained possession of Bondeno and Cento, surrounded Ferrara and Forte Urbano ; captured some of the Pope's soldiers, and put the rest to flight, who sought shelter in Imola and Faenza. After these disasters, fearing worse which threatened him by the army sent from Naples, Clement yielded ; and, no longer entreated, himself begged for terms of peace, and accepted those offered him, both avowed and secret, thus satisfying all the desires of the conqueror. The peace was real, so far as it depended on written acts, and the general belief; but it was only a truce or stratagem in the eyes of the pontiflf, who waited his opportunity to break through the terms, which, not having been ratified by his conscience, were to him only a law of force, to last no longer than the necessity which dictated them. Upon the death of Cardinal Grimani in Naples (1710), Count Charles Borromeo, a Milanese, came as viceroy in his stead. The following year the Emperor Joseph died, and was succeeded by his brother Charles, the third of that name in the disputed kingdom of Spain, and the sixth in Germany and Naples. The war called the War of Succession lasted two years longer, when the Peace of Utrecht came to rejoice the hearts of the afflicted people (1713). That part of the treaty which concerned us, was the maintenance of the kingdom of Naples to Charles vi., and the cession of Sicily to Victor Amedeus, Duke of Savoy.^ But it is ^ Victor Amedeus ii., Duke of Savoy, Prince Eugene, he commanded the troops born 1665, married Anne, daughter of opposed to him during the war. His second Phih'p Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis daughter, Marie Louise, married her cousin XIV. of France. Though the cousin of Philip v. of Spain, who, at the Peace of 14 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 171S. important for the history of the future destinies of these two king- doms to learn, that the Crown of Spain was confirmed to PhiHp v. Soon after the conclusion of the Peace of Utrecht, King Victor Amedeus went to Palermo to enter upon the possession of his kingdom, and to enjoy the homage of his subjects and the new title of king. He arrived in October, was joyfully welcomed by the people, and received the kingdom from the hands of the Mar- quis de Los Balbases, viceroy for Philij) v. ; he was crowned, witli his consort, in the ensuing December, and returned to Piedmont, leaving the island garrisoned by his troops, and obedient to the rule of the viceroy, Hanibal Maffei, a native of Mirandola. But as the Emperor Charles vi. had not been invited to join the Peace of Utrecht, and therefore the war in Spain, Italy, and Flanders continued during the whole of the year 1713, a new treaty of peace became necessary, which Avas concluded at Rastadt in 1714: liy this the Emperor retained Flanders, the States of ]\lilan, Sar- dinia, the kingdom of Naples, and the Presidii of Tuscany. Count Daun returned as viceroy to Naples. The tranquillity of Europe appeared secure, as the ambition of the more powerful sovereigns had been satisfied, and the hopes of weaker princes annihilated, when, three years later, in 1717, a powerful Spanish fleet took possession of Sardinia, without any motive for war, challenge, or quarrel. When the first surprise had subsided, fresh armies were prepared in Germany and France; but the same Spanish fleet suddenly attacking Sicily, seized on Pa- lermo, from whence the viceroy of Amedeus fled ; they stormed Catania, and blockaded Messina, Trapani, and Melazzo ; these attacks were conducted by the Marquis de Leyde, a Fleming by birth, and general of Philip v. The representatives of the German Empire, of Piedmont, France, and England, met in London in 1718, to consult in what manner they should oppose the perfidy and grasping ambition of Spain. By conditions, at that time kept secret, it was agreed to attack the Spanish armies and navies in various parts at once ; a large num- ber of English vessels with imperial soldiers on board, anchored ofi" Ufrocht, ceded his claim to Sicily to his assuming the title of King of Sardinia, father-in-law. In 1720, he was deprived of He abdicated in flivour of his son Charles Sicily and received the island of Sardinia, Emanuel iii. 1730, and died 1732. 1720. CHAKLES OF BOUKBON. 15 the Port of Messina, and 10,000 Xcai)olitans and Germans en- camped at Reg-gio, destined to deliver the citadel of Messina, and the Fort of San Salvatore, which were closely besieged by the intrepid Leyde. The English Admiral Byng- gained two victories in succession over the Spanish Admiral Castagnedo, and ships were captured, others sunk, and only a few escaped or were dis- persed. The city of j\Iessina, though in the possession of the Spa- niards, was invested ; tlie Spanish camps were menaced ; but the Fleming, though both besieged and besieging, and though obliged to provide for attack as well as for defence, stormed the two for- tresses, and in the presence of the conqueror Byng, and of the Emperor's camp, boldly raised the standard of Spain upon these castles. Leaving the city well provided, he then hastened to press the siege of Melazzo. A fresh supply of ships and troops of the enemies of Spain arrived in Sicily (17-0). They gained possession of Palermo, raised the siege of ]\[elazzo, and recovered Messina. The inhabitants, who had sided with Leyde while successful, now changed with fortune, and joined the emperor ; everything boded ill for Spain. The Spanish general, fearing the worst, prepared to abandon the island: Spain, harassed by war in other quarters, and unequal to cope with so many powerful enemies, consented to the secret terms of the hostile league, and accepted in compensation for the serious losses she had to suffer at the present moment, a trifling advantage for the future. By this peace, Sicily Avas given to the emperor. King Amedeus receiving a poor compensation in Sardinia, and the succession to the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany was assigned to Philip v. ; the princes who were the actual rulers of these countries, besides the Pope, who pretended to the domi- nion of Parma, and King Amedeus, were discontented with the terms, but, from their poverty, could only vent their displeasure in lamentations and protests. General Leyde embarked for Spain with his soldiers, accompanied by 500 of the islanders, who volun- tarily expatriated themselves, fearing the anger and vengeance of the conqueror, for having remained faithful to the Spanish interest. Such is the miserable fate of all who meddle in the quarrels of kings, well deserved if they do not act in the support of political principles, but from motives of ambition or the love of gain. 16 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1713. The two Sicilies were united under the empire of Charles vi., who appointed the Duke of Monteleone viceroy in the island, and Count Gallas in Naples, in the place of Count Daun who was recalled. Cardinal Scrotembach succeeded at the death of Gallas. Clement xi. died in the year 1721, and Innocent xiii. was elected; the new Pope, perceiving that the fortune and power of Philip v. were on the decline, did not hesitate to concede, as demanded, the investiture of the two kingdoms to Charles vi, Benedict xiii. succeeded Innocent in the year 1724. Nothing remarkable occurred in Naples during the ten fol- lowing years, from 1 720 to 1 730, except earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and other destructive phenomena. But, in the year 1724, so horrible an act was perpetrated in the neighbouring island of Sicily, and occasioned such a sensation throughout the kingdom, that I feel it a duty to relate what occurred ; and the more so, that I may confirm the Neapolitans in their just detesta- tion of the Inquisition, now that by the alliance of the priesthood with an absolute government, superstition, hypocrisy, and a false veneration for antiquity, are driving them back towards times and manners they abhor ; and when they see this tremendous Office, called holy, revived in not a few places in Italy, — as yet exercised with silent discretion, though (should fortune prove favourable) ready to be turned to as sanguinary and cruel a purpose as in the dark ages of universal ignorance. Brother Romualdo, a lay member of the Augustine Order, and Sister Gertrude, attached to the order of St. Benedict, were arraigned before the tribunal of the Holy Office in the year 1699. The former was accused of Quietism,^ Molinism,'^ and heresy ; the latter of -pride, vanity, temerity, and hypocrisy. Both were insane : for the friar, while uttering many things contrary to the dogmas or practices of Christianity, declared he had been thus taught by angels, the messengers of God, with whom he had spoken ; and that he was himself a prophet, and infallible ; and Gertrude maintained she had held intercourse in the spirit and in ^ Quietism. The doctrine of a sect of as it was first taught by a Spanish priest, Christians, who taught man's chief duty Michael Molinos, in the seventeenth cen- was the contemplation and love of God. tury. He died 1G96. 2 Molinisin. The doctrine of Quietism, I72i. CHARLES OF BOUEBON. 17 the body with God, that she was pure and holy, and made other de- clarations, equally indicative of a disturbed reason. The inquisitors and theologians attached to the Holy Office, had frequent disputes with these unliappy beings, who, like all insane persons, obstinately adhered to their opinions, and repeated their ravings and heresies. Shut up in prison, the woman for twenty-five years, and the friar for eighteen (he passed the remaining seven in penance in the monastery of San Domenico), they endured the severest torments, torture, tlie scourge, hunger and thirst, until at last the Jonged-for hour of execution arrived. The inquisitors had condemned both to death by sentences confirmed by the Bishop of Albarucin, resi- dent at Vienna, and by the Grand Inquisitor of Spain ; obedient to whom, the devout Emperor Charles vi. ordered the act to be executed with the solemnity of an auto-da-fe. In the sentence of condemnation, the virtues, gentleness, and clemency of the Holy Tribunal were set forth, and their humanity and mercy held up in contrast with the malignant spirit, impiety, and contumacy of the two culprits. The necessity of maintaining the discipline of the most sacred Catholic religion was further insisted on, in order to efface the scandal and vindicate the indignation of Christendom. On the 6th April of that year, 1724', in the square of San Erasmo, the largest in the city of Palermo, preparations were made for the execution. A high cross was elevated in the centre, painted white, and enclosed on either side by a pile, each about ten braccia^ in height, covered by a wooden scaffolding like a stage, which was reached by steps ; a stake was driven into the floor above each pile ; altars were erected in diff'erent parts of the square, and richly decorated galleries were arranged in the form of an amphitheatre, facing the cross. In the midst of them rose a more elevated building of larger dimensions, very elaborately ornamented with velvet, gilt ribbons, and the emblems of religion. This was intended for the inquisitors ; the remaining galleries were for the viceroy, the archbishop, and the senate ; for the nobles, clergy, magistrates and ladies ; while the people stood below. At the first dawn of day the bells sounded to penance ; the processions then commenced, composed of friars, priests, and con- fraternities, who, passing through all the streets of the city, walked ' Braccia, nearly two feet. VOL. I. B 18 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1724. round tlie cross, and ranged themselves in the places assigned them. The square was crowded from daybreak, and the galleries were filled with spectators, who arrived in parties, or singly, and all attired in gala dresses, to witness the sacrifice : the space below was likewise filled with the people, waiting the arrival of the victims. It was already past two in the afternoon, and tables laden with provisions, filled the galleries, changing the scene prepared for gloom into one of festivity. In the midst of this gaiety, the first wlio arrived was the unhappy Gertrude, bound upon a car, in a dark dress, her hair dishevelled, and a tall paper cap on her head, on wliich her name was inscribed, with paintings representing the flames of hell. The car, drawn by black oxen, and preceded by a long procession of friars, was escorted by a convoy of princes and dukes, mounted on superb horses ; and followed by the three fiither inquisitors riding white mules. On the arrival of the cortege, the prisoner was consigned to otlier Dominican friars and theologians for the last pretended forms of conversion ; another cortege then appeared, resembling the first, conveying Brother Romualdo ; and the inquisitors took their seats in the magnificent tribune pre- pared for them. These formalities being ended, the obstinacy of the culprits was proclaimed in a loud voice, and their sentences read in Latin ; the woman was the first to ascend the scafi'old ; and the two friars who acted as executioners, bound her to the stake, and set fire to her liair, which had been previously anointed with resi- nous ointments, that the flames might continue burning round her head ; after setting fire to her clothes, which were also impreg- nated with resin, they left her. The unhappy woman, now alone upon the scaffold, whilst groaning with pain, and the flames burn- ing around and beneath her, fell along with the cover of the pile on which she was standing ; and having disappeared bodily, the spec- tators were still made aware of her existence by her shrieks ; while flames and smoke concealed the insulted cross of Christ. Brother Romualdo perished on the other pile, in the same manner, after having witnessed the torments of his companion. Among the spectators might be remarked a dingy, melancholy group of twenty-six prisoners of the Holy Ofiice, who had been forced to witness the ceremony ; they alone, among the crowd, wept over 1730. CHAELES OF BOUEBON. 19 the scene, — for the remainder, either from cowardice, ignorance, a false idea of religion, or abject superstition, applauded the in- famous sacrifice. The three inquisitors were Spanish monks. I refrain from naming those who volunteered their assistance, that I may not disgrace their descendants, who have, we may trust, im- proved since the days of their fathers ; but they are registered in other pages, for public virtue rarely, and still more rarely public vice, can remain hidden. Antonio Mongitore^ describes this scene in a thick volume, and both by his words and opinions shows him- self a devout partisan of the Holy Office. Praised as he has been for his other works, and, above all, for the Bibliotheca Siciliana, he is a glaring instance how the mild character of a student in the pursuit of literature, can be perverted by the errors of his times, and by the want of toleration peculiar to his position as a canon of the cathedral. In the year 1730, there were indications of a renewal of hostilities ; for France, Spain, and England, incited by the secret intrigues of Hanover, were preparing armies and fleets, and the Emperor Charles vi., warned of their designs, sent a fresh supply of soldiers to reinforce the States of Milan and the Sicilies. That same year, when, by the death of Benedict xiii., Clement xii ascended the Papal throne, the celebrated king, Victor Amedeus resigned his kingdom to his son Charles Emanuel, and retired into private life in the castle of Chambery. Some years previously, a greater monarch, Philip v., had relinquished his kingdom, to pass his life in devout exercises (as he professed) in the castle of San Ilde- fonso ; but after eight months, upon the death of his son Louis, he resumed the crown, and governed as feebly and with as much duplicity as before. Amedeus likewise soon grew weary of his retirement at Chambery, and wished to resume the government, but he was opposed in his project hy the king, his son, who soon afterwards sent him a prisoner to the castle of Rivoli, and thence to that of Moncalieri, where he died miserably in confinement, denied the sight of his friends, and even of his wife and son. ^ Antonio Mongitore, born at Palermo, of the Holy Office. He died 1 743. His 1663; he entered the priesthood, was made life was devoted to antiquarian research, a canon of the cathedral, and became one and he published many works. of the judges of the diocese, and councillor 20 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 17C4. After two years' preparations (1732-35), the Infant of Spain, Don Charles, arrived in Italy to show himself to his future subjects, the people of Tuscany, Parma, and Piacenza. A singular cere- mony took place in the royal palace of Spain at his departure ; the day he was to leave, King Philip and his Queen Elizabeth received him seated upon their thrones, in the presence of the whole Court ; and the Infant Don Charles, as was the custom of his family, knelt down before his father, in token of filial respect, while Philip, making the sign of a large cross over his son's head, raised him to his feet, girded on a sword, richly adorned with gold and gems, and addressed him in these Avords : " This is the sw^ord which Louis xiv., my grandfather, placed at my side, when he sent me to conquer these realms of Spain ; may it bring thee entire success, without the calamity of a long war." Kissing him on the cheek, he then dismissed him. Soon after the departure of Don Charles, five large French armies, conducted by the old Marshal Villars, descended by as many routes into Italj', and renewing the war in Lombardy, met with signal success. Upon this a power- ful fleet of Spanish ships weighed anchor from the ports of Leghorn and Longone, and an army collected in the States of Parma and Tuscany, either nominally or actually under the direction of the Infant, with the Count di Montemar as his adviser, approached Naples in a menacing attitude. I will defer the account of this enterprise, which was the commencement of the new State, to a future chapter. It is here suflScient to mention, that before the end of the first half of the year 1735, all the country and inhabitants of the Two Sicilies had submitted to King Charles of Bourbon. In the events of past history to which I have hitherto re- ferred, I have only described the governments of Naples and Sicily as they were bandied from dynasty to dynasty, by wars and con- quests ; w^ere I to pause here, the reader would be presented witli nothing but scenes of violence on the part of the great, and of en- durance in the people ; but the growth of civilisation amidst such frequent changes of government, or rather the condition of the laws, tribunals, finances, and administration, as well as the state of the army and church, and the tenure of fiefs, are matters of greater importance. It is indeed imi^ossible to give their his- tory from beginning to end, which w^ould exceed the limits of this 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 21 work, and the ability of the writer, but I may liere state wliat they were in the year 1734, when Charles of Bourbon ascended tlie throne of the Sicilies. With the fall of the Roman empire fell its laws, and they were followed by the written laws of the Lombards. When this people were vanquished by the Normans, their laws acquired greater authority, because retained by an enemy and conqueror. Though at first scattered, they were subsequently collected in one volume ; but whosoever may chance to read the copy preserved in the archives of the Trinita della Cava, must not expect to find a methodical arrangement of legislative matter, since the division into codes is an invention of modern science. The laws of Rome con- tinued valid with the clergy, but, though preserved by the learned for their wisdom and traditional worth, were not in force under the secular government, where the king gave his commands, the judges pronounced sentence, and the claims of the citizens were decided according to the book of the Lombard laws. Thougli the authority of this last-mentioned code declined, after the Pandects of Justinian had been read and commented on in the schools of Italy, it was still in use, and was increased by the addition of the Norman laws : Roger added thirty-nine, William i. twenty-one, William ii. three, all under the name of Constitutions. When the kingdom passed to the house of Swabia, Frederic, desir- ous that his laws, united with those of the Normans, should be promulgated, collected them in one book, called after him, " The Constitutions of Frederic ii." The compilation of written laws was afterwards increased by chapters added by the race of Anjou, and by the Pragmatic Sanctions^ of the Arragonese sovereigns, and, when the kingdom became a Spanish, and afterwards a German province, many laws under the designation oi Pragmatic Sanctions, were issued by the kings of Spain, the emperors of Germany, and by their viceroys. Amidst all these changes of government and legislation, several cities continued to govern themselves by usage. When Charles of Bourbon, therefore, began his reign, there were eleven modes of legislation in existence, by all of which the king- ^ Pragmatic Sanctions. Solemn Decrees ; ant question was decided by tlie despotic a term used in several decrees ftimous in verdict of the sovereign, history, but always applied when an import- 22 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. dom was governed ; some were the decrees of princes, others ancient laws which had not yet been revoked, and others again the authority of usage. They were the ancient Roman law, the Lombard, the Norman, the Swabian, that of Anjou, the Arragonese, the Spanish Austrian, the German Austrian, the Feudal, the Ec- clesiastical, by which the vast number of persons, and extensive property attached to the Church were governed ; and the Greek, consisting in usages practised in Naples, Amalfi, Gaeta, and other cities which had at one time been ruled by officials appointed by the emperors of the East ; besides other usages in Bari, and places which traced their origin to Lombard grants. These nu- merous modes of legislation neutralized one another, and the rights of the citizen, as well as the decisions of the magistrates, were neither in accordance with rules nor any fixed law. The magistracies of the kingdom consisted of one judge in every community, one tribunal in every province, three in the cities, one council called the Collateral Council, to assist the viceroy, and another called the Italian or Supreme Council,^ which resided with the king in Spain, when the Spanish monarchs ruled in Naples, and in Germany when the Germans reigned. As the forms of procedure established under Joanna ii. were too meagre for their purpose, any deficiency was supplied by usage, or still more fre- quently by the arbitrary will of the viceroy ; and as the power of the magistrates was not clearly defined, any doubt respecting their competency was decided by the command of the Sovereign. Thus matters appertaining to the judicature became involved in those of the administration ; right and power, the magistrate and the government, were often confounded. In short, the ignorance of an age in which subjects believed themselves the lawful servants of their superiors, and rulers did not esteem it an injustice to arro- gate to themselves supreme power, produced an excess of servility on the one side, and despotism on the other : this system was dis- played in its greatest deformity in the way in which trials were ^ Supreme Council of Italy. The affairs resident Viceroj's of Naples, Milan, Sicily, of the Italian provinces were directed by a and Sardinia, who were invariably Spanish Supreme Councilresidingat Madrid, though nobles. — Italy and the Italian Islands. including, besides Spaniards, several natives W. Spalding, vol. ii. p. 267. of Italy. Under this Board stood the four 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON-. 23 conducted, and in the decisions of the Judges. The disorders here enumerated created a confused and corrupt court of law. Any one from tlie lowest of the people, by assuming the lawyer's gown, could call himself an advocate, and was admitted to plead in defence of the rights or persons of the citizens ; and as neither study, examination, practice, nor diplomas were requisite for the exercise of this lucrative profession, the importunate swarm of lawyers multiplied daily. I must now turn to the finances, one of the most important branches of government, and which modern science endeavours to place under such regulations, and to guide by such philosophical maxims, as to enable it to maintain the power of the state, and the prosperity of civilized life ; but in the times of which I write, it was usual to employ indiscriminate violence, setting aside order, moderation, and justice ; which, while ruining private indi- viduals, was no benefit to society. All property was taxed, as well as articles of consumjjtion, and everything which indicated wealth, even dress, food, and the necessaries of life without limit or reason, the only object considered being, how to raise the largest sum. Under the Normans and Swabians, and during the least oppressive reigns, of William the Good, of Frederic ii., and Man- fred, the barons, clergy, and chief persons in every city, met in Parliament, and fixed the sum to be paid into the exchequer; but this exercise of political rights became less frequent under the Houses of Anjou and Arragon, and ceased entirely under the sordid rule of the viceroys, who had reason to fear assemblies of men, and interchange of thought ; or if the rulers sometimes confided the task of proposing new taxes to the municipal corporations (Seggi),^ it was only a stratagem to avoid the danger and obloquy of the hated law. After every imaginable tax had been imposed, and yet neither their rapacity satiated, nor the necessities of the ^ Segffi, the municipal corporation in purity of patrician blood indispensable to each of the principal towns. These Seggi, a title of admission. We discover appli- Sedili, or Piazze, were of extreme antiquity, cations by the Crown to the Seggi as early and were modelled on councils of the same as 1449, and there is no record of their sort in the metropulis. Every city had having refused to vote any tax asked them, several, all of which (except one in Naples, — Italy and the Italian Islands. W. and in a few other places) were composed Spalding, exclusively of noble members, and held 24 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. State provided for, they resorted to extreme measures, dissipating the property of the Crown, selling titles of nobility and offices, converting the most eminent cities into fiefs, mortgaging the future revenues of the exchequer, or alienating them in a manner called, by a Spanish term, Arrendamenti.^ The administration of the communal land and revenues was not better provided for than that of the finances ; by the consti- tutions of Frederic ii., and therefore from a very early period, they had been confided to a syndic and two eletti, chosen by the people in so general a Parliament, that none Avere excluded from voting, except women, children, the debtors of the community, and those rendered infamous by a judicial sentence, or by their lives. They met on a certain day in summer in the public square, and the choice was determined by acclamation, as it was seldom neces- sary to count the names in order to ascertain who was elected. This franchise having no parallel in the other institutions of the country, and being in advance of the political education of the people, was a source of license and tumults. Only two forms of ad- ministration were recognised ; that of the municipality and that of the Sovereign ; the numberless relations of municipality to mu- nicipality, to circles, districts, and provinces, were neglected, or provided for by peculiar arbitrary rules. The administration of the kingdom, in which the supreme will of the Sovereign was neither led, regulated, nor controlled, by any code, wanted that necessary guidance of law which is the sure road to political freedom. Public works were few, and the money which under a well-regulated government would have been expended for the common benefit, was turned to the profit of the exchequer ; the only new buildings were convents, churches, and other religious edifices, or monuments of regal splendour. The arts, therefore, were few and unimportant, and there was only one road in the kingdom, that to Rome. The commerce carried on by sea with foreign nations was insignificant, and there was no traffic by land ; the rivers overflowed their beds, the woods were grown into wild forests, agriculture was in a pri- mitive condition, the flocks and herds wandered over the country, and the population was wretched and decreasing. ^ Arrendamenti, the purchase made by private individuals of the right of collect- ing the public revenue. 1734. CHAKLES OF BOURBON. 25 By a strange aberration in the history of the human intel- lect, letters and the sciences revived in the midst of all this political misery ; not, indeed, from any care on the part of the Government, for in this, as in all that was beneficial, the rulers were indolent, or opposed to progress, but by a fortuitous, or rather providential circumstance, the birth of several men of great genius about the same time. Domenico Aulisio,i Pietro Giannone,^ Gaetano Argento,^ Giovan Vincenzo Gravina,'* Nicola Capasso,^ Niccolb Cirillo,^ and more than it would be possible to name, were born towards the end of the seventeenth, and lived in the first half of the eighteenth century ; a light to tlieir own and succeeding ages. At this period flourished Giovan Battista Vice,'' a marvel of learn- ing, but whose fame w-as jiosthumous, because while admired by all, he was not fully comprehended by any ; as years pass on, he is better understood and more honoured, a proof that the obscurity in which he wrapt his meaning was either intentional, or that his works must wait their full development for other times, and a course of study more in harmony with his theories. The military institutions were even worse than the civil. No ' Domenico Aulisi'o, celebrated for Lis acquaintance with oriental languages, his- tory, and numismatics ; born at Kaples, 1679, died 1717. ■^ Pietro Giaiuwne, the historian of Naples; born 1676, died 1758. ^ Gaetano Argento, a Calabrian lawyer and magistrate of great learning, and a patron of literary men. The friend of Gian- none. * Gioi^an Vincenzo Gravina, a critic, moralist, and poet; born 1664, died 1718. * Nicola Capasso, a poet, who wrote in the NeapoHtan dialect; born 1671, died 1746. ^ Niccolo Cirillo, a learned physician. Fellow of the Royal Society of London when Newton was President; born 1671, died 1734. ^ Giovan Battista Vico, a jurist, philo- sopher, historian, and critic; born 1668, died 1744 : " The man who has anticipated by a century the movements of mind to- wards modern sciences, who has raised up VOL. I. questions which down to him were con- sidered to be resolved, or to be insoluble ; who has carried the investigations of a cri- ticism the most intrepid into documents by all antiquity respected ; who never bent himself before established prejiidice ; who has accomplished the double enterprise of destroying and reconstructing universal history ; who has treated upon all the sciences without being precisely acquainted with any one, and who bequeathed to each of them some fecund teaching ; the man who has almost divined all the discoveries of the nineteenth century ; who, appertain- ing to an age and acountry wherein thought was never free, seemed to ignore that the saying of everything to everybody was to expose himself to be comprehended by no- body ; the man whose genius recalls the mighty intellects of Plato and Aristotle, deserves to be followed step by step in the development of his gloriotis intelligence, and in the vicissitudes of his long and un- happy lifc'-GLYDDON's Types of Mankind. 26 HISTORY OF THE XmODOM OF NAPLES, 1734. means were too lawless to be made use of in the levy of sol- diers. Bribery and corruption were not spared ; a selection was made from condemned criminals and other prisoners ; vagabonds were seized, and the vassals of feudal lords forced to serve at the arbitrary bidding of the barons ; the only fair means by which to recruit an army, namely, selection by lot, was not employed. The worst characters of the city were thus chosen to fill the most honouriible profession the citizen can hold, and were sent to dis- tant wars in Italy, or still more frequently into Spain, where, in the Spanish uniform, under a foreign standard, they fought for a name and glory not their own. While Neapolitans were engaged in a perpetual and inglorious war, Naples was sunk in the torpor of sluggish servitude ; there was no system of militia within the country, which was guarded by foreign soldiers, at a time when the natives were obliged to submit to a foreign discijiline in the land of the stranger ; the arts of war learnt abroad, were useless at home, and the blood and sweat of our countrymen shed no glory on us : Thus military discipline, military habits, exercises, tradition, fame, and sentiment were wanting, and the name of soldier, so honoured in other lands, was in Naples associated with the idea of suifering, and was held in abhorrence. Feudalism itself liad lost the sense of honour. Its decline under the rule of the viceroys, was not caused by laws, nor by any intention to debase its power, but by its own corruption, and the depravity of the rulers. The barons, no longer Avarriors, and neither the props nor the antagonists of thrones, had become careless of those deeds which excite admiration in a generous nobilit}' ; they were lazy and domineering within their castles, where they revelled in the tyranny they exercised over degenerate vassals. The avaricious viceroys meantime sold fiefs, titles, and high offices, and raised the lowest people to the baronage pro- vided they were rich, thus degrading the feudal dignity. On the arrival of King Charles of Bourbon, therefore, the feudal land- holders, though powerful in the eye of the law, were in themselves base, corrupt, hated and feared ; not feared for their greatness, but for their crimes. We have yet to speak of the Church. Whoever would desire to sfive a true and detailed account of the lives and actions of the 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 27 Popes, must include the political history of all Italy ; for that of the Pontificate is closely interwoven with wars, treaties, revolu- tions, changes of government, and with the arrest and even retro- grade movement of civilisation. In the kingdom of Naples alone, the intrigues of the Popes first impeded and then extinguished all the political advantages conferred by the Swabian race ; the Popes rendered the evils inflicted by the race of Anjoii twofold, and nourished the civil wars under the Arragonese monarchs. Nicolas III. conspired in the Sicilian Vespers ; Innocent viii. planned the rebellion and the baronial war against Ferdinand and Alphonso ; Alexander vi. did not disdain to conspire with Baja- zet, the Turkish sultan, to disturb the peace of the Christian king- dom of the Sicilies, and during the long course of the viceregal government, the Popes kindled discord now among the rulers, and now among their subjects, whichever best served to advance the monstrous pretensions of the Church. It is a decree of nature, or rather of Divine Providence, that those who prepare evil for others, fall into the snare them- selves ; and the worst of these popes were likewise the most miserable and unfortunate. The Papacy suifered great adversities during this period ; hardly had it recovered from the divisions and scandal of the schism, when the doctrines of Luther, and the Re- formation followed, with the unhappy wars and imprisonment of Clement vii., the refusal of the kings of Christendom to accept all the acts of the Council of Trent, or the bull of Coena Domini ; the revival of the so-called monarchy of Sicily ; the revolutions of Naples caused by the Inquisition ; the dismissal of the nuncios, and the abolition of the Court of Nunciature ; in short, the open revolt of the civil power, and of public opinion, against the domi- nation of the Church. The pontifical pride would have been still further humbled, had it not been supported in its decline by new orders of monks, and by its enormous wealth. As there is no census belonging to this period, many facts, important to history, remain unknown. It would be necessary to learn the exact number of ecclesiastics, and the amount of their possessions, in order to estimate the influence of the priesthood over the people ; but the most diligent research and long study have proved insufficient for this purpose, because the 28 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. writers of that time, if devoted to the Church, ashamed of her ill- gotten wealth, gave a false statement, and those who were her enemies endeavoured to increase the scandal by exaggerating the trutli. Between these contradictory reports, I will offer the most probable conjecture. In the kingdom of Naples alone, the ecclesi- astics numbered about one hundred and twelve thousand ; namely, 22 archbishops, 116 bishops, 56,500 priests, 81,800 friars, and 23,600 nuns. Therefore in a state containing four millions of inhabitants, the ecclesiastics were in proportion to the population twenty-eight to every thousand ; an excess which was injurious to morals, because they were under the vow of celibacy, and to in- dustry and national wealth, as they were all idle. The city of Naples alone maintained 16,500. The most cautious writers reckon the possessions of the Church at two-thirds of the property of the country, exclusive of the royal domains; while others (who, however, maintain that they are better informed) affirm that four parts out of five were enjoyed by the Church ; but both statements are exaggerated. At the time of the arrival of King Charles of Bourbon, the Apostolic See claimed supremacy over kings and kingdoms, as arrogantly as in the times of Gregory vii., but as its moral influence had diminished, this was only supported by the number of eccle- siastics, and by their inordinate wealth. Briefly to recapitulate the matter contained in this chapter : The temporal power of the Church was as strong as ever ; reli- gious faith as great, or greater than formerly, but faith in the ministers of religion and the pontiff weakened ; the feudal sys- tem entire, but the feudal lords contemptible in the eyes of the people ; there was no army, and the civil administration was frau- dulent and full of errors ; the finances were exhausted, poor at the present moment, and with the prospect of becoming still poorer ; the codes of law were confused, and the tribunals filled by a vast assemblage of intriguing and corrupt lawyers ; though the Nea- politans were the slaves of many prejudices, they were opposed to the fallen government and desirous of better. Therefore necessity, the opinions and desires of the people, a new dynasty, and the interests of the new king, as well the genius of the age, all invited reforms. 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 29 CHAPTER II. CONQUEST OF THE SICILIES BY THE INFANT CHARLES OF BOURBON. Charles, a son of the prosperous and arrogant House of Spain, was born to Pliilip v. by Elizabeth Farnese, in an age of wars and conquests, in the year 1716. The eldest child by the second marriage, he was without a kingdom. His haughty mother, who could ill brook the lesser appanage of her sons, and who, by her superior intellect, ruled the state and the king, who was fear- less in disasters, yet knew how to bend before adversity, succeeded by bold wars and wise treaties, in obtaining for Charles the ducal crowns of Tuscany and Parma. In 17-33, her hopes were re- awakened,^ and she caused armies and fleets to be prepared to conquer the Sicilies. The youthful Charles was enjoying the pleasures of sovereignty in Parma, when he received intimation by official letters from Philip, and by private letters from the queen, of new schemes, and of new and powerful agents to insure their success. Spain, France, and the King of Sardinia were leagued together against the Empire ; a numerous French army, under the direction of Berwick was crossing the Rhine ; French and Sardinian troops, under Villars, were descending into Lombardy ; Spanish infantry was disembarking in Genoa, and cavalry and horses were on their way to Antibes ; while a powerful and numerous fleet ruled the seas of Italy. The Spanish forces were to be under the direction of the Count di Montemar, but, for the honour and dignity of the name, were placed under the supreme command of the Infant ^ By the war in Europe for the succes- father of Marie Leczinski, queen of Louis sion to the Polish throne, contested by xv. of France, cousin to Philip of Spain. Augustus, Elector of Saxony, son of Angus- Elizabeth seized on this pretext to invade tus 11. King of Poland, whose claims were the Austrian dominions, and obtain Naples supported by the Courts of Vienna and for her son Charles. — See Tocquevillc, St. Petersburg, and Stanislaus Leczinski Begne de Louis xv., vol. i, p. 375 Palatine of Posen, ex-king of Poland, and so HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. Don Charles. The aim of this enterprise was to vanquish the im^Derial troops beyond the Rhine ; to drive them out of Lombardy, and to conquer the Sicilies ; " which, when raised to the rank of an independent Ivingdom/' wrote the mother to her son, " shall be thine. Go, then, and conquer, for the fairest crown of Italy awaits thee/' Charles was at an age (seventeen years) when a man is most easily excited by harmless ambition. The son of a king inclined for war, and of a queen insatiable in her thirst for power and greatness, eager for a more extensive empire than the Duchies of Tuscany and Parma, and abetted in this enterprise, tliougli covertly, by Pope Clement xii., he entertained no doubt of his right to the Sicilies, which he claimed by the ancient dominion of former kings of Spain, as well as by the more recent dominion of his father ; and he commiserated the Sicilian people, of whose sufferings under the imperial government, exaggerated statements were circulated in tlie palace of Philip ; therefore, right, religion, humanity, and his own interests alike urged him to this enterprise. The excellent dispositions with which he had been born, had been blunted by the contagion of a court ; but kind-hearted by nature, and possessed of an understanding above his years, he was just and charitable to his subjects, temperate, though aspiring ; affable in his manners, with an agreeable countenance, robust and tall in person, and fond of manly exercises and the art of war. Whilst the Spanish troops were collecting in the neighbour- hood of Sienna and Arezzo, and the Spanish fleet was trans- porting soldiers, horses, and artillery, the Infant assembled a council of his most illustrious generals at Parma, to determine the plan of the expedition to Naples. After appointing a regency, and promulgating ordinances for the good government of his states, he departed, followed by the prayers of his people, and amidst all manner of rejoicing.s. Once more at Florence, he visited Gian Gastone, the last and declining Grand Duke of the House of Medici, passed through Sienna and Arezzo, and arrived in Perugia, in March 1734, reviewed all the troops under his command. Sixteen thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry from the kingdoms of Spain, Italy, and France were there assembled under Montemar ; and among the most distinguished officers were the Duke of Berwick, 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 31 of the blood of the British kings, the Count de Marsillac, a French- man, many grandees of Spain, and the Duke of Eboli ; tlie Prince Caracciolo Torclla and Don Niccolo di Sangro, Neapolitans. The Infant Charles was seated during this review, and surrounded by a numerous court, resplendent in rich dresses and banners. The Count di Santo Stefano, formerly preceptor, and now the adviser of the Infant, was present, as well as tlie Prince Corsini, nephew of the Pope, the Count de Charny of the blood-royal, and at least a hundred dukes and barons ; among them, attired in the simple fashion, and with the modest demeanour of a Tuscan, was Ber- nardo Tanucci, the year before an advocate in Pisa, and pro- fessor of law, who had found favour with Charles, by his high attainments in his science,^ and had been appointed auditor of the Spanish army, and councillor in the civil aftairs of the kingdom. The eminence he afterwards attained leads me to add further, that he was born of poor parents, in the year 1698, in Stia, a small town of the Casentino ; he was by nature endowed with talents, which were improved by study, and was a man of liberal views for his times, when to oppose the pretensions of the Papacy was con- sidered liberty. Such was Tanucci, in Pisa, and in due time I will relate what he became in Naples when raised by Charles to the position of prime minister. After the review at Perugia, the army sent on towards Naples, was well received in the Pontifical States, and was maintained with honour. They were met by the Pope's legates, some of whom remained with the camp, whilst others were detained near the person of Charles. But, although the court of Rome was inclined to wish success to Spain, yet, remembering the mutability of fate, she concealed her favourable disposition from the ministers of the Emperor. Montemar, fearing lest the imperial squadrons should come up unexpectedly behind his columns, strengthened his rear by a strong body of troops, and proceeded in such an order that he could turn the greater part of his forces to any front. ^ Tamicci attracted the notice of Charles when Tanucci, then a professor at Pisa, in the following manner. A soldier of the sujjported the royal authority, and demon- Spanish army committed a crime, and strated the abuse of ecclesiastical immu- sought refuge in a church, hut was arrested nities, especially in criminal cases. — J7^- by order of the king. The Tuscan clergy moires Secrets des Cours de Vludie. iuterfered, claiming immunity of the church, 32 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. When the report reached Naples, that a Spanish army was advancing against tlie kingdom, the people were agitated by new hopes, and the imperial ministers by their fears, while pre- parations were made for the reception of the enemy. Giulio Vis- conti was viceroy, and Count Francis Traun commanded the forces, and as they were unable to conceal the danger, they thought by at once declaring it to weaken its effect. The viceroy issued an edict proclaiming war; and, summoning the Eletti of the people to meet him in the palace, he acquainted them with the hopes, means, and intentions of the enemy, as well as his own ; he assured them that the fortresses were well supplied, the garrisons strong, troops were expected from Sicily, and in still greater numbers from Ger- many, an army of twenty thousand imperialists, conducted by the valiant Marshal Mercy, was in the rear of the Spanish army, and he trusted to the people's attachment to the Emperor, and to the Divine aid in a just cause ; he proceeded to entreat the Eletti to co-operate with the government, by increasing the store of provi- sions, by maintaining the fidelity of the commonalty, and by pay- ing the promised donation of six hundred thousand ducats into the exchequer. The replies of the Eletti were humble yet confident, and as is usual with the representatives of a discontented people, in the midst of present dangers, promised succour at some distant time. The viceroy convoked another council of war ; Count Traun and General Caraffa, a Neapolitan in the pay of the Emperor, were of opposite opinions. Traun proposed to distribute the troops in the fortresses ; thus force the enemy to several sieges, and by opposing detached portions of the army to him in different places, pro- tract the war, until the arrival of aid from Germany, Caraffa ad- vocated a bolder course ; to diminish the garrisons of Pescara, Capua, Gaeta, and Sant' Elmo, to evacuate and demolish the remaining fortresses and castles, to form a sufficient army to with- stand the enemy, and to await the arrival of succour, while skir- mishing in the open field ; thus avoiding any decisive action, unless military reasons could be assigned to prove victory certain. The opinion of Traun prevailed. The fortresses and castles were well garrisoned, a strong camp was formed in the pass of San Mignano, protected by entrenchments and batteries, while messen- 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON". 33 gers were sent to entreat the Emperor to hasten his succours. Twenty-five thousand Germans were dispersed throughout the Two Sicilies, to oppose the united army of Cliarles, which was inferior in numbers, and without the aid of strong ph\ces or forti- fied positions. At the same time, the viceroy sent envoys into the provinces to raise troops, to collect treasure and provisions, and by arming every city and village, provide for the defence of the kingdom. These envoys were selected from the highest nobility. The civic guard likewise was organized in the metropolis, and the chief cities of the kingdom. A regiment of Neapolitans was raised, composed of volunteers, and of men levied at the care and expense of the Duke di Monteleone-Pignatelli ; finally, by enlisting as soldiers men who had been confined in the prisons, or fugitives guilty of crimes, arms were placed in the hands of every Neapolitan subject, good or bad. Tyrants have the presumption to expect their subjects will serve them as slaves, yet defend them as heroes, forgetful that by the eternal law of nature, sooner or later, either in their own persons, or in those of their descendants, they will pay for the cruelties they have practised against the people, at the price of their kingdom or their blood. All that Visconti had hitherto ordered, though ill-judged and inadequate, had not exceeded the limits of law, but worse fol- lowed. Some of the nobles who had spoken in council with freedom for the good of the State, were, by his order, without trial or examination, sent into confinement in Germany. Much of the private money which had been deposited in the banks, or paid into court, was confiscated to the exchequer, and the city was forced by threats to disburse a hundred and fifty thousand ducats. In the midst of so much violence practised toward the people, the deference shown to ecclesiastics incurred the more odium ; when asked to lend their assistance to Government, some gave but little, while others wholly refused, yet they were neither forced to pay nor reprimanded. The vice-queen, who was in infirm health, de- parted with her family to seek shelter in Rome. The archives of the monarchy were sent for safety to Gaeta and Terracina, and the viceroy himself made secret preparations to quit the city. 34) HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. The Spanish army proceeding onwards, traversed tlie States of Rome, without attempting to enter the city, as the Infant had been requested by the Pontiff to avoid all collision with the ambassadors of the Emperor ; and passing along by the road of Valmontone and Frosinone, they had nearly readied the frontiers of the kingdom. Before their arrival, however, more Spanish troops had landed on the territory of Naples. Count Clavico, the admiral of the Spanish fleet, having weighed anchor from the ports of Longone and Leghorn, arrived with a powerful armament before the islands of Procida and Iscliia, which immediately surrendered ; for, these islands being incapable of defence, the garrisons had shortly before been withdrawn, by a wise precaution of the Go- vernment. The islanders welcomed the conquerors, and swore fealty to the Infant : whilst Spanish ships, cruising and fighting along the shores bordering the city, roused the hopes or fears of those witliin, according to the side they had embraced. The Neapolitans, beginning to hold communication with the officers on board these ships, a great number of the edicts of Philip V. and Charles were dispersed throughout the city. Philip announced that he had resolved upon this expedition, for the sake of the people, oppressed by the harsh government and exactions of the Germans ; he reminded them of the joyful wel- come they had formerly given him, and he expressed his confidence (in spite of contradictory appearances, and the necessity they were under to control their feelings), that his subjects v\ere still faith- ful ; but if changed, he was ready to pardon their misdemeanours and treason. He promised to confirm the piivileges of the city and of the kingdom, and even to increase them ; to abolish the bur- dens imposed by the German government, to diminish others, and to rule the State as a father ; and he hoped in return, to receive from his people the obedience and love of children. Charles swore to fulfil the promises made by Philip, and added, that the ecclesi- astical discipline should continue under the same good regulations they had hitherto preserved, and that no tribunal should be added to those already in existence. Thus the fear of the abhorred inqui- sition vanished, and the interest of the large class of lawyers was secured. The edict of Philip was dated from the Pardo, the 7th February, that of his son from Civita Castellana, the 14th March. 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 35 The Spanish army having passed the frontiers at Liri without opposition, halted one day at Aquino, and three at San Gcrmano. Tlie Germans having resolved upon their plan of operations, waited the approach of the enemy in the fortresses and castles, increasing their stores of arms and provisions, and the strength of their garrisons. Count Traun with five thousand soldiers, held the entrenchments of Mignano ; and the vicero}^, while draining the country for fresh supplies of money, awaited coming events in a state of harassing suspense. An occurrence v/hich shortly followed, in the night of the 30th March, accelerated the good fortune of the Spanish army and the defeat of their opponents. Some moun- taineers of Sesto (a small village), well acquainted with the forests which rise above Mignano, offered to conduct the Duke of Eboli at the head of four thousand Spaniards, secure and unobserved, to the flank and rear of the German lines. The offer being accepted, rewards promised, and punishments threatened, the Spaniards reached the place, and sent intelligence to the Count di Montemar, in order that at the hour predetermined, the attack on the enemy's camp in the front, flank, and rear, should commence. The cannon of Montemar was to give the signal for the Duke of Eboli to advance; but a vidette of Germans, having discovered the party, a speedy messenger was sent to Traun, informing him of the posi- tion of the enemy, and exaggerating their numbers. The German general, who had believed these mountains inaccessible, having by fresh scouts ascertained the truth of the report, broke up his camp, spiked the heavy artillery, burnt the carriages, and in the night withdrew his troops into the fortress of Capua, abandoning in the hurry of his flight the rest of his cannon, baggage and materiel, which became the spoil of the Duke of Eboli, who, at daybreak, perceiving the entrenchments deserted, descended the hill, and sent the joyful intelligence to the commander-in- chief. When the affair of Mignano w^as reported in Naples, with all the exaggerations added by fame and party spirit, the insolent populace gained courage ; and as the Spanish fleet always con- tinued in sight of the city, the decks covered with soldiers and banners, the viceroy perceived the danger of further delay, and departed at sunset on the 3d April, with his Germans and 36 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. auxiliaries. They escaped like fugitives, without the customary honours or proclamations, through the least populous parts of the city, in the direction of Avellino, and from thence to Puglia. The magistrates and the militia took charge of the city, which was left without a head or means of defence. After having been six days upon the road, the Infant ar- rived at Maddaloni ; thus slowly advancing, on purpose to allow time to spread reports of the good discipline of his army, and the liberality of the new prince. Queen Elizabeth Farnese, enriched by the treasures latel}' arrived from Mexico, had given part to the Infant for the conquest of Naples, and he distributed them in a munificent spirit and with a lavish hand among the people : he paid for his provisions, bestowed gifts and alms, and, as was customary at that time, frequently desired money to be thrown in handfuls amidst the multitude. Entering the city of Maddaloni, he was met by a numerous body of Neapolitan nobles, who came to offer their ser- vices as a guard of honour ; the Eletti of Naples next followed, deputed to present him with the keys of the city, wish him suc- cess, and promise fidelity and obedience : they concluded their harangue by asking the confirmation of the privileges of the city. Charles replied in Spanish, and confirmed their privileges in his own name, and in that of his father, the King of Spain ; he spent the rest of that day in the presence of his people, shooting the pigeons which had built their nests in the towers of the ducal palace ; and for many consecutive days he was engaged in the chase, as he had likewise been at Alifi and San Gennano : for neither the anxieties of war, nor the cares of government, could ever divert him from his favourite passion, which as he grew old, hardened the heart of this good prince, often cast a blemish on his virtues, and even sometimes exposed his life to danger. The following day, the 10th April, he removed his quarters from Maddaloni to Aversa, and held a council to consider the exigencies of M'ar and of the kingdom. He appointed the Count di Charny his lieutenant, to restore order in the cities and in the provinces ; commanded that the tribunals, suspended during the agitations of war, should resume their functions, and sent Count Marsillac with six thousand soldiers to occupy the city, land the siege artillery, and lay siege to Baja and three of the forts ; as 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. S7 the fourth (II Carmine), was witliout a garrison, and stood with open gates. Other squadrons were encamped on the plains of Sessa, to hinder the garrisons of Capua and Gaeta from communi- cating with the provinces, or making sorties in search of provisions. Lastly, the main body of the army was sent towards Puglia, to attack the viceroy, who having united his troops with those of General CarafFa and Prince Pignatelli, and with others arrived from Sicily and Trieste, was scouring the provinces with eight thousand soldiers. But the Duke of Eboli, who commanded the Spaniards, was advancing slowly, waiting the assault of the castles within the city, and these obstacles removed, to have more troops at his disposal, in case of need. After a short siege, a breach being opened, the fort of Baja surrendered on the 28d of April ; the castle of Sant' Elmo yielded on the 25th, and the Castello dell' Uovo on the 2d May. The Nuovo held out rather longer (only because the assailants changed the plan of the siege in the midst of their operations, and invested it by another side), but on the 6th May it opened its gates. The garrisons of the four castles were all taken prisoners. The Spanish army only lost a few in killed and wounded, and was amply com- pensated for this loss by the abundant supply of provisions and artillery found there, which last they immediately transferred to the siege of the larger fortresses. At the time these castles were built (useful in their generation), they were adapted to the weapons of the period, and to the science of war as it was then commonly understood. They are now only a waste of men and of provisions, citadels to be turned against the people, and a protection and encouragement to tyrants. When, in some future age, the rulers of Naples, protected by law, justice, and order, do not fear rebel- lion, it will be the wisdom of the government to enlarge the small castle of Sant' Elmo, so as to enable it to receive a strong war- risen of 3000 soldiers, and demolish the three remaining castles of the city, leaving only the batteries for the defence of the harbour. The metropolis being now delivered from every vestige of the past government, the Infant went there in regal state on the 10th May, amidst extraordinary rejoicings of the people, for their hopes in the new sovereign were great, and their joy was increased 38 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734 by the gold and silver coin which the treasurer scattered pro- fusely in the streets of the city. Charles made his entry in the morning by the Capuan gate, but being desirous of first returning thanks to God for his successes, he descended in the suburban church of San Francesco, and remained in that monastery until four in the afternoon, when he entered the city, mounted upon a charger, and attired in a rich dress, adorned with magnificent jewels ; his first care was to visit the cathedral, to receive the sacerdotal benediction from the hands of Cardinal Pi^natelli, to join with devotion in the sacred ceremonies, and to adorn the statue of St. Januarius with a costly chain of rubies and dia- monds. Having completed this sacred rite, he continued his way to the palace, and, passing before the dungeons of the Vicaria^ and of San Giacomo, he received the heys, in acknowledgment of his sovereignty, and commanded the doors to be thrown open, and the prisoners set free — an act of magnanimous folly. The city was gay with rejoicings ; the troops lining the streets, or placed as sentinels round the palace, belonged to the civic guard, and fireworks and illuminations lasted throughout the night. But the festivities within the city did not put an end to the fear of war, which was still raging in Lombardy. The neighbouring and rich island of Sicily continued to pay tribute to the Emperor ; an imperial army occupied Puglia, and the largest fortresses of the kingdom were guarded by numerous garrisons, led by cele- brated captains, who defended the standard and dominion of the Empire. The viceroy was expecting large reinforcements, and it was said that already 6000 Croats were on the eve of arriv- ing at Manfredonia, while the people, who now sided with the Bourbons, would undoubtedly change with fortune. The state of tlie kingdom appeared favourable for Charles, but was not secure. Count Montemar, therefore, having visited Capua and Gaeta, and pressed their blockade, marched with fresh troops towards Puglia, and, joining the Duke of Eboli, formed an army of 12,000 soldiers, ^ The Vicarla, once the residence of llie of tlie Iionse of Anjou, and tlie Constitutions Niirman kings ; contains Viirious courts of Frederic ii. Tlie dungeons Lelow, still of justice, the archives of the kingdom, in use, are described by recent visitors as documents, acts and edicts of the sovereigns loathsome abodes ofmiseiy and vice. 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 3.9 infantry and cavalry, supported by a large fleet, which sailed close in to shore, accelerating or slackening their speed, and regulating their movements by those of the army on land. The Infant, meantime, employed the arts of peace to advance his cause ; he issued an edict, summoning all the barons of the kingdom to swear allegiance to the new government, within a given time, and threatening defaulters with punishment. The following day, the 15th June of the year 1 734, he published the decree of Philip v., who thereby ceded his ancient and newly-recovered rights to the Sicilies, now united into one independent kingdom, to his son Charles, born of his happy nuptials with Elizabeth Farnese. The new king caused himself to be proclaimed, Charles, by the grace of God, King of the two Sicilies and Jerusalem, Infant of Spain, Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Castro, and Hereditary Grand Prince of Tuscany, He designed the royal arms, by annexing to the national arms of the two Sicilies three golden lilies for the house of Spain, six azure for that of Tuscany, and six red balls for that of Medici. The civic festivities and the festivals of the Church were renewed, and the king added another to the popular games, in the Coccagna,! a vast machine, intended to represent the Garden of the Hesperides, covered with rich gifts, which, as all were allowed to enter, while the access was made intricate and the prize difficult to reach, was meant to tempt the cupidity, or call forth the dex- terity of the people. Charles, from the roof of the palace, was, with youthful ardour, enjoying the sight of the amusing incidents of the game, when part of the machinery, which was ill constructed, and laden with people, suddenly fell in on one side, dragging down all upon it, and crushing those beneath by its weight. Many were killed, some hundreds wounded, and the square was soon emptied of spectators. The king issued a decree, forbidding similar games in future. The first act of the sovereign power was to create Bernardo Tanucci Minister of Justice. On the arrival of the Spanish army in Puglia, the viceroy, alarmed, and really incapable of conduct- ing a war, went on board ship and departed, taking with him General Caraffa, accused by Count Traun, and summoned by the Emperor to Vienna to be reprimanded and punished — an unworthy * Coccagna, a tall pole from the top of wliicli prizes are suspended. 40 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. return for good advice offered and rejected. Prince Belmonte re- mained at the head of the Germans, who were 8000 soldiers, ad- venturers rather than regular troops, from various countries, speaking different tongues, and most of them new to discipline and war. Belmonte having stationed his troops in the Basilicata and Puglia, took up his own quarters in Bari, not from military reasons, but for his personal convenience, since there were no strong works attached to the walls of that city. On the first appearance of the enemy he accordingly quitted it, leaving a small garrison, and encamped his army at Bitonto, a stronger city, from its defences being in better condition, and from its having a fortified castle, and long lines of ditches and walls extending into the country, which, though originally meant for agricultural purposes, were not the less useful in defence. He placed 1 500 soldiers in the city, who were unfit for field warfare, and ranged the rest of his troops behind the walls and ditches, posting his cavalry to the right of the army, and converting two monasteries, which lay at the extremity of his line, close upon his wings, into castles. This done, he waited the attack of the enemy. The Spaniard also turned the head of his columns from Bari in the direction of Bitonto, having more numerous forces, all accus- tomed to war, his cavalry, double the number of the enemy, and an abundant supply of artillery. Arrived in sight of the Germans, he pitched his camp, and the next morning, the 26th May 1734, he caused his men to deploy, extending his lines beyond the enemy's front, and opposing infantry to infantry, and horse to horse ; the rest of his cavalry, of which he had a superabundance, were ordered to scour the country to the right, and be prepared for any emergency. He made a trial of the Germans, by attack- ing them with a small body of his men ; but, meeting with re- sistance, he retreated in disorder, hoping that the enemy, gaining courage, would quit their defences in pursuit, but, as Belmonte was not deceived by these feints, Montemar trusted for victory to open battle, and, advancing his infantry, and urging on his horse, he commenced firing, sounding the drums and trumpets to the charge. At this sight the German cavalry were seized with panic, and, after some little hesitation, broke up in disordered flight to- wards Bari, all, except Colonel Villani with his 200 hussars, who. 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 41 retreating, but in order, took tlie road of the Abruzzi, and found shelter in Pescara. The departure of the cavalry, so unexpected and so rapid, that it had the appearance of desertion rather tlian flight, disconcerted the rest of the troops, and, finally. General Belraonte and Prince Strongoli (another general in the pay of the Emperor) abandoned the camp, and followed the fugitives. The victory of Montemar was clear and decisive, for though the battle lasted two more hours by single combats, which were both useless and inglorious, it was only because none remained in the imperial camp to give the order to surrender. The two monasteries were taken by storm ; that same day the city and castle of Bitonto yielded, and on the next their example was followed by Bari. A thousand Germans had been killed or wounded, and the remainder made prisoners. The conqueror obtained in booty their arms, artillery, and baggage, while twenty-three standards graced his trophy. The Spanish army lost 300, killed and wounded ; the price of a kingdom and of the glory of Montemar, gained less by his own deserts than by the errors of the enemy. The news of the battle of Bitonto caused the surrender of all the castles in Puglia without a struggle, except those of Brindisi and Lecce. A large body of Spaniards were sent to the Abruzzi. Montemar, with the rest of the troops, returned to Naples ; three thousand five hundred German prisoners passed into the pay of Charles ; and fresh succours in men, ships, and arms, arrived from Spain and Tuscany. The commencement of his reign seemed daily more happy, and the festivities within the city were renewed. When Montemar arrived, he went to the palace, where Charles, as was customary, was seated at table in public. The king, with a radiant countenance, bade the conqueror welcome, and Montemar bowed respectfully in reply. Charles then asked him in Spanish (which he always spoke when at a loss what to say;, " What news do you bring, Montemar V " That your enemies have been obliged to yield before your arms ; that all, killed or prisoners, do honour to your victory ; that your troops fought with equal valour, but that the Walloons were most envied." Those around, who had been surprised at the unmeaning question of the king, admired the noble answer of the Count. The following day, Charles bestow^ed upon him rewards, honours, the title of duke, VOL. I. D 42 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. and the permanent command of Castel Nuovo. He afterwards caused a solid pyramid to be erected on the field of Bitonto, on which was inscribed the success of the battle, under what king- it had been fought, by whose arms achieved, and the name of the commander ; a monument, if we may credit history, rather to pride than merit. All the castles of the kingdom yielded in succession to the Spanish arms ; and the small German garrisons passed into the service of Charles. The island of Lipari, menaced by Spanish ships, gladly accepted the new government. The large fortresses of Pescara, Capua, and Gaeta, alone continued to hold out ; but on the 29th July, Pescara capitulated. The fortifications, although constructed according to the rules of modern science, were defective in lines and reliefs, as well as wanting in outworks ; yet, such as they were, they stood a long siege, nor did General Torres lower the imperial standard until a breach had been opened wide enough to allow him and his garrison to pass out, — an honour which he obtained in reward for valour, a virtue admired by all, but espe- cially by enemies in war. Nothing else worthy of note occurred durino^ this siege. Almost at the same time, on the 6tli August, the fortress of Gaeta surrendered. According to ancient tradition, the first walls of this city were built by the Trojans, and ^neas gave it the name of his nurse, who was buried there. It increased so rapidly in population and wealth, that it could not be contained within the original walls, and was therefore enclosed by a wider circuit. Alphonso of Arragon erected a castle, and Charles v. remarking the strength of the place, and the size of the harbour, which afibrded a secure shelter for ships of commei'ce and war, caused the city to be surrounded with fortified walls ; and in succeeding times every new king wished to add fresh works and his name ; so that, in 1734. when it was besieged by the Spaniards, it was little less in circumference than it is now. It is situated on a promontory at the extremity of an isthmus in the Tyrrhenean Sea. The promon- tory slopes on three sides into the sea, and on the land side descends by a steep and abrupt declivity, which, widening into a plain be- tween the two shores of the isthmus, at last forms the valleys which lie between the mountains of Castellona and d'ltrl On the 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 43 summit of this promontory is a very ancient tower, called the Tower of Orlando. The walls of the fortress follow the inclination of the ground, and are therefore built in zigzags or steps, until they touch the further shores on either side, forming bastions, curtains, and salient and re-entering angles, so as to be capable of defence at every point. Modern science has been employed there, but with a deviation from ordinary rules, which were inadmissible, owing to the impediments presented by the nature of the ground. Though these works are imperfect, they are not to be despised, as they require considerable skill either to defend or attack. On the land side, a second wall encloses the first, and is protected by two moats, two covered ways, and several places of arms. It is vul- nerable in two points only : in the so-called citadel (the Castle of Alphonso), and in the Bastion of the Breach, thus named from its disasters. Tlie outer wall (at least as much of it as remains) is cut in the hard calcareous rock. At the time when the blockade of the fortress was changed into a siege, it contained a thousand Germans and five hundred Neapo- litans of the battalion raised by the Duke di Monteleone ; there were scarcely any artillerymen, and the Neapolitans, therefore, from their noted dexterity, were trained to manage the cannon : there was abundance of arms, artillery, ammunition, and provisions. On the other side, the Duke di Liria directed the attack with six- teen thousand Spaniards, provided plentifully with arms and materiel. The trenches for the siege were, therefore, in a short time opened, and the besiegers, approaching the wall by covered ways, raised several batteries of cannon and mortars, by which to make a breach in the citadel, and silence the fire of the cannon from the fortress. The approaches Avere in progress, when the Duke Montemar arrived to hasten the termination of the siege, and enjoy the fruits of victory ; and a little later he was followed by King Charles, induced by the same motives, and ambitious of military fame. After his arrival the firing became more brisk, and a breach began to appear, the shells carrying destruction and terror into the city. The Count of Tattembach, the governor of the fortress, in a council of his ofiicers, proposed to surrender, but was opposed by his subordinates : the commander of a fortress is in a miserable and humiliating position when any of the 44 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1734. ]>esieged are more unwilling than himself to demand terms of accommodation. But dissentient opinions and discord, added to the tottering state of the defences, at length induced the necessity of yielding to the enemy, and surrendering the fortress entire. Only a few had been killed on either side, and nothing had been per- formed worthy of record. The fortress of Capua, though closely blockaded, now alone in the whole kingdom still hoisted the stand- ard of the Emperor. The Germans were commanded by Count Traun, the Spaniards by Count Marsillac ; the generals were per- sonal friends ; they had been both companions in arms, and foes in other wars ; one had been prisoner to the other ; they had been buffeted by fortune in various ways, but had always secretly maintained their friendship. The present good fortune of Charles was increased by the victories of the French and Sardinians in Lombardy, and by the rare constancy of the European powers in their league against Austria. The German army in Italy was almost totally destroyed by the battle of Parma ; Prince Eugene, with his small force, was not sufficient to confront the powerful armies of Berwick and d'Asfeld on the Rhine ; England and Holland maintained their neutrality. The Germanic body rendered little assistance to the Empire, and could not be relied on, and Russia, although friendly, terminated all her views and the aim of the war itself in Poland. King Charles feeling himself now secure and powerful, while pre- paring an enterprise against Sicily, turned his attention to the affairs of the kingdom. He received the oath of the eletti of the city, confirmed the oaths of the barons by edicts and religious cere- monies, and formed his ministry, council, and court, of those most distinguished by name, birth, or wealth. He appointed the magistrates, graciously received the envoys of the Emperor, who had been sent by the viceroy into the provinces, and despatched thither envoys of his own ; men likewise of noble birth and station. He pardoned many delinquencies, and consulted the Seggi upon the burdens to be removed. As a king he naturally favoured the nobility ; and as no third state had yet arisen, and the people were at that time composed of nobles and plebeians, the favour shown the former proved beneficial to all ; for the barons, either from gratitude for the advantages they enjoyed, or because they im. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 45 were dazzled by the splendour of the palace, or because their am- bition was flattered, came to reside in the city, and thus relieved their vassals from their presence, and learned the customs and forms of modern civilisation. But suspicion and violence came to sully the beneficent acts of Charles. A few partisans of the Emperor still remained in the city, men such as are generated under any government, weak, contemptible, desiring the victory of their party, and deceiving their own hopes, more tlian those of others, by spreading false reports of war and politics. Long mocked by fortune, and diminishing in numbers and audacity, tliey were growing disheartened by despair and their own insignificance, when the ear of the rulers having become more accessible, and their pride increased by success, several juntas were formed, one in the city, and others in the provinces, called d'Inconfidenza, intended to punish by secret trials and arbitrary verdicts all the enemies of the throne ; thus designating a small body of unhappy men, and converting disappointed hopes or vain aspirations into enmity and state treason. Among many others, Bernardo Tanucci was judge in the junta of Naples, an ofiice unworthy his station or name ; but the first steps of ambition are blindfold. The Seggi of the city had been invited to meet in council, to propose the abolition of some of the imposts. Grateful to Charles, and ambitious of his favour, they requested him to continue the present taxes, though acknowledging that their burden was already intolerable : and further to accept from his people a million of ducats, which they offered him as a donation. Thus was the national property defrauded, to gratify the passions and interests of a body of men, who but imperfectly represented the whole king- dom ; for the king, in order to supply what was needed for the approaching expedition to Sicily, while returning thanks to the council, confirmed the taxes, and accepted the gift. Soon afterwards these same Seggi imposed fresh burdens on the nation. The too frequent repetition of similar acts, either by the senators, or the king's councillors, or the ministers, produced a desire on the part of the people to obtain some effectual means of putting a stop to these proceedings in future. I am anxious to call the attention of the reader to this fact, that as my work advances, I may prove to him how convulsions in 46 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1?34. society always proceed from remote causes, grow up unobserved, and only manifest tliemselves when they are irretrievable. Should life and strength be granted me for the completion of my design, this history will further prove, that the subsequent opinions, wishes, acts, and revolutions of the Neapolitan people, were the necessary consequences of the changes they underwent at this period. The enterprise to Sicily was determined on, and the prepa- rations completed. The Marquis Rubbi was the Emperor's vice- roy in that island, and as tlie plan of campaign Avas the same in both kingdoms, — to fight the enemy behind walls, the Prince of Lobkowitz conducted the defence of the citadel and forts of Messina, the Marquis Orsini of Rome the fortress of Syracuse ; and General Carrera that of Trapani ; a small body of Germans garrisoned the castle of Palermo, and the rest of the fortresses of the island. The people, though acknowledging the Emperor, were favourable to Charles, partly from their usual love of novelty, and partly from that ancient and well-founded hatred of the Germans, common to all Italians. The Spanish army of 14,000 men, well supplied with artillery and other materiel, both for the field and for sieges, was ready to move, and a vast number of sliips were ordered to cruise along the shores of the island. The Duke Monte- mar was appointed general-in-chief and viceroy for Cliarles, and the Count di IMarsillac and the Marquis di Grazia Reale, generals under him. They hoped to find the people friendly, and that for- tune would prove propitious. The fleet weighed anchor from the ports of Naples and Baja on the 23d of August 1734. When half way across they parted company ; Montemar turned his prows to- wards Palermo, and Marsillac towards Messina. When the fleet of Spain was discovered from Palermo, the viceroy embarked for Malta, the Germans shut themselves up in the castle, and the people, unrestrained by loyalty or their fears, rose in tumult. The peaceable inhabitants ran to arms for the security of the city, while the municipality sent deputies to Montemar, messengers of submission and welcome. Preceded by the edicts of Charles, he landed on the 29th in the Port of Solanto, and entered Palermo the following day in triumj)!!. Tlie same happened at Messina, where, as soon as the Spanish ships came in sight, the Prince of Lobkowitz caused two of the castles to be evacuated, in order to 1734. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 47 increase tlie force in tlie citadel, and in the castle of Gonzaga, which were all he proposed to defend. The city, delivered from the German garrison, yielded itself voluntarily to Spain. The principal fortresses were soon afterwards besieged or blockaded ; the other forts yielded to menaces, or made only a feeble resist- ance ; and all the island submitted to the force of arms, or to edicts. Upon the publication of the news of the irreparable losses sustained by the Empire in Naples, Lombardy, and Germany, the Sicilians submitted to a fate which Avas inevitable, and the dominion of Charles was immediately and universally established. Whilst the war still continued in Sicily, the fortress of Capua fell. The Spaniards, though threatening an assault, continued the blockade, certain that provisions must soon fail in so numerous a garrison. Count Traun made several sorties into the country, killed many of the enemy, took many prisoners, and destroyed part of the lines of circumvallation ; but not being able to obtain food, his condition became daily worse, and his valour, however estimable on the field, was useless behind walls. Therefore, on the 24th November, Capua yielded on honourable conditions. The Spanish commissioner found abundant arms, artillery, and powder in the fortress, but the magazines of provi- sions exhausted, and the hospitals full. The military reputation of Count Traun was therefore increased by these losses. The garrison, consisting of 5100 soldiers, was conveyed to the ports of the Adriatic, and thence to Trieste ; but on leaving the fortress, and on the road, more than 2000 Germans passed over to Charles, for there are no troops in Europe more ready than these to change masters ; a proof of servitude at home, and the consequence of raising soldiers by compulsion, and in an arbitrary manner, rather than by conscription or lot. The Duke Montemar, called to the war of Lombardy, departed from Sicily, leaving in his place the Marquis di Grazia Reale. The citadel of Messina soon afterwards fell ; tlie fort of Gonzaga had already surrendered, as well as the fortresses of Syracuse and Trapani. Nothing remarkable either for skill or valour occurred during these sieges ; but two incidents of the siege of Syracuse prove the simplicity of the times. When at its height, the general of the fortress Avished for a day's truce to repair his trenches and 48 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1735. refresh liis soldiers ; lie accordingly sent a message to the Spaniard in these words : " General Orsini, admiring the skill and perfection of the Spaniard in the conduct of sieges, asks his consent that he may inspect his works as a lesson to himself; and should he grant this request, he further proposes that hostilities be suspended for the few hours in which the general will be absent from the fortress." These words so flattered the pride of the Spaniard, that he forgot prudence, and a truce being agreed upon, Orsini came, saw, and praised his labours. He was afterwards entertained by the hostile general, and, amidst compliments and amusements, protracted his stay until night. The firing recommenced, and continued during the follow- ing days, when a shell from the Spanish camp happened to lodge in the room where General Orsini was at dinner ; at the prospect of such imminent death, he made a secret vow to the holy patroness of the city, that if he sliould escape this danger he would surrender the fortress ; the shell did not explode, and the fortress was sur- rendered. The war ended at Trapani. As the castles of the Pre- sidii of Tuscany had yielded to the arms of Spain, the conquest of the two kingdoms was completed in the beginning of July 1 735. In these wars, many Neapolitans and Sicilians had followed the standard of the Emperor, while otliers had followed that of Charles, and thus fought as enemies. It is one of the miseries of an enslaved nation to be divided in interests and aim. Before the war in Sicily had ended, Charles set out for that island, and traversing the Principato Ultra, Puglia, part of the Basilicata and Calabria, distributed with royal munificence the riches of America sent him by his mother. While waiting for the surrender of the citadel of Messina, he spent more than tAvo months and a half travelling through the kingdom, devoting much time to the cliase, for which amusement the woods were prepared at a great expense. When hunting one day in the neighbourhood of Rosarno, he was overtaken by a violent storm of rain, and sought refuge in a poor hut, where he found a young woman who had just given birth to an infant ; he desired the child should bear the name of Charles, and promised to stand godfather, presenting the mother with a hundred doubloons of gold, and assigning twenty- five ducats monthly for the maintenance of the child, until, at the age of seven, he should be brought to the palace. 1735. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 49 From the shores of Palmi, Charles embarked in a splendid vessel for Messina, Prince Ruffo, who, with baronial pride, had been am- bitious of receiving him on his fief in Scilla, disappointed in that liope, prepared for him a new kind of escort. Countless barks, decorated with the signs of rejoicing and peace, Avent out to meet the king, and, ranged in a semicircle, accompanied him on his way ; five of the richest gondolas were filled by the most beauti- ful women of that city, celebrated for beauty, gaily attired, some pulling lightly at the oars, some guiding the helm, while others sounded instruments of music, and sang in cadences, verses ex- pressive of joy and predicting the universal happiness. These sirens, intended to imitate the ancient fable, did not, however, succeed in captivating Charles, who, though young, was of a sober and austere character. Thus escorted, he reached Messina, where other festivities awaited him. Two months later, he proceeded to Palermo by sea, as the pro- posal of a land journey was frustrated by the rugged nature of the country, Avhicli was Avild and almost uninhabited. After a magni- ficent entry into the city, Charles, on the last day of May, con- voked the three Bracci or classes composing the Parliament (the barons, ecclesiastics, and all belonging to the royal domains), as well as such as were distinguished by their noble birth or high office, to meet him in the cathedral After devoutly performing the sacred ceremonies, he ascended the throne, and in a loud voice (while resting his hand firmly upon the books of the gospel) swore to maintain the rights of the people, those of the Parliament, and the privileges of the city. Having thus fulfilled his obligations as king, he called upon those present to swear obedience and fealty to his government. All took the oath, and the sacred compact between the subjects and their sovereign was thus completed before God and the people. At the conclusion of the ceremony, prepara- tions were made in the same church for the anointing and corona- tion of Charles to take place three days later. This was performed in the same manner as the coronation of the preceding eighteen kings, who had been crowned in that temple ; but in this instance with greater magnificence, and a more ostentatious display of wealth. The crown weighed nineteen ounces (five in gems and fourteen in gold and silver), and cost one million four hundred and VOL. I. E 50 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1735. forty thousand ducats. Charles caused a great number of medals to be struck (the gold Aveighing one ounce, and the silver in half pieces), bearing the motto Fausto Coronatio7iis Anno, which the treasurers scattered in liandfuls among the people, along the road between the church and the palace. This took place on the 8d June 1 735. Four more days were dedicated to public rejoicings, and on the fifth, the king set sail for Naples, in a richly decorated ship followed by numerous vessels, and landed on tlie 12th, amidst the joyous acclamations of the Neapolitans, and feastings which lasted so long that the people themselves were satiated : after which Charles returned to the cares of state. 1735. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 51 CHAPTER III. THE REIGN OF CHARLES FROM THE CONQUEST TO THE VICTORY OF VELLETRI. It is impossible to present the reader witli a consecutive narra- tive of the events as they occurred during the reign of Charles in the order of time, cause, and effect, because his laws, some- times proceeding from his desire for the public welfare, still more frequently dependent on the convenience or will of his parents, or on the example of Spain, sprang from different causes, and therefore wanted unity and stability of purpose. During the whole of this period, everything in the State was ruled by a variety of pragmatic sanctions or decrees, without any connecting link, or any aim beyond that of providing for particular exigencies, and governing with despotic power. I shall therefore be obliged to give a summary of his reforms, in order that, wliile describing the condition of the subjects and their civil government, it may appear how far they were indebted to the political science and wisdom of their rulers. As the chief disorders of the State were owing to defects in the codes and tribunals, the first act of Charles should have been the composition of a new code, to rid the Neapolitan jurisprudence of the incumbrance of eleven modes of legislation ; but by j)assing separate laws, he only added a twelfth, better adapted indeed to the circumstances of the people, but as imperfect and incomplete as the former. He dared not destroy established error : feudalism, a feudal nobility, the pretensions of the clergy, and the privileges of the cities, were obstacles which he fenced round by measures for the mitigation or restraint of public wrongs, but which superior wisdom or courage would have removed. The spirit of our age, indeed, in which we are accustomed to behold the subversion of 62 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1735. empires, and prodigies performed in tlie cause of civil liberty, measuring the past with the magnitude of the present, may call that feeble, which was great in a preceding century ; as posterity, in like manner, when reading our history, and feeling how easy it would be for them to succeed Avhere the efforts of tliis age prove vain, will accuse us of apathy and timidity, whose political error is rather, having demanded too much and ventured too far. The civil jurisprudence underwent no change. Alterations were made in the criminal laws, but, dictated for special occasions, and in a spirit of indignation roused by the frequency or barbarity of crimes, a due proportion between the act and its punishment was not preserved, so that an equitable and judicious scale of penalties was wanting. Trials for civil causes were slightly improved, but the discussion was always confused, and it was necessary for the solution of doubtful points to refer to the authority of the Sove- reign ; while all the arbitrary acts of the Viceregal Government, the appointments of "Ministri Aggiunti"^ (Judges extraordinary), and " rimedii legali"^ (legal remedies), were continued. The Supreme Council of Italy was abolished ; the "■ Collegio Collaterale" was converted into a Council of State, Avliile the other tribunals remained as before, because the King had promised they should not be changed. The system of trial for criminal offences was in no way improved ; while the inquisitorial system, the Scrivani,^ torture, paid proofs,"* arbitrary sentences, and the interference of the prince, still continued. Tlicse defects, to which I shall again have occasion to refer, caused the number and atrocity of crimes during the reign of Charles. In the city of Naples alone, the judicial census numbered thirty thousand thieves. Homicides, inroads of banditti, and vio- lent acts of robbery, were frequent in the provinces; and there * Ministri Aggmnti. Extra judges ap- unknown in Naples, and the name itself is pointed by the sovereign. nearly forgotten, „„. ,.., ,.T-> ^ c * Paid Proofs. The proofs brought for- ^ liimeau leciah. t orms or modes of , . , . , ;, • i r i xi , . , , , , , . ward in a trial were all paid tor by the trial ordered by the sovereign. , i • i ■ t ^i •' ° government which carried on the prosecu- * Scrivant. Subordinate officials in the tion. The more the proofs, therefore, the courts of law, formerly employed for the more the government had to pay, and the j)urpose of secret inquiry, and who thereby more severe was the final sentence pro- incurred general odium. Scrivani are now nounced on the accused person. 1735. CHARLES OF BOURBON. C)3 were so many cases of poisoning in the city, that the king in- stituted a Court of Magistracy called the Oiunta de' Veleni (Junta of Poisons), to discover and punish the delinquents. Tliis crime was especially prevalent among women, from its being easy to the weak, while the strong are more tempted to deeds of open violence. While such was the state of the codes of law within the king- dom, Charles, by means of treaties abroad, secured the interests of commerce. He made peace with the Ottoman empire, by the terms of which, and by the reputation of his power, hostilities ceased with the natives of Barbary ; and concluded new treaties of commerce and navigation with Sweden, Denmark, and Hol- land, while renewing the old with Spain, France, and England. He appointed as many consuls as there were openings for our commerce, collecting in one legislative code the regulations for the consulate, or the laws which defined the power and rights of the consuls over Neapolitans, and their obligations and claims in respect to foreign nations. He instituted a tribunal of commerce, composed of eight judges ; three of whom were magistrates, three barons well acquainted with commercial matters, and two mer- chants ; with a president, chosen from the first of the nobility. This tribunal reviewed in appeal the sentences of the consuls, decided important commercial questions, and, because its decisions were final, was called Supreme. The laws passed for cases of bankruptcy were so stringent, that they might be called tyran- nical, had they not rather been a proof of the monstrous frauds, and the corruption of the mercantile class. Another tribunal, under the name of " Deputazione di Sanita" (Sanitary Commis- sion), guarded against contagion, superintended the Lazzaretti, and provided, by as wise laws as the medical science of that time admitted, against all dangers to which the public health miglit be exposed. Had these legislative enactments, which now exist in a variety of instructions and pragmatic sanctions, been methodically registered in one book, we should have had a full and complete commercial code, and might have boasted of having been, by half a century, in advance of the other states of Europe. Charles also founded a naval college, in which the build of ships was pre- scribed on an improved plan, a body of pilots was formed, and 54 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1735. artificers and sailors educated. As another source of commerce and industry, he invited the Jews into his dominions, who had been tolerated there in early ages, but, persecuted by an ignorant people, had been finally banished by a decree of Charles v. The edict of Cliarles of Bourbon was both humane and an example worthy to be followed. He granted them security of person and property, liberty of conscience, commercial freedom, the rights of citizens, and a fixed place of abode in the city ; not as an insult, as in other Christian kingdoms, but to afford them a more com- modious and independent habitation. They arrived in great num- bers, and with great wealth : this History will hereafter relate their fate and end. The effect of these laws was immediate ; foreign vessels crowded our ports, and our markets were filled with foreign goods ; but from the errors of our home administration, the Neapolitan flag was not often seen on foreign seas. Our merchandise consisted in the fruits of the soil, which were locked up in the public magazines, and were rotting in cellars ; every wind, every meteor, occasioned the fear of a scarcity in some produce, and hindered the export of corn, oil, and wine, the only articles in which we abound. It there- fore became necessary to support our commerce by money, and the government perceiving this necessity, and believing in the fallacies of " the mercantile system,"^ decided that foreign trade was inju- rious, and that in order to counteract this evil, they must burden merchandise entering the country with exorbitant duties, whicli were registered in certain statutes, called the tariffs of the customs. They were ignorant that such taxes are really paid by the con- sumers ; but they soon found that the price of articles rose, that provisions became dearer, that the value of production diminished, industry declined, and wealth decreased. In the midst of these cares, Charles, in the year 1738, united himself in marriage with Amalia Walburga, the daughter of Fre- deric Augustus, King of Poland, a young princess who had not yet completed her fifteenth year, modest, simple, and devout. Re- * Tlie Mercantile System. The basis of other ; and that our great object in receiving this system was, that " weahh consisted in returns for our exports should be to get the precious metals ; that what is gained money instead of merchandise See Art. in trade by one nation must be lost by an- Commerce, Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1738. CHARLES OF BOUEBON. 55 ceived with honours in her passage through Geraiany, and witli respect in the courts of Italy, she reached Portella upon our fron- tiers, wliere the king awaited her bcneatli a magnificent pavilion, and in the midst of a splendour which was new to her. They were alike happy in each other's youth, in a prosperous kingdom, in their piety, in the sacred tie which united them, and in the inno- cent enjoyment of the pleasures with which they were surrounded. Filled with awe and delight, the princess knelt before the king, who hastened to raise and embrace her, calling her his wife and his queen. They reached the city on the 22d June, but deferred the ceremony of their entrance until the 2d July. That day Charles founded the Order of St. Januarius, which has for its insignia the Cross, the points terminating in lilies, and in the centre the image of the saint in his episcopal robes, with the Gospel, the instru- ments of his martyrdom, and the motto, In sanguine foedus. The Cross is suspended by a red ribbon. The king is the grand-master, and there are sixty knights, chosen for noble descent or high station. The statutes of the order are as follows : — To maintain their faith in the Christian Catholic religion ; to preserve inviolate their fidelity to the king ; to hear mass every day ; to communi- cate on the day of their inauguration, as well as on the festival of the saint ; to cause a solemn mass to be celebrated upon the death of a knight, recite the service for the dead, and take the communion ; to frequent the chapel of the saint, and neither send nor accept a challenge for a duel ; to Avhich, at a later period, Benedict xiv. added a full absolution for every knight, and a perpetual remission of sins on the days in which the saint performed his miracle, namely, three times in every year ; plenary indulgences upon visiting three churches or altars ; and some dispensation from the discipline of fasting : statutes and concessions more worthy a congregation of monks than an order of knighthood. The king, who was pious both in thought and deed, at this time favoured the Church, as much from his natural inclinations as from motives of policy ; his ecclesiastical reforms, therefore, are more to his honour, and more surprising than any of his other works : for it was no disbelieving king, nor one whose conscience was un- troubled by scruples, who humbled the pontifical pride ; but the Infant Don Charles, who, in the church of Bari, attired in the 56 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1738. canonical robes, officiated among tlie canons in the choir, and who, clothed in humble sackcloth, washed the feet of the poor in the Church de' Pellegrini ; who performed masses to obtain indul- gences ; who every year composed and modelled, with his own hands, the group of figures and the cottage which represented the nativity of Christ, and who believed in the sanctity of two living men, the Jesuit Father Pepe, and a Dominican, Father Rocco, cunning and ambitious friars. I have already related how Pope Clement xii. temporized be- tween the Spaniards and the Germans, and as long as fortune was undecided, was prepared to support her favourite. In the year 17S5, on the solemn day of St. Peter, Charles, who was already secure in the possession of the Two Sicilies (all the for- tresses having been taken, the standard of the emperor torn down, and his own coronation prepared in the metropolitan city of Palermo), sent tlie Duke Sforza Cesarini, ambassador to the pontiff, with the offering of the " Chinea,''^ and a sum of seven thousand ducats in gold, the tribute of the kings of Naples. That same day, the Prince of Santa Croce, the ambassador of the emperor, pre- sented a similar offering to the Pope. These rival pledges of submission were only stratagems on the part of both monarchs, each desirous thereby to obtain his suffrage, as a proof of their right to the disputed kingdom ; but the war in Italy still raged, and the result was doubtful. The offering of the Infant was new, that of the emperor habitual. The first could not be received without a manifestation in favour of the donor, while silence was all that was required by the latter : his tribute was therefore accepted, which was an offence to Charles. Shortly afterwards, a tumult broke out in Rome against the Spanish and Neapolitan officers, who had been sent thither to raise men for the army, and who, having incurred the public displea- sure, were threatened, attacked, beaten, and forced to hide from the infuriated populace. The riot spread to Velletri, where other recruiting officers and soldiers from Naples w^ere quartered. The excitement at length reached such a height in both cities, that in Rome five of the gates were closed, and the rest protected by doubling the city guard ; while in Velletri the town was fortified, ^ A white horse presented as an act of homage by the kings of Naples to the Popes. 1738. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 57 the streets barricaded, the city guard armed, and pLaced under the command of sixteen officers, and ever^'thing prepared for conflict. As soon as Charles was informed of what had happened, he recalled his ambassadors from Rome, and dismissed the Pope's legate from Naples. The Spanish ambassador left Rome, and the nuncio, who had shortly before departed for Spain, was informed that lie would not be received within that kingdom ; he therefore remained at Bayonne. All appearances were warlike. Meantime, the soldiers who had been driven from Velletri returned, and having assaulted and gained possession of the feebly guarded city, killed several of the inhabitants, threw a larger number into prison, disarmed the rest, and imposed a tribute of forty thousand scudi. They next proceeded to Ostia, ransacked the shops there, and set fire to the huts of the wretched salt manufacturers ; then suddenly falling upon Palestrina, only consented to abstain from sacking the town on receiving a sum of sixteen thousand scudi. They would have proceeded to worse excesses, had not Charles, less from a desire to put a stop to this license, than from a determination to com- mence hostilities against Rome on a larger scale, ordered his troops to abandon the Papal territory, and bring with them the prisoners and arms taken at Velletri. The Pope appealed to the sovereigns of France and Austria ; but the first returned evasive answers, while the latter, after re- minding him of his want of faith towards the Empire, offered, nevertheless, to send a large army to the defence of the Apostolic See. Clement refused the offer, and condescending to humiliate himself to the act of supplication, softened the rage of Charles ; the prisoners taken at Velletri, and three Trasteverine Romans, the leaders of the riot (who had been sent to Naples at the request of the Government), after a long imprisonment and a public acknow- ledgment of repentance, were pardoned and set at liberty, but their arms retained. The wrath of the king was rather smothered than extinguished. The Minister Tanucci, and several Neapolitans of equal eminence, now considered the hour propitious to revive the claims of the State and of the king. The Abate Genovesi,^ who, although ex- 1 Abate Genovesi, one of the most dis- Salerno in the kingdom of Naples 1712, tinguished philosophers of Italy, born near died 1769, 58 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1738. tremelj young, was already distinguished for learning and genius, after having published a statement of the amount of wealth con- sumed by individuals forming the Church, who were by their vows devoted to poverty, proposed reforms which were at once favour- able to religion, just, and generous ; other reforms were likewise suggested, and even the city sent up petitions to the king, entreat- ing him to impose the common taxes upon property and persons appertaining to the Church, and to convert the gold and silver, which was superfluous in the worship of our holy and humble reli- gion, into money. Moved by such prayers and arguments, Charles sent Monsignor Galliani, a man of high character, and with en- larged views for the times, as his ambassador to Rome, who laid the demands and pretensions of the king before the pontiff, viz. : To be empowered to nominate candidates for the bishoprics and benefices of his kingdom ; and, together with the potentates of Christendom, to have the right of one vote in the conclave ; to reduce the number of convents of monks and nuns ; to impose some restriction upon the acquisition, and to grant some fran- chises to tlie possessors of property in mortmain ; to put an end to the jurisdiction of the nuncios, and to abolish the Court of Nunciature. The Pope, perplexed and annoyed at these demands, convoked a college of cardinals, who rejected them all, as contrary to the ancient rights of the Holy See. The ambassador was not however to be silenced ; but increasing in his pretensions, demanded the ful- filment of the decree of Ilonorius ii. in favour of Roger, by right of Charles as successor of Roger, and Clement as successor of Hono- rius. He reminded the Pope of other concessions made by former pontiffs to former kings of the Sicilies. The eloquence of Galliani was meanwhile seconded by the power of the Bourbons, by the fortune of Charles, by the weakness and age of Clement, and by his anxiety to advance the interests of his nephew Corsini, who was at the Court of Naples, eager to be appointed viceroy of Sicily, and perhaps cherishing still higher hopes. For these considerations, Clement promised King Charles the investiture of the conquered kingdoms, and granted the cardinal's hat to Don Louis, the Infant of Spain. The wrath of the two kings was appeased. Monsignor Gonzaga, the nuncio, who had been detained at Bayonne, was ac- 174L CHARLES OF BOUEBON. 59 cepted, and proceeded to Madrid ; and the 16th May of that year, 1 738, was named for the investiture of Charles. On the day fixed. Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva, the ambassador of the king, accompanied by a suite composed of the feudal lords of Naples and Spain, went to the Quirinal, where the pontiiF in high state, surrounded by cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, conformably with ancient usage, caused the Bull of Investiture to be read, by which he proclaimed the king, Charles vii., he being the seventh king of Naples of that name. But whether from motives of policy, or from caprice, Charles refused to adopt the cipher, and continued to designate himself in his edicts and treaties as before his investiture. As soon as these disputes with the pontiff had been amicably settled, Monsignor Simonetti, who had retired to Nola, returned as nuncio into the city ; the ambassadors from Vienna remonstrated with the pontiff upon what had taken place, who, however, wisely refused to lend an ear to their complaints, as he saw fortune inclining towards the other side ; and, desirous of diverting the king from the claims he had made through Gal- liani, which endangered the power as well as the wealth of the papacy, he granted as a gift to Charles, the Bull of the Crusade,^ by which the obligation of fasting could be commuted for money. The mutual compliments which had passed during the confer- ence, having been in time forgotten, Charles, while declaring that former treaties and ancient usages were no longer expedient for his subjects, proposed a new concordat to the Pope, Avhich Clement was about to concede, when he died in 1739, and was succeeded in the pontificate by Cardinal Lambertini, Benedict xiv. The affair was therefore suspended, until at last, after repeated de- mands on the part of Charles, the Pope named as his legate Car- dinal Gonzaga, and the king. Cardinal Acquaviva, with Monsignor Galliani, archbishop of Thessalonica, as before ; they met on the 2d June 1741, and concluded the terms of the concordat, which was soon afterwards ratified by both princes, and became law and rule of state and conscience. Between baronial rio-hts and the o ^ Bull of the Crusade. First granted dulgences which, granted by the Pope to to assist warriors to re-conquer the Holy the King of Naples, became a fertile source Land ; next to free Christian captives fi'om of revenue. the Saracens, and lastly for the sale of in- 60 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1741. immunities of the Church, everything in the kingdom of Naples was thrown into disorder. How Charles disposed of the first I shall relate in its proper place, as the second was the prin- cipal motive for the concordat. Three kinds of immunity had been hitherto tolerated ; royal, local, and personal. The royal immunities consisted in the exemption of the Church from contri- buting its share to the common taxes ; other properties which were by their nature secular, were confounded with the ecclesiastical, and many privileges and favours were enjoyed by the lands and houses of the servants and persons attached to the Church ; so that the wealth, cupidity, number, and audacity of the clergy, both secular and regular, caused the impoverished and declining state of the finances, which were only supported by a part of the land and by a minority of the citizens. As long as the war lasted, the support of the barons, or more frequently the gifts of the Queen of Spain, besides forced subsidies and similar expedients, concealed the poverty of the exchequer ; but no sooner had the doubts and anxieties of the war of conquest ceased, than the State languished, and even the burdens imposed under the viceregal government could not suffice for its maintenance ; the less so, as to other expenses were now added that of a numerous and splendid court, and the increased number of wants caused by the progress of civilisation. The local immunities consisted in the right of asylum. Every church, every chapel, the convents, their vegetable and flower gardens, the houses, shops, and bakers' ovens, which had a wall in common with or were adjoining to the church, and the houses of the priests, all furnished an asylum to criminals ; so that, among so many places for shelter, upon the commission of a crime, an asylum was sure to be at hand, protected by the bishops or clergy, and by the furious zeal of the mob, who defended these mockeries, as if they had formed a part of religion. An equal injury was done to justice by personal immunities ; for added to the excessive number of the clergy themselves, were the armed retainers of the bishops, the lowest characters employed in the ecclesiastical tribunals, tithe collectors, the servants of the priests, those inhabiting the same houses, and even, at one time, their concubines. 1741. CHAELES OF BOURBON. 61 The court of Rome, in consideration of its friendship for Cliarles, and thinking it prudent to keep on good terms with a neiglibour- ing and prosperous monarch, agreed to a modification of all these immunities. The ancient possessions of the Church from that time forth were to be subject to taxation to the amount of one-half paid by the laity, and all later acquisitions were to pay the whole. The census of the state was to separate the lay property, which had been either intentionally or by mistake confounded with the patrimony of the clergy. The number of franchises was reduced, and the permanent exemptions granted to privileged persons, re- voked. The right of asylum was limited to the churches, and even then only in the case of slight and trivial offences. Tlie ecclesiastical state having been defined, and personal immunities reduced, the right of episcopal jurisdiction was circumscribed, the secular jurisdiction proportionably extended, and in order to limit the number of priests, the difficulties of ordination, and the dis- cipline of the clergy were increased. A tribunal was formed, called i/i'sto (mixed), because composed of both ecclesiastical andlay judges, to decide those disputes which might arise from the Concordat. The hopes of the philosophers and liberals were partly fulfilled, partly disappointed. In the terms of the treaty, or even in the conferences, no allusion had been made to the right of investiture, the " Chinea,"' the donatives, the benefices upon the ecclesiastical patrimony, the bishoprics to be reduced, the number of priests and friars to be diminished ; the abolition of asylums, as well as of ecclesiastical tribunals and immunities ; or, in short, to any of the greatest interests of the monarchy. The Neapolitan negotiators did not want courage, but had no hope of success. The people, and King Charles himself, the very individuals who would have profited by complete emancipation, ignorant or superstitious, did not even desire such a change. The Concordat gave an impulse and beginning to greater re- forms ; the Government, while interpreting, extending, and some- times exceeding the terms agreed to, organized the lay jurisdic- tion, limited the ordination of priests to ten in OA'ery thousand souls, refused to allow the Papal Bulls to take effect when not accepted by the king ; forbade new acquisitions to the Church, and proclaimed episcopal censures powerless, if incurred by the subjects 62 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1741. in obedience to the laws, or to the command of the prince. All, or nearly all disjjutes Avere decided in favour of the laity, and every act of license on the part of the clergy was punished. Two friars, high in the order to which they belonged, opposed the judge of the place where they resided, in a case of asylum. Charles having caused the fugitives to be taken forcibly from the church, turned both friars ignominiously out of the province. A pious family of the Abruzzi, in fulfilment of a vow, built a church to the patron saint of the city ; but as a law of Charles forbade the foundation of new churches without the royal permission, he commanded that this should either be applied to secular purposes or pulled down ; the religious zeal of this family not allowing the alteration of the design of the edifice, it was demolished as a public example. He refused to grant a license for the foundation of new colleges for the Jesuits, and, to punish the persistency and pride of the order, he prohibited them new acquisitions by law, while remind- ing them of their vow of poverty. Similar measures were con- stantly introduced, and therefore it must be said to the honour of Charles, that in his relations with the Church, he first by treaties or laws removed the impediments to civil freedom, and afterwards passed acts which smoothed the way to further progress. In order that full advantage might be derived from those terms of the Concordat which related to the royal immunities, it was necessary to ascertain precisely what were the possessions of the Church, and likewise those of the fiefs, of communities, of secular institutions for charitable pui-poses, or of public endow- ments. The science of statistics, now so exact, was then unknown, but something of the kind (which necessarily arises, although im- perfect, in the commencement of every commonwealth) suggests itself to rulers as soon as they cease to aim at governing despoti- cally or by secret and arbitrary means, and rule justly, and with a conscientious desire for the good of the people. Such was the spirit in w^hich King Charles and his minister Tanucci governed. Ignorant as they ■were of political science and principles, the good efifects of tlieir government were the result of a wise instinct and philanthropy, while the evil may be attributed to the errors of the times, and their limited means of information. Charles was igno- rant, Tanucci little less so ; but though neither of them was capable 1741. CHARLES OF BOUEBOK 63 of anticipating political claims, tliey introduced improvements into established institutions, bestowed benefits, and made new regulations everywhere : were such kings or ministers now at the head of aifairs, they would render the nations of Europe virtuous and happy. The whole science of administration was at that time supposed to be comprehended in the census ; they, therefore, organized the system, and included many subjects which belong to general statistics. Dei^ending solely on voluntary returns, the Govern- ment was deceived by the fraudulent, while the simple and honest revealed the whole truth. The sincerity shown by the highest and lowest orders in the State, was as surprising as the contra- dictions and falsehoods of the lawyers, clergy, and barons. The rapid progress of the work was impeded by the privileges of some cities, which were maintained by the edicts of Philip v. and Charles himself, by the feudal lands subject to their own laws, and by such of the immunities of the Church as had been recognised in the Concordat ; but the resolution and perseverance of the Government enabled the census to be completed, and, however imperfect, it tripled the public revenue, relieved some of the most wretched of the citizens of a part of their burdens, exposed many past frauds, and prevented their repetition in future. The ad- vantages would have been still greater had Tanucci or Charles understood the principles of finance ; but they maintained the capitation tax, thus taxing life itself Every exchange of property was alike burdened with imposts, and many incomes, when de- rived from a double source, had to pay a double tax into the ex- chequer ; many others escaped all taxation ; and, while the artisan and tradesman were taxed, those following the professions called noble, the physician, the advocate, and judge, contrived by cunning and intrigue to obtain exemption. Again the arrendavienti (a kind of indirect tax) interfered with private industry ; for ex- ample, that of tobacco, by preventing the free cultivation of the plant, and thus destroying one of the best products of our soil for a small financial gain. But it is not surprising if the finances in 1740 were ill regulated, when even in our days, in the most civilized states of Europe, they are nowhere, in all respects, con- ducted in strict accordance with scientific rules, nor for the 64 HTSTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1741. general advantage. In the meantime, the concordat, the census, the wisdom of Charles, and the parsimony of Tanucci, produced contentment in the people, and filled the exchequer, so that there re- mained a surplus beyond vvliat was required to supply the wants of the country, and enough for the erection of magnificent monuments. But, as if it were ordained that the prosperity of a kingdom should be only shortlived or interrupted, a fresh war broke out, and brought with it new j^erils and greater demands on the public purse. As early as the year 1737, Gian Gastone, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the last of the House of Medici, had died, and with him ended that degenerate race. Philip v. and Charles king of Naples called themselves heirs to the throne of Tuscan}^ — an empty title, which was not disputed by rival sovereigns ; but three years later, in 1 740, upon the death of the Emperor Charles vi., the slumbering ambition of Philip v. for the States of Milan, Parma, and Piacenza, was once again awakened. His consort Elizabeth, insatiable in her tliirst for empire, and eager to bestow a throne upon her second son, Don Philip, used her influence still further to excite the king. Philip was crafty, cruel, superstitious, and indolent ; in his government, he was fickle, timid, and suspicious ; but eager to carry on war by the agency of others. Therefore, to join the league of the enemies of Maria Theresa Queen of Hungary, and daughter of the deceased Emperor Charles vi., to prepare armies and send them into Italy, to command his son the King of Naples to despatch as large a reinforcement as he could spare from his dominions to join the Spanish troops, to equip and send forth a numerous fleet, to issue edicts, and raise the cry of war in Italy and Europe, were projects conceived in a day, and speedily executed. Twelve thousand Neapolitans, under the Duke di Castropignano, were sent to Pesaro to join the Spanish armies under the Duke di Montemar, who assumed the supreme command, while a disorderly army of Germans and Savoyards assembled in Lombardy, and, led by the Count di Lobkowitz, advanced to meet the enemy. Their forces were equal, but fortune undecided ; the Germans, however, advanced boldly to the attack, while the Spaniards paused at Castelfranco ; and as the Duke of Modena^ had inclined to the ^ Francis in. of Este, Duke of Modena, married, 1737, the daughter of Pliilip Duke the patron of Muratori and Tiraboschi, of Orleans. Died 1780. mi. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 65 side of Spain, Loblcowitz took possession of his chief city, occupied Reggio, seized on Mirandola, and reduced Sesto and Monte Alfonso, so that little remained of the duchy. Meantime, Montemar, timid and slow, offered no assistance to his unfortunate ally, but, almost in the presence of the enemy, and able to count his blows, he con- tinued a passive spectator of his devastations. Finally, he began to retreat before Lobkowitz. At that time an English fleet, commanded by Commodore Martin, entered the Bay of Naples, and omitting the customary salutations in a friendly port, sent a messenger on shore, who addressed one of Charles's ministers in these words : — " Great Britain, the confederate of Austria, and the enemy of Spain, pro- poses neutrality in the wars of Italy to the government of the Sicilies. If the king accede to this proposition, let him recall the Neapolitan troops in the array of Montemar ; if he refuse, he must prepare for instant war ; for, at the first signal, the fleet now cruising in the bay will bombard the city. The king will be per- mitted two hours to make his choice ;" and, in order to mark the ex- act time, the ambassador drew out his watch and named the hour. The city was destitute of the means of defence ; there were neither entrenchments nor a garrison. The port, the docks, and the palace were unfortified and unguarded, and the people terri- fied. There was neither time for action nor thought ; the court was unmilitary, the ministers timid, and the council hastily sum- moned by the king in consternation ; the ofl"er of neutrality was therefore accepted, and by despatches, which the insolent herald insisted on reading, the Duke di Castropignano was commanded to return with the army into the kingdom. Other letters were secretly written to Montemar to apprise him of the unhappy events in Naples, and despatches and ambassadors sent with the information to the courts of France and Spain, and to the Infant Don Philip, who was fighting in Lombardy, against the armies of Savoy and Germany. The day on which the neutrality was agreed upon, the English fleet disappeared ; Charles, though late, provided for the defence of the city, fortified the port, formed en- trenchments and batteries around the bay, and supplied them with cannon and soldiers. Reflecting on the insult he had sus- tained, and aware that the ambition of all the princes of Europe VOL. I. F 66 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1741. centred in Italy, that the result of the war was doubtful, promises vacillating, and the oath of no king to be trusted, Charles hoped to secure his crown and the tranquillity of his kingdom by ap- plying his private wealth, and the increased revenue of the ex- chequer, to the purchase of arms, and by enlisting the aifections and interests of the people in his cause. He ordered many ships to be repaired and more built ; he established manufactories of cannon, muskets, and instruments of Avar ; he raised a new army by conscription in the provinces, confiding the highest posts to native officers, and collected arms and ammunition. Thus pre- pared, and while watching the events in Italy, he ruled the State with moderation and justice. The Duke di Montemar, his army diminished by the loss of the Neapolitan auxiliaries, became still more cautious in his movements, and hastened his retreat, upon which his sovereign, taxing him with the disasters of the campaign, recalled him and kept him in disgrace, at a distance of twenty leagues from the palace and city. The Count di Gages, an officer of higher reputation and greater daring, was sent as general to the Spaniards ; he infused fresh courage into his soldiers, and led them to meet the enemy. They were engaged in several encoun- ters, in which he was sometimes victorious, sometimes defeated ; but, finally, was obliged, from his inferiority of numbers, to with- draw his troops into the Neapolitan territory, behind the Tronto. The successful Lobkowitz encamped on the opposite bank, and menaced the foe by a display of his forces, as well as by the edicts of his queen. Reasoning like an ambitious woman, Maria Theresa felt secure of the conquest of the kingdom, because the king was new, his small army unaccustomed to war, and the Neapolitans inclined for change ; whilst, on her side, she had a great and victorious army, a successful captain, and numerous emissaries distributed among the people. The sanguine expectations of the queen and of the woman were encouraged by her ambassadors at the Court of Rome, and by a band of Neapolitans, who were voluntary exiles, or had been banished under the government of Charles, — poor, and, as was natural under their circumstances, sanguine and ready to promise ample succours and conspiracies to be raised in her favour ; these men, prompted by the desire to return, and by the mi. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 67 hope of vengeance, instigated the queen to make war against their native land. Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Empress of the Romans, addressed the people of the Sicilies by an edict, in which she promised to relieve them from the burdens of taxation, to confirm their ancient privileges, to confer others, to banish the avaricious and hated race of the Hebrews, to throw open the prisons, to grant pardon, and bestow premiums and rewards on virtue, to increase the annona^ and to lower the price of food ; she concluded by vaunting the attachment of the people to the imperial house, and by holding out temptations to the ambition of the great, and to the inconstancy of the lower orders, and pretended to have secret connexions in the country, hoping thus to encourage her own adherents, and to rouse the suspicions of the Government. As soon as the king was informed of these transactions, he sum- moned a congress to meet in his palace, and reminded them of the natural alliance with Spain, as well as of the neutrality agreed upon with England ; that his own desires and the condition of the country inclined him to peace, but that the present necessity urged him towards war ; of the danger of moving the army, and the danger of inaction ; of the impoverished state of the exchequer, but the certain evil of having to maintain two foreign armies, and to see the provinces laid waste for encampments and battles ; of the loyalty of the people, but the inconstancy of human nature and of fortune ; and after enumerating these and other facts, and weighing them one against the other, he asked their advice. Unanimity of votes is rarely met with in a numerous assembly, and still more rarely is a cowardly or base sentiment without its advocate or supporter. War was less fatal than peace ; to remain inactive, waiting the turn of events, w^as certain subjection either to Spain or to the Empire ; yet the congress hesitated from some far-fetched religious scruple respecting the observance of the neu- trality ; and the good King Charles, either from a love of peace, or trusting to time and fortune, was wasting the days in irresolu- tion and uncertainty, when letters arrived from his parents, Philip and Elizabeth, reproaching him with his hesitation and delay, enumerating the dangers before him, setting up as an example the intrepid conduct of the Infont Philip in the obstinate wars ^ Annona, public storeliouses. 68 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1743. in Lombardy, and, while reminding him of the great actions per- formed by his house, inciting him to take up arms and enter the field. The doubts of Charles being thus removed, he refused to listen any longer to the timid counsels of the Duke Montallegre, a worthy courtier, who, though possessed of an excellent understanding, and well acquainted with all matters appertaining to civil government, had an aversion for war, for which he had no capacity. He was a good adviser in peaceful times, but the worst when the kingdom was in danger. The king collected his troops, and promulgated an edict to this effect : — " The neutrality promised to England was contrary to the interests of my house, to the affection I owe my family, to the good of my people, and to my duty and dignity as a king ; and I only gave my consent in order to avoid for my beloved, and at that time, defenceless city, the bombardment and injuries threatened by an English fleet, which had unexpectedly entered the bay with hostile intentions. But however hard the conditions, and however obtained, I observed them, because the word of a king had been given ; I recalled my army fighting upon the banks of the Po, and exposed the armies of my father to danger by the loss of these auxiliaries. The ports were closed to Spanish ships, commerce was impeded, aid refused, and, on the other side, every- thing conceded to the flag of England. As a reward for so many injuries, and for so much suftering, as a recompense for such fidelity, a powerful German army, supported by English ships, is on the eve of fording the Tronto, under the pretence of pursuing a small body of Spanish troops, but in reality to carry war into the States of Naples, and, if successful, to drive the king from his throne. The neutrality is thus broken, and broken by them ; I, supported by the forces of my kingdom, conscious of the rectitude of our cause, and trusting to receive the aid for which I pray to God, will go forth to confound their iniquitous designs/' The king proposed to lead twenty thousand soldiers in person into the Abruzzi ; to unite them with those of Spain ; and mean- time to constitute a regency for the government of the kingdom, and place his young wife and her newly-born infant in Gaeta. When the edicts were published and preparations known, the alarm and grief of the people were extreme, and whilst the multi- 1743.' CHARLES OF BOURBON. 69 tude stood a melancholy crowd in the square below, five of the Eletti i^ctitioned Charles not to let the royal palace be deserted by all of the name of Bourbon, but to trust the queen and the infant to the care of the people, more faithful guardians than the walls of Gaeta. But while thanking them, Charles refused to alter his determination, declaring that in an unwalled city, the fear alone of an attack from an enemy, and the very zeal of the guards and the citizens, were dangerous for a woman in the condition of the queen. He placed entire confidence in the fidelity of his people, so much so, that he would that day free all those guilty or unhappy persons who were detained in prison on suspicion, the partisans of the very Germans whom he was going forth to meet in battle. Tyrants, when exposed to danger, imprison even innocent persons ; but Charles liberated the guilty. When these magnani- mous acts were made known, they excited so much love and zeal in the people, that the nation appeared more like a family than a state. The nobles, after expressing their scorn at the edict of the empress-queen, because she had dared to tempt their fidelity, renewed their oaths to Charles, both in writing and by their depu- ties ; and the representatives of the city, while offering the king three hundred thousand ducats for the expenses of the campaign, promised to supply the armies with as many provisions as they should require, so long as the war might last, while the populace, assembled in groups or in crowds in the streets, shouted auguries of success and honour. Amidst these happy predictions the royal family took their departure — the queen with her infant for Gaeta, the king for the Abruzzi, where he was to join his troops. Before he could reach the Spanish army, the German general Braun, with a strong detachment of infantry and cavalry, passed the Tronto, and occupied the extreme confines of the Abruzzi, where the hostile armies were daily brought into collision, with- out coming to any serious engagement, as Braun was waiting for the army of Lobkowitz, and the Count di Gages for that of Charles. About this time occurred a singular feat of arms ; a Neapolitan soldier, in a regiment of dragoons in the service of Spain, left alone by his comrades who had fled, fell into the midst of the enemy, consisting of a small body of Hungarian horse ; per- ceiving his disadvantage if he remained on horseback, he dis- 70 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1743. mounted, and drawing his weapon, which was a Scythian sword (according to the rule of his regiment), he fouglit with so much valour and success, that he killed seven of the enemy, and wounded others, while the rest fled, and he remained victor in the field ; he gathered up the spoils of the vanquished, and, bathed in his own blood and that of the enemy, returned to the Spanish camp, where, laying the arms of the seven he had slain at the feet of the Count di Gages, he was highly commended by the troops, and was pre- sented by the Count with two hundred gold pieces, which the brave soldier divided among his comrades, reserving nothing for himself but the glory of the enterprise. Lobkowitz and Cliarles advanced towards the Tronto by oppo- site roads. Upon their arrival each reviewed his troops. Lob- kowitz, already distinguished by his actions in Bohemia,^ was at the head of twenty thousand infantry, and six thousand cavalry ; they were followed by hordes of Transylvanians, Illyrians, and Croats, who had left their native forests at the bidding of the queen, and who, in the guise of soldiers, were thieves and ruf- fians ; there were besides other bands, composed of fugitives, deserters, and robbers, who, fighting in independent corps as light troops, were called Free Companies ; the army was completed by two thousand Hungarian cavalry, volunteers and bold spirits, who spread themselves over the country as marauders, infesting the roads, seizing on food, arms, and men, and exploring the ground for the camps and marches. The German army therefore was at least thirty-five thousand strong, but fame, or the prudence of the leaders exaggerated their numbers and strength. Charles assumed the supreme command of both Spaniards and Neapolitans. The first was composed of eleven regiments of infantry, three squadrons of cavalry, five hundred light horse, and three hundred mounted guards of the Duke of Modena, who, a fugitive from his own domi- nions, and faithful to the cause of Spain, had taken service under the Count di Gages. These guards were principally Hungarians, who had most of them deserted to the Spanish service, and who, therefore, either from their misfortunes or misconduct, were re- duced to the desperate alternative of victory or death. The Spanish army, of twenty thousand soldiers, was completed by a * Asrainst the French Marechal de Belle Isle. 1743. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 71 regiment of Catalan infantry, lightly armed and clothed, fit for am- buscade, quick in their movements, and who despised death and the enemy. The Count di Gages, an old soldier, though weary of war, led these troops. The Neapolitans numbered twenty-two regiments of infantry, five squadrons of cavalry (in all nineteen thousand soldiers), under the conduct of the Duke di Castropignano ; five of these regiments were new ; all the remainder trained to war either in Italy under Montemar and the Infant Philip, or in the sieges of the fortresses of the Two Sicilies, or in Africa, at Gran, where they had been engaged with the ferocious Moorish tribes. Both sides were well supplied with artillery. That of Charles was placed under the direction of Count Gazola from Piacenza, distinguished for his mathematical learning and talents ; and while a large English fleet obeyed Lobkowitz, the king had his own navy at his disposal. The Bourbon army was really the most numerous, though the Germans were reported to be superior ; these last were encamped in two lines along the left bank of the Tronto, and had sent forward, as I have before stated, a handful of bold cavalry and infantry, led by General Braun, and scattered in various direc- tions in advance of their lines, upon the right bank of the river. Here the Spanish troops were stationed in the first line, and the Neapolitans in reserve in the second. The king had taken up his quarters at Castel di Sangro. The winter season was on the decline. Lobkowitz waited in expectation of disturbances within the kingdom, and Charles hoped for such advantages as might ensue from time, scarcity of provisions, sickness, and discord in the enemy's camp. The armies remained, therefore, as in a time of repose. But Lobkowitz, urged on by the persuasions of Count Thun, the imperial ambassador in Rome (a bishop full of warlike ardour, and at the head of the unhappy conspiracies in the kingdom), and forced to act by the commands of his queen, put an end to the delay, and prepared for attack. The entrance by the Abruzzi was difficult, because the roads were broken up, the mountains covered with snow, the country poor, and the army had to march in the face of the enemy. Preferring the roads by Ceperano and Yalmon- tone, memorable in past conquests of Naples, he recalled Braun, and abandoning the region of the Tronto, started in the direction 72 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1743. of Rome. Charles was informed of this movement beforehand by letters from Cardinal Acquaviva, his legate at the Apostolic See ; crafty and liberal in his bribes, the cardinal had learned the de- signs of the imperialists through a man attached to the household of Count Thun, who betrayed the secrets of his master. As soon as the German army had departed, that of the king began to move, the first leaving by various roads through Umbria, and the second by Celano and Venafro. The aspect of war was changed, for the Germans appeared to be retreating, which inspired their opponents with so much courage, that, in their exultation, they tumultuously called upon Charles to lead them to battle. The armies proceeding according to the intention of their generals. Count Lobkowitz made an ostentatious and almost triumphant entry into Rome, where he was received by the Pope and the people, as the successful party in Italy, and as already the invincible conqueror of the neighbour- ing kingdoms of the Two Sicilies : for the grand and ferocious aspect of his German followers, their barbarous dress, and their harsh language, appeared the signs and promise of victory. But their leader was not so confident of success, and proceeding slowly and with caution, allowed Charles to reach the frontiers, who con- ducted his troops into the Papal territory, refusing to listen to the pusillanimous warnings of conscience, and to the demands and entreaties of the pontiif. Some skirmishing took place between the bands of Hungarians and the Bourbon troops, who were seve- rally engaged in exploring the country, but they seldom came to actual fighting. The king, with a great part of his army, was upon the road of Valmontone, when he learned from his videttes the approach of the enemy. His troops were not yet disposed in order of battle ; his artillery had not arrived ; the roads were heavy from recent rain, and the ground impracticable ; but the necessity of the movement made all things possible, and a sufficient front being prepared to keep the Germans at bay, a messenger was sent to hasten forward the remaining troops and the artillery. Just then, a violent storm arose, obliging part of them to halt, and Charles immediately changing his order of march, brought the rest back in disorder to Velletri ; satisfied with pitching his camp in a strong position, he left the determination of his further move- 1743. CHARLES OP BOURBON. 73 ments on the following day, to be regulated fiecording to circum- stances and to the situation of the Germans. Early next morning he sent his scouts round, collected his troops in good order, and having learnt the approach of the enemy, prepared himself and his men for combat. The first German arms appeared above the crest of the hills, and others succeeded, until the whole host was spread out in line ; but Lobkowitz, from his elevated position, surveying the numbers of the enemy, and noting the rugged nature of the ground, considered that his cavalry, whicli formed the main force of his army, could not operate among these valleys, and felt his courage fail ; he therefore placed his men in camp, fortifying his position by artillery, breastworks, and entrenchments. The king followed his example. The ground wdiich, shortly before, had been destined for a battle-field, was now covered with encampments ; the war was carried on with as much deliberation as before ; Lob- kowitz again trusting to disturbances in the kingdom, and Charles to the eifects of time. The city of Velletri is situated at the summit of a hill, from which the ground descends in steep declivities, where the olive and vine are cultivated. A little torrent rushes along the three ravines which form the valley ; and the banks which run towards the nortli and ■west, rising always more abruptly by successive rocks and hills, terminate in Monte Artemisio, four miles or more distant from Velletri. The right wing of the camp of Charles rested on this mountain, his left inclined towards the Porta Romana, the central gate of the city ; the front of the camp was guarded rather than fortified ; a little behind, upon the hill of the Cappuc- cini, a park of artillery was planted, and several squadrons were encamped there, to be used as adjuncts or supports for the first front. These were succeeded by smaller encampments, either as guards over some particular spot, or as forming a convenient station for the soldiers ; and the disposition of the troops was such as to enable the whole army to get under arms upon a given signal, on the shortest possible notice. A fountain, which usually played in the principal square, and was both an ornament to the town and a luxury to the inhabitants, had ceased, as the enemy had destroyed the canals, and turned off the stream. The camp was therefore ill supplied with water, which could only be obtained, after toil and a VOL. I. G 74 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1744. conflict ^Yitll tlie enemy, from a small well, excavated in the bottom of the valley, at three miles' distance from the city. But provisions abounded, as Charles was amply supplied by the aifection of his subjects. The enemy, encamped on tlie opposite side, overlooked the army of the king, and were able to reckon his forces and means of defence, while they tliemselves were concealed by the undulating nature of the ground they occupied. They had plenty of water, but there was a scarcity of provisions, although supjilied from E,ome and other cities. Lobkowitz could not avail himself of his superior position, because, to attack the enemy, he must have carried his troops into the valleys below, which were commanded by greater numbers than his own. Advancing, therefore, as in a siege, he harassed thera by a close fire of musketry and cannon ; and having driven a Spanish regiment from an eminence on whicii it was encamped, at five hundred paces from the city, he fortified the spot by entrench- ments, and placed a guard there. Continual and sudden attacks by day and night allowed our soldiers no rest. Lobkowitz hoped that the king, seeing his men thus pressed, and obliged to suffer attacks which they were unable to return, would raise his camp, and he anticipated with exultation all the disasters which the enemy would suffer while in retreat, with a triumphant army close upon their rear. Charles was likewise aware of these dangers, and hastily assem- bled a council, when the Count di Gages proposed a manoeuvre, which he executed as boldly as it Avas conceived. He marched silently at night, with four thousand soldiers, and by deserted paths, so as to reach Monte Artemisio at dawn. It was guarded by a tliousand men ; but either from wine, drowsiness, or the negligence naturally arising from a long state of security, they Avere reposing without their arms, when they were suddenly dis- covered and overpowered by the enemy. The commander was taken in his tent, and another superior officer, who was awake and on the alert, resisted, but was overcome by numbers ; rendered powerless from his wounds, he was captured, and soon afterwards died ; only a few escaped in the confusion to acquaint Lobkowitz with their disaster. The whole German camp rose in arms, but already more troops in the camp of Charles were on the move ; 1744. CHARLES OF BOUEBON. 75 and Gages, descending- from Monte Artemisio, gained possession of Monte Spino, took more prisoners, and seized on tlie artillery and provisions. Such terror and confusion prevailed in the imperial camp, where there was as much want of wisdom in the leaders as there was insuhordination in the men, that they fled, by whole companies, helter skelter towards Rome. As soon as the tidings of the panic reached Rome, the gates were closed, as it was fully believed that both armies, the conquered and the conqueror, were close at hand. As the sole object the Count di Gages had in view was to gain Artemisio, which he had now taken and fortified, he left it under tlie protection of a strong garrison, and returned, satisfied and elated with the success of his enterprise, proud of his prisoners, and rich with booty. In that age, more was effected by military genius than science ; j^rojects on a large scale were rare in the leaders of armies, except with those few, privileged by nature, to whom knowledge is instinct. If Gages had lived in these days, by only obeying ordinary rules, he must have caused the first squadron to succeed the second, which had been held as a re- serve in case of defeat, or a reinforcement in success : at a con- certed signal, Charles's whole army would have attacked the Ger- man camp in front. Gages w^ould have descended from the hills, and, assaulting the enemy's posts in the rear, would have j)ut them to flight, and driven them back, one upon the other, and have thus ended the war. But as the course of victory was arrested half-way, Lobkowitz had leisure to check the panic, to stop the fugitives, to recover Monte Spino, and to re-form his troops. By having lost Monte Artemisio, all the positions of the Germans leaned towards the right wing of the camp, which movement occa- sioned an affair of greater importance. Both armies having returned to their usual state of inaction, the Germans began to sicken from the foreign climate, to mutiny for want of pay, and, owing to the rabble of which the army was composed, to desert in vast numbers, so that their forces sensibly diminished. Count Lobkowitz was mortified by the disaster of Artemisio, by the injury his rejjutation had sustained with his own soldiers and throughout Italy, and by his boasts having been put to shame by recent events. But just at this time he received assur- 76 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1744. ances from Bishop Thun, that the kingdom was rij^e for rehellion, and only waited the support of a small military force ; while the empress, from Vienna, sent him haughty and imperious commands to advance. Lohkowitz therefore wrote to the English admiral to threaten Gaeta, to cruise along the shores, and excite the people to revolt ; while he himself used the unjustifiable means of de- spatching a small but daring body of troops into the Abruzzi, to spread the report of victory, to encourage the rebels, to devastate the land, and to massacre all who remained faithful to Charles. He hoped that as soon as the king should hear of tliese movements in the kingdom, he would hasten thither with a large part of his army, and thus weaken the camp at Velletri ; but these hopes were frustrated by the attachment of Charles's subjects, which continued unabated, and even increased. Lobkowitz made another attempt. The left wing of the camp of Charles was weak, for owing to the distance from the enemy, and never having been disturbed by any attack or alarm dur- ing this campaign, the guards were almost as negligent as in a time of peace, and although the imperialists had approached that quarter after the battle of Artemisio, the posts were not strength- ened nor their vigilance awakened. A report arose, as often hap- pens in war, of which neither the author nor origin could be traced, that the Germans meant to surprise the left wing of the camp ; but it was not believed. Lobkowitz meantime, on the 8th August 1744, summoned the principal and the boldest of his officers to meet him in council, and addressed them thus : — " It is vain to hope for disturbances in the kingdom of Charles, or for discourage- ment, desertion, or a scarcity in his camp. We have before us a strong and successful army, while the numbers of our soldiers are diminishing by death, sickness, and flight. Delay is against us. Nothing remains, but either a successful assault or a disgraceful return into Lombardy. Certain of your choice, I lay my scheme before you. The enemy leaves his left wing exposed ; the ground, weak by nature, is not fortified by art, only a few are left to guard it, and these having been long undisturbed, lie down at night, careless, and in a state of intoxication. There are several roads over the declivity, beside the valley which lead to this point, and I have an equal number of guides in readiness, not bribed to assist 1744. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 77 US, but friendly to our cause. There is an easy ingress by an old ruined wall, which once passed, we have a road open conducting to the city, to the encampments, and to the quarters of the king. A column of our best troops shall follow the guides in silence by night, and entering through the ruined wall, shall stab the guards in their sleep, and, noiselessly proceeding to the city, kill the sol- diers and citizens. When the sentinels and fugitives have wakened the enemy's host, our men shall rush on, uttering loud cries, burn- ing, destroying, and striking terror on all sides, without allowing time for reflection to those attacked. A more select band shall enter the house occupied by the king, and take him prisoner ; the rest shall go into the camps and the open country, killing and pursuing the enemy. Larger bodies of our troops shall meantime attack the right of the enemy's lines, and the remnant hold them- selves ready in case of need, or to assist at the victory. If the enterprise should succeed, we shall in one night end the labours of the war; if it fail, we shall return to our entrenchments ; and shall the following day be as we are now, prepared for action or council. I have revolved this well, eager for revenge from the day of our defeat at Artemisio, and I now lay it before you to decide." All signified their approbation ; some, because they were brave men, and others wishing to appear so. Each had his part as- signed him. Generals Novati and Braun were chosen to attack the left of the camp, with six thousand soldiers ; General Lobko- witz to attack the right with nine thousand ; the senior general in the camp was ordered to keep the remaining troops under arms and prepared, and the signals and passwords were settled. The night of the 10th and lltli August arrived, in which the fate of the kingdom was to be decided, and Novati and Lobkowitz de- parted with their columns ready for immediate action ; the punish- ment of death was threatened to any who should shout, speak, or make any clatter with his arms ; the rest of the army was on the watch. Novati reached his destination, entered the camp of Velletri, killed and overpowered all he met, and i^roceeded unob- served. An Irish regiment in the service of Spain, encamped a little in the rear of the main body, was surprised, and in part cut off ; but those who remained alive, woke up and defended them- selves ; the noise of the fight, and the fugitives, gave warning to 78 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1744. the camps, and the Germans then hearing the drums and trumpets of the enemy sounding to arms, proclaimed their presence by loud shouts, and in obedience to orders, broke open, burned, and de- stroyed one of the gates (that called the Neapolitan), and rushed out of the city. The first dawn of day hardly illuminated the sky. Charles, who was sleeping in the Casa Ginetti, was awakened by his guards, and hastily throwing on his clothes, and girding his sword, passed through the gardens of the house, and escaped to the camp at the Cappuccini. The Duke of Modena, the ambassador of France, and the Count Mariani (on horseback as he rose from a sickbed), with the Duke of Atri, fled from their burning houses without waiting to dress. All was confusion during that first hour. The inhabitants, with tears, entreated the conquerors for pity, but were barbarously murdered and plundered. Many of our soldiers fired at the enemy from the windows and roofs, others assembled in the squares of the city, and fought hand to hand ; others opened themselves a way by their weapons ; but many par- ticulars of the combat, and many a disaster or instance of courage, are left unrecorded. Niccolo Sanseverino, brother of the Prince of Bisignano, was among the first slain in fight ; Colonel Macdonald, distinguished in former wars, tall in person, and mounted on liorseback, halted in the centre of the large square of the city, and raising his arm and sword, called to the soldiers who were flying in all directions, to unite and follow him. While he was yet speaking, a ball from a German musket put an end to his life, his command, and example. Many of the superior officers and cap- tains died bravely ; and finally, the city, wholly deserted by us, fell into the hands of the enemy. Lobkowitz, apprised by signals and by the noise of battle, of the successful assault made by Novati, had attacked and gained possession of Monte Artemisio ; proceeding to the second and third encampment, he next put them to flight, for fortune favoured the Germans. But Charles, hastily collecting his soldiers at Monte Cappuccini, passed them in review, and addressed each file in these words : " Remember your duty to your king and your wonted valour, and that if you are true to honour and duty, we shall yet conquer.'' He sent the Count di Gages against Lobkowitz ; placed 1744. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 79 tlie Duke di Castropignano in opposition to Novati, and held the rest of the troops in reserve. Gages being superior in numbers to the enemy, kept him in fight upon the mountains ; Castro- pignano advanced towards Velletri, but did not encounter the German columns as he expected, because, tempted by avarice and license, they were dispersed throughout the city. The courage of the Bourbonist army revived ; the legion Campana, which had been just raised by conscription and was under the command of Gages, Avas among the most eager to seek vengeance and glory ; Castropignano, who was slowly advancing, was urged on by the king, who supplied him with fresh forces, and who that day merited all the praise due to a skilful and brave captain. Our columns conquered as they proceeded ; the ground of Artemisio was re- covered, and Castropignano entered the city. The consterna- tion we had just before experienced was now felt by the enemy, who in their turn were thrown into disorder ; fortune had changed sides, and the conquered became the conquerors. Among the Germans, the Duke Andreassi, who commanded a strong and numerous squadron, was seriously wounded ; General Novati was taken prisoner whilst seizing papers and money in the quarters of the Duke of Modena ; 2000 Germans were killed ; General Braun, who was with the reserve outside the city, seeing the discomfiture, and having learnt from the fugitives the capture of Novati, and the slaughter and total defeat of his comrades, did not await the enemy, but took shelter behind his former entrenchments. Lob- kowitz likewise, abandoning his soldiers, banners, and artillery, returned to the camp, and if the uncertainty of the roads, or want of decision had not slackened the march of the Count di Gages, and if the conquerors had entered the valley with the fugitives, but little of Lobkowitz's army would have been left, and his hopes of success during the remainder of the war would have been anni- hilated. The enemy was already drawn up behind his works, and many of his regiments had not yet been engaged, while all the soldiers of Charles were exhausted, both with defence and attack, with the storm of the morning, the suspense of the day, and even with the fatigues of victory. The hour of nine had just struck, and they had been fighting since daybreak ; although each army had re- 80 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1744. turned to the camp they had quitted, the Bourbonists had really conquered. The king, however, ordered a retreat to be sounded, and commanded tlie troops of the first front to resume their for- mer position, while he computed the amount of injuries sustained, and advantages gained ; 3000 of the Bourbonist soldiers, and nearly as many of the Geraians, had been killed or wounded, and the loss in standards and artillery on either side was equal, but the victory was assigned to Charles. Upon the ensuing day, therefore, he returned thanks to the army, commending the valour of the Spa- niards, which he pronounced equal to their ancestors', and of the Neapolitans who had rivalled those experienced in war. He dis- tributed honours and money among them ; and applying to his subjects for fresh soldiers, horses, clothing, and money, he obtained even more than he asked. He recalled the Duke di Lavello with his troops from the Abruzzi, as the Germans had been already driven from that province ; and was informed that more Spanish regiments had landed at the port of Gaeta, which, favoured by wind and fortune, had passed the English fleet unperceived, and had arrived in a few days from Barcelona. Meanwhile, having been taught a lesson by past dangers, Charles fortified the defences of the left wing as well as every other part of his camp, so that after the battle, he gained in the strengtli of his army, as well as in reputation. The strength, courage, and fame of Lobkowitz suiFered pro- portionably; after his last unhappy attempt, his officers became in- subordinate, as is usual in times of adversity ; the distress increased in his army, the horses died, the men were sick or mutinous, the autumn season was approaching, and the disastrous and alternat- ing fortunes of the war in Lombardy caused all hope of succour to disappear ; yet he did not venture to retreat, lest he should seem to be impelled by fear, and waited for unprecedented favours from time and chance. However, in the first night of November, after having assumed an appearance of permanent occupation during the day, and that very night lighted fires, stationed sentinels and patrols, and given the password, Lobkowitz rapidly drew ofi" his army in silence and good order in the direction of the Tiber, which he crossed by two bridges, that of the Milvio and another hastily constructed of boats. The next morning the king, perceiving the 1744. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 81 enemy had fled, pursued him, but fear being always swifter than liope, the Bourbonists only reached the river when the Germans were already on the opposite bank, and were breaking down the bridges Avith so much zeal and skill, that the work of destruction was completed under the eyes of the hostile army. Lobkowitz continued his retreat, Charles halted at Rome to do homage to the Pontiff, and to behold the greatness of the holy city ; here he divided his army into two divisions ; one under Gages, intended to harass the Germans, the other to return with him into the kingdom. The Romans testified their approbation of Charles by honours more justly his due than those with which they had before greeted Lobkowitz. The king having left Rome, met his beloved queen upon the confines of his kingdom, and remained one day at Gaeta ; after which they entered Naples, where the unaffected joy and mutual afiection between the king and his subjects glowed in their hearts and was exhibited in their countenances. The former was con- scious of having well fulfilled his part as a military leader and king, while the people felt that they had performed their duties as citizens and subjects ; in which sentiment, unknown alike to slaves and tyrants, resides the happiness of empire, and makes even obedience less irksome. On this occasion all display of festivities was forbidden by the king, as the spectacle of the happiness of a whole kingdom, saved less by the power of its armies than by the attachment of its people, was festival enough. 82 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. CHAPTER IV. CONTINUATION AND END OF THE REIGN OF CHARLES. After the affair of Velletri, and the conclusion of the war in Lomharcly, the house of Bourbon appeared to Charles and to the world secure in the kingdom of the Sicilies. The king, re- turning to the cares of peace, wished to indulge his natural taste for grandeur in the construction of public monuments ; he had commenced, and even finished several, amidst the uncertainties of fortune, and the embarrassments of the exchequer ; he added others in his days of prosperity, and had more still in contempla- tion, when he was called to the throne of Spain. The most re- markable were the Mole, the Strada Marinella, the Strada Mergel- lina, and, between the two, the building called the Immacolata. The whole length of that shore, often broken in upon by the sea, and which had beeii occupied by a dirty, unhealthy, and miserable population, was transformed into a beautiful road and promenade, the delight of the inhabitants, and an ornament to the city. The king and queen, when on their way to Castellamare in a gondola, and when returning by land, were attracted by a passing view of the charming country in the vicinity of Portici, and Charles having learned that the air was salubrious, that there was plenty of game twice in the year (quails abounding in that locality), and that the sea in the neighbourhood was full of fish, commanded a villa to be built there. Upon one of the courtiers reminding him that that part of the country lay too near Vesuvius, he replied, " God, the Immaculate Virgin, and St. Januarius, will protect us." The architect, Canovari, made and executed the design. Almost at the same time the king planned the erection of an- other villa upon a height near the city called Capo-di-Monte, for no other reason than because he heard that the small birds called 1745-59. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 83 heccaficlii^ abound in that place during tlie month of August. Many of the works of this monarch owed their origin to his in- ordinate passion for the chase ; had his object been nobler, such as the promotion of the arts, the protection of the frontiers, or commerce, these enormous expenses would have been more worthy of a good prince, and have been more thankfully acquiesced in by the peoi)le. The architect, Medrano, designed the palace of Capo-di-Monte ; but when half finished, it was discovered that the edifice rested upon extensive grottos, which had been excavated in former times to quarry tufo and other stones, and consequently immense subterraneous works were necessary to prevent the build- ing falling. The money which wiis thus buried was three times the sum expended upon that above ground. The king became tired of the affair ; there was no carriage-road leading to the place, the idea of opening one was neglected, and the palace itself left incomplete. Viewed from tlie city, it appeared an ancient monu- ment, as the half-finished works looked like a ruin ; but the time arrived when this incomplete edifice pleased the fancy of other kings. Charles wished for a new theatre, as the city was only pro- vided with few, and those of a low description. To add wonder to magnificence, he ordered that it should be the largest in Europe, and built in the shortest possible time. The design was again ob- tained from Medrano, and the care of its execution confided to one Angelo Carasale, a man of low origin, who had risen to fame by his genius in architecture, and by his bold and stupendous works. He selected the site near the palace, pulled down a great many houses, and added a vast extent of ground, so that when the back of the stage was laid open, wonderful representations of battles, chariots, and horses might be seen in the distance. He com- menced his work in March, and finished it in October 1737, and on the 4th November, the name-day of Charles, the first scenic representation was given. The interior of the theatre was covered with glass mirrors, and the reflection of a multitude of candles produced such a flood of light as to realize the fable of Olympus. A vast and richly decorated compartment was assigned for the royal family, and as Charles entered the theatre, astonished at so ^ Beccajichi, fig-peckers. 84 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. great and beautiful a work, he applauded the architect, while the people gave the king the honour as the originator of all this splendour. In the midst of the universal delight, Charles sent for Carasale, and, publicly commending him for his work, he leaned his hand upon his shoulder as a sign of his protection and favour. Carasale, though not a modest man, respectfully thanked the king by word and action. When this was ended, Charles remarked that as the wall of the theatre adjoined that of the palace, it would have been more convenient for the royal family to have passed from one building to the other by a private passage ; the architect cast down his eyes, and the king, adding " We will think about it," dismissed him. When the representation was over, he found Carasale waiting for him, with a request that he would return to the palace by the passage he had commanded. In three hours' time Carasale had succeeded, by pulling down great walls, erecting scaffolding of beams and lathes, and concealing the rudeness of the work by carpets and tapestry, and with the assistance of drapery, mirrors, and lights, to make a passage both beautiful and scenic in its effect ; this sight was almost more like enchantment and more splendid than the first presented to the king. The theatre, which had received the name of San Carlos, the genius and good fortune of Carasale, were, for many days, the topic of discourse in the palace and the city. But the envied architect was now summoned to give in his accounts, and not satisfying the auditors, was threatened with imprisonment. He went to court, and had an interview with the king, when he reminded him of his royal favours, of the applause of the peoi3le, of the beauty of his work, appealed to his poverty as a proof of his honesty, and left the palace happy, as he thought he per- ceived some trace of pity in the countenance of the king ; but he was mistaken ; for the inquiries of the tribunal were re- newed, and soon afterwards Carasale, conveyed to the fortress of Sant' Elmo, was shut up in prison, where he was supported during the first months by the hard earnings of his family, and had after- wards to eat the bitter bread of captivity. He continued several years in prison, where he died ; his sons were forgotten in obscu- rity and poverty, and nothing would now remain of the name of 1745-59. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 85 Carasale, if the excellence and the wonders of Lis work liad not preserved the memory of the unliappy artificer. Charles ordered the construction of several roads and a fine bridge across the Volturno near Venafro, which works, although only intended to indulge his passion for the chase, and therefore called Strada di Caccia, were nevertheless of some benefit to tlie surrounding villages and towns. Meanwhile, the roads which would have been most useful to the kingdom were wanting. To pass through Calabria (even on horseback) was diflScult and danger- ous, and the Abruzzi little less so. The Strada di Puglia, which had been finished as far as Bovino, a royal hunting seat, was not continued through the three other provinces ; there were neither provincial nor municipal roads, which was as much owing to the absence of royal highways as to frauds and errors in the interior administrations. All that was beautiful, great, and magnificent in the works of Charles were confined to the neighbourhood of the metropolis. He improved the buildings of the regii studii,^ and raised from its foundations (after the designs of the architect Fuga) the royal house of refuge for the destitute, which was opened for the recep- tion of all the poor in the kingdom. Charles did not see this work completed, but already thousands of the poor of both sexes were collecting Avithin its walls ; youths Avho had fallen into vice or misery, and vagrants, who were employed in many useful and newly-invented arts. In succeeding books I will describe how the discipline of the place was improved, and how the building was completed, but the first and greatest merit was due to Charles. Desirous of emulating the splendour of his ancestors, in the palaces of Versailles and of San Ildefonso, and to build a magni- ficent palace on a more secure foundation than that near Vesuvius, and less exposed to the attacks of a powerful enemy at sea, he chose for this purpose the plain of Caserta, at fourteen miles' distance from the city. An ancient town of the same name, Casa-Erta, founded by the Lombards, was still in existence on a neighbouring moun- tain, where, amidst vast ruins were a few buildings containing a a scanty population, who preferred the rubbish which remained of their ancient homes, to the convenience and grandeur of the new ^ liegii StiuJii. Museo Borbouico. 86 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. city. As the most eminent arcliitects were dead or liad grown old, Carasale in a dungeon, and no other in the kingdom equal to them in invention, Charles sent to Rome for Luigi Vanvitelli, a Neapolitan, who was distinguished by his other works, and the first architect in Italy. The palace was founded upon an area of 415,939 square Paris feet, at an elevation of 106 feet ; magnificent columns, massive arches, colossal statues, and marble carvings, adorned the face of the edifice, while on the summit of the front tympanum was seen the equestrian statue of Charles in bronze. The interior of this palace contains precious marbles, statues, and pictures by the most celebrated sculptors and painters of that age ; inlaid woods, works in stucco, crystals, frescoes, and pave- ments of marble and mosaic, besides rare stones ; so that, in short, this building alone represents the genius of all the arts of the time. It is surrounded on three sides by squares or enclosures, and facing the fourth, stretches an extensive garden, nobly adorned with obelisks, statues, marble steps, and copious fountains orna- mented with figures ; a stream falling suddenly from a height, and then more gradually until it spreads out into a lake, from whence it is dispersed in rivulets, is seen descending from the opposite hill, which is laid out as an English garden, and combines a truly regal splendour in art, with the advantages of a mild climate, a fruitful soil, and a perpetual spring. The water thus collected, is brought from Monte Taburno, by an aqueduct twenty-seven miles long, crossing the mountains Tifatine and three wide valleys, and flowing in canals cut in the rocks, or carried over high and massive bridges. That over the valley of Maddaloni, 1618 feet long, and supported upon piers thirty-two feet in thickness, is built in three tiers of arches, rising to an ele- vation of 178 feet; and if the inscription on the stones, and the memory of man did not tell a different tale, this work, from its grandeur and bold conception, might be attributed to the Roman period. The waters of Caserta, after irrigating the land, and embellishing the gardens and the palace, flow under ground, until they join the waters of Carmignano, and reach Naples, where they afford a copious supply for that large city. Among the most successful of Charles's labours, were the excava- tions made at Herculaneum and Pompeii. As I am about to describe 1745-59. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 87 cities destroyed by the neighbouring volcano, I will first mention the two greatest eruptions which took place during this reign, and the magnanimous aid aiforded the sufferers by the king. The first eruption occurred in the year 1738 ; the disasters it occasioned were produced by the quantity of ashes cast forth from the moun- tain, which rose to the clouds in the form of a pine-tree ; borne along by the wind, they fell in distant villages, and between the rain and their own properties were converted into solid masses of stone, and thus changed vast tracts of fertile country into a desert. The cities which were most injured were the Due Torri, Sarno, Palma, Ottaiano, Nola, Avellino, and Ariano. The second eruption, in the year ] 750, was more terrific, owing to earthquakes and other destructive phenomena, when towns, villages, and rich and culti- vated lands were covered with laxa. The king, in both instances, remitted or diminished the tributes upon the lands which had been injured, and assisted and sent presents to the sufferers. At the time of the eruption of 1738, the dispute between the king and the Pope concerning the right of jurisdiction, being still in agitation, the friars and priests whispered in the ears of the people, that this scourge was sent by God, to the ministers of Charles, that they might desist from troubling the Church and the clergy ; but when the volcano ceased their fears vanished, and the contests with the Pope continued. The origin of Herculaneum is fabulous, that of Pompeii ob- scure ; both were flourishing cities of the Campania in the reign of Titus Vespasian, when, by a tremendous eruption (described by the younger Pliny), Herculaneum was covered with lava,^ and Pompeii overwhelmed in ashes and stones vomited by the mountain, and afterwards buried under the materials carried down by the waters in torrents. The manner of their destruction, therefore, was different, but both cities were in one day involved in a common ruin. The memory of the place passed away with the generation then living, and the site of these superb buildings was sought in ^ " It is a mistake to suppose, as has but partially consolidated by the agency been stated by many writers, that [Hercu- of water, which is often poured out in lanaeum] was overwhelmed by a stream of large quantities during volcanic eruptions." lava. The substance with which it is — Edward H. Buxbcky, M.A. See Ar- covered is only a kind of volcanic tuff tide " Hercnlanaeum," Smith's Dictionary formed of accumulated sand and ashes, of Greek and JRoman Geography. 88 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. vain. Thus, from the year 79 in the Christian era, until 1738, the city of Herculaneum remained unknown, and that of Pompeii until 1750. The discovery was accidental ; it happened that in digging wells or ditches, some highly-finished and sculptured marbles were ex- tracted, and soon afterwards were discovered subterranean vaults, then called caverns, but subsequently found to be forums, temples, and theatres, which led to the suspicion that the buried cities lay in these localities. The king claimed the ruins as public pro- perty ; and, causing excavations to be made, drew forth such trea- sures in antiquities, that the Museo Borbonico is now one of the first in Europe. Among the rarities of Herculaneum are the rolled papyri, in which were inscribed the learning of Greece, carbonized by the volcano; but science has discovered the means by which these volumes can be unrolled and laid flat, so as to enable any part of the writing to be read. Only a small portion of this first city was disinterred, as it was covered by massive basalt,^ and by the beau- tiful city of Resina, which living city must have been destroyed, to bring that to light which was already dead. Pompeii, covered with vegetable earths and stones, was extensively excavated, and precious articles of antiquity were extracted. Charles, who was often present at the work, once discovered a globe of an oval form (begrimed with gravel and ashes), hard as stone and heavier than the substance of which it appeared to be composed. He himself laboured several days to open it, and drew forth coins of various metals, and at last, almost in the centre of the globe, a gold ring ornamented with masks, which, to reward himself for his perseve- rance, he placed upon his own finger. It does not lie within the province of this history to enter into a description of the wonders of these two cities ; but it may be seen by other writers how much they have contributed to the improvement of the arts, and to the knowledge of the ancients. The antiquities were arranged in several rooms of the new palace at Portici, and at the same time a Herculaneum academy was instituted to illustrate them by philosophy and history. Other academies arose during the reign of this king. The university " degli studii" was improved, by lectures on useful subjects being ^ See note, preceding page. 1745-59. CHAELES OF BOURBOX, 89 added to the quantity of forensic and theological matter with which the teaching there was encumbered. The colleges obtained several advantages ; but the seminaries continued under the same discipline as before, because the bishops rejected all secular autho- rity, and hated any reform in that whicli was old. But in spite of what Cliarlcs did to promote science or literature, education was not general. Eminent men, however, sprung up in the midst of the popular ignorance. I must not omit to mention other measures by Charles which, whether deserving of praise or censure, ought not to be passed over in silence : he threatened and inflicted severe punishments on all who infringed the statutes for the royal chase ; he introduced lot- teries into his kingdom, an invention of avarice and despotism ; he used means to confine the plague within certain quarters in Messina, and finally to extirpate it ; he was the first to license public gambling, with cards or dice, for a profit to the exchequer of forty thousand ducats annually, but afterwards abolished the practice. At the instigation of the courts of France and Rome, he censured and proscribed the Society of the Freemasons ; but none of his subjects underwent punishment, because a wise and just government is sufficient in itself to interdict, prevent, dissolve, and throw discredit upon secret societies. The Jews were banished, — that very sect who, seven years before, had come to Naples upon the invitation of Charles, and trusting to his promises : but the Neapolitan people could with difficulty be persuaded to tolerate them ; the Jesuit Father Pepe encouraged the prejudice arising from popular ignorance, and petitioned the king, to whom he had free access, to drive the descendants of those who had crucified Christ from his Christian kingdom ; and another friar, of the order of St. Francis, revered by the queen for his sanctity, having told her, in the assured tone of a prophet, that she would never have a male heir as long as the Hebrew race remained in the kingdom, they were expelled. The degraded condition of this nation is dig- nified by the struggles and constancy with whicli they have main- tained their faith, a virtue acknowledged by all mankind ; while the intolerance of the Christian has no apology ; it has not even the semblance of a virtue ; it is a remnant and sign of ancient barbarism, and is the more contemptible in us, because we pre- VOL. I. H 90 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. sume to call ourselves the most civilized nation upon earth. The populace of Naples rejoiced in the banishment of the Jews. The same populace, some months before, had risen in revolt, because they suspected that the detested tribunal of the Inquisi- tion was to be secretly introduced among them. The power of the Pope had been revived by the varying fortunes and dubious result of the wars in Italy, and from the eagerness of contending sove- reigns to obtain his friendship. In one year he canonized five saints, founded a new monastic order, i cherici scalzi (the bare- footed friars), and invited Cardinal Spinelli, archbishop of Naples, to introduce the tribunal of the Holy Office unobserved into the kingdom. This pontiff was Benedict xiv., one of the most highly esteemed among the popes. The archbishop appointed councillors and notaries, ordered the seal which was to be used on trials, pre- pared dungeons, and incarcerated several persons for matters of faith, forcing two of them to pass through the ceremony of abjuration. Emboldened by the success of these first steps, by the silence of the people, by the approbation of the pontiff, and by the noted piety of Charles, he caused the words Santo Ufizio (holy office) to be inscribed upon a stone, and inserted it over the entrance of his dwelling. The abhorrence in which the Neapolitans hold this name, is well known by our history, which records the civil wars it has occasioned, the embassies that were sent to distant kings, and the exemption we obtained or bargained for, although at the cost of submission and tribute ; and, wonderful to say, a credulous, superstitious, ignorant people rose in rebellion at the bare suspicion of the In- quisition, refused to recognise it, and even menaced the authority of the king, and besieged and conquered a troop of soldiers in their own quarters. These were not the acts of the lowest of the populace, impelled, as they are wont, by blind fury or by a love of turbulence, nor of the upper classes alone, actuated by superior intelligence and a desire for freedom, but of every class and condi- tion — the luxurious dwellers in the city, and the simj^le inhabitants of the country, all unanimous and resolved, as if moved by one com- mon instinct ; and now the very people who demanded the banish- ment of the Hebrew race, who admitted and even endowed the new order of the cherici scalzi, and paid a high price to purchase the bones and relics of five new saints, when they saw the inscrip- 1745-3). CHARLES OF BOURBON. 91 tiou over the archbishop's palace, first murmured, then became excited, threatened the two cardinals with death, and would have broken out into worse excesses, had not the king (informed by the Eletto of the people of the real cause of the disturbance, and reminded of ancient and recent laws, compacts, and oaths which were thus violated), issued an edict, censuring the proceeding of the archbishop, and ordered the inscription to be taken down, and broken to pieces : abolished secrecy in the ecclesiastical jurisdic- tion, and restored it to its primary condition, of public trial under the laws. Cardinal Landi, who was sent by the Pope to petition the king to mitigate the severity of his edict, could obtain nothing, and, threatened by the people, hastened his return. The Arch- bishop Spinelii was obliged, from the public odium, to resign his episcopal seat and quit the city. The edict of Charles was in- scribed in marble, and solemnly inserted in the wall of San Lorenzo, the Town Hall, and the people who witnessed the ceremony, satis- fied and triumphant, presented the king, amidst shouts and accla- mations, with thirty thousand ducats. The war meantime continued in Lombardy ; from the time of the conclusion of the affair at Velletri, a considerable force from Naples accompanied the Spanish army. The contending parties met with alternate success and defeat during the whole of 1745, but the fol- lowing year proved adverse to the Bourbons, who, surrounded and driven back, retreated towards Genoa, a rich and friendly city. The Magra, swollen by violent rains, retarded the formation of a bridge, and when completed, destroyed and carried it away. The enemy was advancing, and the Bourbonists hemmed in between them and the river, redoubled their efiorts in the emergency, and succeeded in fastening another bridge, which they were passing in haste, when the Germans arrived, and intercepted and massacred the last files. Our soldiers at length, while still defending them- selves, reached the opposite bank, and the hopes and desires of the two armies being then reversed, the Spaniards wished to break down the bridge, the Germans to preserve it, in order to cross to the other side. In the midst of the fight, and when the chances seemed equal, a Neapolitan sergeant, of gigantic stature and strength, with four of his men, advanced boldly upon the bridge, and in the face of the enemy, and while exposed to their fiie, 92 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1745-59. broke it down with hatchets ; but as they performed their work hastily, and the bridge gave way sooner than they expected, the five remained on the side nearest the enemy, and their capture or death appeared certain. The sergeant, throwing his tool and weapons across to his friends, plunged into the river ; the re- maining four followed his example, and all, swimming to their own camp, returned unscathed and covered with glory. The soldiers received a large reward, and their leader was promoted by Charles to the rank of captain. When Horatio, a soldier of the Republic, displayed similar valour, his name was handed down to posterity ; but that of our generous champion has been omitted by the modern historiographers of monarchy. The retreat of the Bourbonists continuing with the successes of their adversaries, Genoa, abandoned by the former, was taken pos- session of by the latter, and a still worse fate was impending over her, when the desperate courage of her citizens changed the aspect of the wars in Italy. I regret that it is not my task to relate the wonderful feats performed by the Genoese people against the dis- ciplined troops of Germany, for it seldom falls to the share of the historians of Italy to tell of the triumph of the oppressed over their tyrants ; the usual theme of their sad story being the misery of the conquered, and the success of the oppressors. But it was not thus with the city of Genoa in the year 1 746, when, after all manner of insults and indignities had been endured, and the ferocity, avarice, and arrogance of the Germans was still unsatiated, it happened that by a trivial cause, a stone thrown by the hand of a child, first the rabble, next the people, and lastly the senate, rose to vengeance and battle ; they fought with so much ardour and success, that they drove General Botta (who unhappily was an Italian), with many thousand Germans from the city, vanquished and in consternation. Genoa closed her gates, and her citizens armed themselves ; the resources possessed by a rich and strongly fortified city were want- ing to the Germans ; they were alarmed by the numbers of their enemies, and changed the plan of their campaign. France, Spain, and the King of Naples sent ambassadors, soldiers, and money to the heroic city, whose inhabitants organized numerous bodies of troops for their own defence, and the assistance of their allies. Everything augured well for the Bourbons in the ensuing year. 1745-59. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 93 But the unexpected death of Philip v., and the intentions of his successor, Ferdinand vi., being yet unknown, kept all minds and preparations in suspense. The new king of Spain, however, although desirous of peace, declared that he would continue the undertaking commenced by his father, sent fresh troops into Italy, confirmed the war, and wrote letters full of affection to Charles. The queen, his stepmother, losing nothing either in wealth or dignity, resigned her power, and retired into private life in a castle at some distance from the palace. The war continued with alternate successes for two more years, so that the people had to endure death and many sufferings for seven years, without ever arriving at such an extremity as might lead to a voluntary or obligatory peace. The hostile parties en- countered one another in j)erpetual battles, for at the time of which I write, the science we now call strategy was unknown ; by which an army is enabled to move, while avoiding the attacks and obser- vations of the enemy, to reach a certain point, determined on for military reasons, and to subdue fortresses or cities without a con- flict, and preserve their own bases or lines, or occupy the lines or bases of the enemy. If the great captains of past ages, and the contemporaneous Prince Eugene of Savoy, happened to act in ac- cordance with scientific rules, it was owing to native genius, and not to knowledge. Frederick ii. of Prussia was the first to extend the practice, which was perfected and reduced to rule by Bonaparte, commented on by General Jomini and the Austrian Archduke, and has become the principle and aim of instruction in schools ; but to apply these rules on the field, argues a superior order of military genius. By strtitegy, battles become more rare, fortresses less im- portant, and wars of shorter duration. But other causes brought the war to a conclusion in 1748 : the rulers weary of its continuance, the armies diminished in numbers, the finances exhausted, and even, I may add, the miserable condi- tion of the people, if this fact ever enters into the consideration of royal councils, or the computations of politicians. Half a million of men had been taken for the war, seven thousand mercantile vessels had been plundered, half Germany and half Italy, with a great part of Flanders, had been trampled down or spoiled by the soldiery, and innumerable fortresses had been sacked and cities 94 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1748-59. destroyed. The hostile kings desired a cessation of war, and a con- gress of ministers accordingly met at Aix-la-Chapelle, where they concluded the preliminaries on the 18th of October of that year, which, having been ratified by the belligerent sovereigns, laid the foundations of a durable peace. I shall only refer to those heads wliich aficcted the permanent state of Italy. All returned to their condition prior to the war ; the King of Sardinia, in accordance with the treaty of Vormazia, was to possess Vigevano and part of the Pavese, with the county of Anghiera ; the Duke of Modena was restored to his States in Italy, and received the value of the fiefs he had lost in Hungary ; Don Philip, Infant of Spain, the second son of Philip v. by Elizabeth Farnese, had the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, but on condition of their reverting to tlie present owners if Don Philip should die without issue, and if the King of Naples should succeed to the throne of Spain. The Republic of Genoa was to continue un- changed, and no allusion having been made to the Sicilies, the right of King Charles was confirmed. In the history of this long and sanguinary war, two facts alone are immortalized, and these are not battles won, nor the valour or success of the leaders, but instances of patriotic virtue in the people ; namely, the loyalty of the Neapolitans and their efforts to support their king, and the wonderful enthusiasm shown by the Genoese in putting down the tyranny of a barbarous and foreign soldiery. No slight fears were still entertained in Italy, lest the dominion of Tuscany, disputed by the Emperor Francis and the King of Naples, should lead to future wars ; but this evil was averted by the proposal of a double marriage, which would at some future time make a daughter of the House of Austria queen of the Two Sicilies, and a princess of Naj^les Grand Duchess of Tuscany ; mere suggestions at that time, which were afterwards realized. An- other dispute arose concerning the island of Malta, but which was speedily settled. After the loss of Rhodes, Charles v. had bestowed Malta on the Knights of Rhodes, in fief to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, to whose king they were to send a falcon annually as a tribute from the Order ; and when vacancies occurred in the epis- copal chair, the knights were to propose three candidates, one of whom was to be selected by the king. These public acknow- 1748-59. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 95 ledgments of vassalage had fallen into disuse for more than two centuries, when Charles wished to revive them ; but opposed by the Grand-Master of the Order, he caused the trade with Malta to be interrupted, and their benefices in the Two Sicilies to be seques- trated. The Grand- Master invoked the authority and intervention of the Pope, who wrote letters of remonstrance to the king, upon which Charles consented to the renewal of commerce, and the liberation of the benefices, besides other acts of conciliation, but retained and substantiated for himself and his successors their ancient claims upon the island. The people of Europe were reassured by these pacific mea- sures, and the king now gave his attention more exclusively to national reforms. He desired, and his minister Tanucci laid a scheme, for the suppression of feudal pretensions ; by the pragmatic sanction of 1 738, Charles had deprived the barons of many of their privileges, which he however restored to them in 1 744, as a recompense for their services during that year's cam- paign. The warmth of gratitude which led to so imprudent a con- cession, cooled down in time, but until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle he did not venture to risk offending the most powerful body in the State ; besides, the baronial revenues, however unjust or of foreign origin, were so closely interwoven with the habits of the country, that, totally to abolish them, would have appeared an injustice even to those who would have profited by the change ; therefore the king and Tanucci, without touching the interests of the barons, their lands, revenues, rights, or profits, diminished their authority, and by abolishing many jurisdictions, by subjecting the sentences of the baronial judges to appeal, by diminishing the number of armed retainers, and laying down rules for their punishment, they weakened the power of the mero e misto^ jurisdiction, the principal instrument of the tyranny of the barons. Soon afterwards, sundry personal obligations were abolished, and it was from that time established by law, that the power of criminal jurisdiction was never again to be conceded on the occasion of any new or renewed investitures of fiefs. By another law it was decreed that the rights of the community over feudal lands were inalienable by time. This produced law-suits, and as the judges resided in the city ' Mcro e mido. Absolute and undefined, or the seignoriul jurisdiction of the barons. 96 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1748-59. under the eye of the king, far from the power of the barons, and in an age of franchises, they rarely if ever gave sentence against the Commons. To these acts of justice Charles added arts of policy ; he invited the great barons to his court, where, by flatter- ing their tastes for luxury and vanities, lie retained them near his person ; and when they came to reside in the city, the lesser barons, from ambition, followed their example. The fiefs were thus relieved from the presence of their feudal lords, and their armed retainers, once necessary for their protection and tlie maintenance of their power, became a burden and incumbrance, and were there- fore diminished, allowing the provinces to breathe again. The population of the metropolis, already large, Avas increased ; the families of the great nobles were impoverished by their extrava- gant luxury, and by the neglect of their own estates, which, though evils, were not commensurate to the good arising from the depres- sion of feudalism. The sentiments of the people underwent a change ; the barons were not as much revered as formerly, and feudalism being less sanctioned by law, the way was gradually opened for still greater reforms. The structure of the system was immense, yet it fell, in the year 1810, by the efforts of succeeding kings, though the merit of having struck the first blow is due to Charles. This was a happy time for both king and subjects ; the viceregal oppressions were forgotten, those of the barons alleviated, and peace was secure. The palace rejoiced in a numerous progeny, provi- sions were abundant, and harmony existed between the people and their rulers. A small body of learned men, attached to their country and anxious for reform, were included in the Government, in order to assist Charles in the promotion of universal freedom : and the transition of the monarchy from feudal to absolute power was looked upon as a necessary stage in the life of nations : therefore the study of the king, the interests of the people, and the hopes of the reformers aimed at one goal, towards which they all hastened. The clergy and barons alone had separate interests, but the former, while champing the bit in secret, waited their opportunity, while the latter, from folly and empty pride, were delighted with the titles and decorations of nobility which the king lavishly dispensed. But his labours, like those of other kings in the past cen- 1748-49. CHARLES OF BOURBOJT. 97 tury, created a new class in society, which, gathering- up the spoils of those which had been depressed, acquired their rights or their possessions, and was called the Third Estate — a name still earlier adopted in France, where, from their holding a place be- tween the highest nobles and the populace, they in reality consti- tuted the people — that most powerful element in the composition of all nations, and who have brought about those revolutions in our era, which have laid the foundation for the constitutions of king- doms. Before these reforms, the barons and priests enjoyed wealth, authority, and jurisdiction, with the administration of the communal property as well as of justice, and retained all the branches of power in their own hands. The lowest orders had to bear the burdens of the State, and to obey. After the reforms, the great nobles, who were collected in the city and the palace, having obtained the highest position it appeared to them fortune could confer, and being desirous to maintain that eminence, centred their hopes in titles, honours, and the atmosphere of a court, gloried in a life of haughty indolence, and despised all active ambition ; while the people, who at one time had been without thought, and only desir- ous of ease, and had never aspired to share in the government of the State, saw the possibility of rising to influence. The great, who had fallen from their position through misfortunes, or been induced, from the love of gain, or by an active disposition, to abandon the indolent life of their order, and those men who had risen by their industry or talents from the populace, contributed to swell the numbers of the Third Estate. Always energetic and increasing, this class possessed the true elements of political strength, numbers, and movement; and thus by the nature of so- ciety the Third Estate arose, and became the associate and instru- ment of monarchy in its transition from feudal to absolute power. The Third Estate being thus powerful, it is important to inquire what and who were the individuals in Naples who gathered up the baronial and ecclesiastical spoils ; for the character and interests of the men of whom it was composed became gradually identified with the character and interests of the government. The reader must be here reminded that the wealth of the two orders had only been lightly touched by the exchequer, and that the reforms of Charles had been confined to the right of jurisdiction ; the authority VOL. I. I 98 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1748-49. and credit of the ecclesiastical tribunals had been diminished ; the right of asylum was almost entirely abolished ; many criminal or civil cases which had lain within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction had been handed over to the secular courts ; disputed cases in fiefs or feudal lawsuits were now tried by magistrates appointed by the king ; and the authority of the royal provincial courts, as well as of the tribunals of the nobles, was diminished. All that these classes had lost in power had turned to the advantage of the courts of com- mon law ; and, as the lower orders were admitted into them with- out difficulty, the Third Estate was comj^osed chiefly of lawyers. Offices, authority, and profit fell into tlieir hands ; the king chose his councillors and ministers from the law tribunals ; the forensic art became political science, and amidst the vicissitudes of the king- dom, the acts of the Government took their character and aspect from lawyers. Lawyers are timid in danger, abject in adversity, and ready to applaud the ruling powers ; confident in their own cleverness and ingenuity, they are in the habit of defending the most absurd opi- nions, and, though rivals among themselves in their profession, and often opposed to one another, they are always friends. The character of their eloquence is in itself an evil ; the defendant does not keej? to the pleadings, but the aim of his oration is to persuade the judges, to convince or touch them by an appeal to their feelings, to attract the audience to the side of the speaker, and to gain the votes of the majority ; if he succeed, though only for the moment, it is enough ; his words are forgotten as soon as spoken, nothing remains but his fee and the boast of victory, and the more unjust the cause, the greater his glory ; thus it hap- pens that advocates are not ashamed to employ exaggerations or even falsehoods, which are evanescent as their breath ; that the pure and simple logic of jurisprudence is changed into popular and seductive harangues, and the forum into a tribune — evils suffi- ciently dangerous in their effects for the ends of justice and j)ub- lic morals, but ruinous and pestilential when introduced uito politics, and employed in revolutions of the State, when reason and truth are most needed to check the violence of the lower orders, and to moderate party zeal ; in place of which intrigue, falsehood, and license prevail, and hence the origin of much public evil. 1748-49. CHAELES OF BOUEBON. 99 If the reforms of Cliarles liad extended further, they would liave included, besides the Church and the fiefs, the army, com- merce, and the division of property, in which case the Third Estate would have comprehended military men, merchants, and landed proprietors, and thus have changed the whole condition of the king- dom. But these reforms emanated from Tanucci, influenced in- deed by noble motives, but limited in their aim to the destruction of the feudal sj^stem, and the power of the papacy. Narrow in liis views, and wholly a lawyer, he neglected the army, believing it to be a useless burden on the State in times of peace, and trusting the safety of his master's crown to his relations with Spain and France, and to the new connexions he was forming vv'ith the House of Austria, and with the princes of Italy ; while, ignorant of political economy and of the theories of finance and administration, a foreigner and covetous of power, he was natur- all}^ more attached to the king than to the State. He owed his reputation to his resistance to the pontiffs, to the shock he had given the feudal system, to the purity of his life, his conciliatory manners, and, above all, to the long peace the kingdom enjoyed under his administration — a virtue which throws a kindly veil over the faults of rulers. The vices of the Third Estate were transferred to the Govern- ment, and imparted to the people a character not their ovvn : from hence sprang despotic laws, counterfeit treaties, hollow promises, and a certain jargon of arguments or words, substituted for the immutable maxims of duty and justice ; for lawyers assume that such a treaty is null because made by necessity, such an oath is of no effect because not consented to by conscience ; that compacts agreed to with subjects are not to be kept, because a king cannot treat with his vassals ; they call the occupation of a country a conquest, and that which is in reality the lawful obedience of the people, rebellion, besides many other subversions of truth and justice, Avhich have been listened to and tolerated in our days. To return to the history of Charles. The king and his sub- jects were equally enjoying the blessings of peace, when their hopes of increasing prosperity were interrupted by the death of Ferdinand vi. King of Spain, who, dying without issue, left the throne vacant for Charles of Naples. Hardly was the event 100 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1759. known, before the Spanish ministers proclaimed Charles, and go- verned in his name. Speedy messengers having advised the king of what had taken place, he appointed his mother. Queen Eliza- beth, regent of Spain. She was living in retirement in a castle of her own, but had neither resigned her taste for royalty, nor her ambitious hopes of glory and command. When by the succession to this kingdom, it became necessary for Charles to provide imme- diately for that of Naples, and to transmit the sovereignty to an- other, he was agitated by contending feelings ; for though blessed with a numerous family, six sons and two daughters, and his wife, the delight of his palace, still young, his first-born (already twelve years of age) was infirm in body, deficient in mind, and incapable of conducting the affairs, or even of entering into the enjoyments of life ; and his cure was despaired of The resolution of the father, therefore, wavered between breaking through the natural order of succession, and publishing the imbecility of his son to the world, or making over the greater crown and its succes- sion to a man of weak intellect, and in declining health. The claims of the State prevailed. He convoked a meeting of the barons, magistrates, ministers, and ambassadors of foreign courts, besides the most learned physicians, who were ordered to examine Prince Philip before witnesses. The imbecility of the unhappy Infant was described and authenticated in a document which the king, almost in tears, commanded to be read to the Assembly. Philip being excluded, the second son, Charles Antony, was named to succeed to the throne of Spain, and the third, Ferdinand, to that of the Sicilies ; he was in robust health, intelligent, and had passed his eighth year ; the king had already determined upon the regency to be appointed for the government of the kingdom ; and on the 6th of October of that year 1759, surrounded by his Avife and children, and in the i^resence of the ambassadors and ministers, and of the future regents, the Eletti of the city, and the principal barons, he caused a deed to be read, by >vhich he pro- claimed that, — Having been called by Providence to the throne of Spain and of the Indies, he renounced the crown of Naples in favour of one of his sons, as, in accordance with the terms of the European treaties, the two monarchies must remain separate and independent. He destined his second son Charles (Philip, his 1759. CHARLES OF BOURBON. 101 eldest, being incapable of reigning) to succeed him in Spain, and his third son, Ferdinand, in the kingdom of the Sicilies. He released the last from all obligations to himself, yielded to him his rights to the throne, and commanded the people to obey him as their king. He gave the youthful king a council of regency, until he should attain his majority, which he fixed at the comple- tion of his sixteenth year. The succession to the throne of the Sicilies was to descend by the eldest male line, and all contingen- cies were provided for and rules laid down for the future. In the event of failure of heirs in the male line direct as well as collateral, the female was to succeed according to the order of age ; but should the female line fail, the crown was to revert to the king of Spain, to be by him ceded as a free and independent kingdom to his second son : Charles further prayed that God would prosper the people, and trusted that the provisions of this act would be permanent, and that his labours as a king might be rewarded by a prolonged peace. Having thus spoken, he turned to his son Ferdinand, and gave him his blessing, exhorted him to love his subjects, to continue faithful to his religion, to do justly and show mercy ; and unsheathing his sword (the same which Louis xiv. gave to Philip v. and he to Charles), and placing it in the hand of the new king, he addressed him for the first time with the title of Majesty, saying, " Keep it for the defence of thy religion and of thy subjects :" and concluded by making the same sign over Fer- dinand, as has been already recorded Philip made over him. The foreigners present acknowledged the new king, and the subjects took their oath of allegiance. Charles then appointed the regency, gave them his instructions, and repeating his prayers for the ge- neral prosperity, left the room, followed by the praises and bless- ings of all present. That same day he prepared for his departure. He registered the accounts of his kingdom, and left injunctions and precepts to his son, which though not indeed remarkable for their ingenuity, were prudent and benevolent. He took nothing with him belong- ing to the crown of Naples, ordering that the jewels, treasures, and paraphernalia of royalty should be noted down, and consigned to the ministers of the new king, and even included the ring which he wore on his finger, and which he had found amidst the 102 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1759. excavations of Pompeii ; it is of no value either for material or workmanship, but, left by him as the property of the State, is now shown in the museum, less as a remarkable relic of antiquity, than as a proof of the conscientiousness of Charles. He appointed a preceptor for the young king, and recommended the Infant Philip, whom he left in the palace in Naples, to his care. He distributed titles, honours, and presents, as the rewards of fidelity or services ; and that same day before sunset, he, with his wife, two daughters, and four sons, went on board a ship belonging to the Spanish fleet, which consisted of sixteen men of war and a number of frigates. They had quitted the ports of Ferrol and Cadiz, and had arrived in Naples about the end of September, for the service of the king ; the Court of Spain was at that time the most j)unc- tilious in Europe. All the inhabitants of the city witnessed the departure of Charles. The houses, in our mild climate, are not covered with pointed roofs or leads, but with flat terraces, from whence the beautiful shores which enclose the bay can be seen, and those who could not reach the mole or the harbour, looked down from them with grief and heavy forebodings at their monarch, hardly more to be envied than they. The recollection of his virtues, his muni- ficence, and the buildings he had founded (which might be seen from the city), with the number and silence of the spectators, were at once the cause and the evidence of their well-founded and universal regret ; and although the laws, tribunals, the character and name of the government continued the same, the people did not cease to lament his absence, and their sorrow appeared almost to presage the Ccilamities awaiting them under future reigns. BOOK II. REIGN OF FERDINAND IV. 1759-1790. CHAPTER I. MINOKITY OF THE KING. Towards tlie end of 1759, Ferdinand of Bourbon, who had not yet completed his eighth year, being king, the regents were Do- menico Cattaneo, Prince of San Nicandro ; Giuseppe Pappacoda, Prince of Centola ; Pietro Bologna, Prince of Camporeale ; Michele Reggio, President of Malta and Admiral of the Fleet ; Domenico Sangro, Commander-in-Chief of the Army ; Jacopo Milano, Prince of Ardore ; Lelio Caraffa, Captain of the Guards ; and Bernardo Tanucci. The king bore the titles of Ferdinand iv. King of the Two Sicilies and Jerusalem, '^ Infant of Spain, Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Castro, and hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany. The regents, trained to submission under the viceregal govern- ment, and inured to servitude in the court, were now in the decline of age, and Tanucci alone amongst them all, undertook the burden of affairs, and was considered the head of the regency ; this did not, however, rouse the jealousy of the others, for, inex- perienced and without the ambition to rule, they were ready to obey him, who, both by nature, and because his power was undis- puted, behaved towards them with courtesy and respect. The king's tutor was the Prince San Nicandro, who, though respect- ' The title of King of Jerusalem was his Queen, the daughter of John, descended conceded to the Emperor Frederic 11., when from Baldwin titular king of Jerusalem, he was crowned by Honorius iii. King of and the title has ever since been retained the Sicilies. He obtained it in riglit of by the kings of the Sicilies. 104 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1759-60. able in conduct, was ignorant of science or letters, and while only desirous of indulging his pupil, he was persuaded by Tanucci not to cultivate the intellect of the young Prince too highly, and that mediocrity of mind was most eligible, in the sovereign of a petty state, for the enjoyment of the pleasures of authority. To the genuine grief of the palace and city which succeeded the departure of Charles, followed rejoicings at the accession of Fer- dinand, who, after remitting the punishments for sundry crimes, liberated many prisoners, gave assurance of pardon to worse crimi- nals, and then, with pomp and regal ceremonies, assisted in the cathedral at the hymns of thanksgiving, which were sung in the Chapel of St. Januarius. The regents next commanded that the barons, magistrates, and deputies from the communes should pre- sent themselves on stated days at the palace, there to acknow- ledge the new king, and to take the oath of fidelity and obedience. All hastened to obey, and trusting to the memory of his father, to the councils of the good minister, and to the prospect of a long peace, they anticipated a mild and happy reign. The king, fol- lowing the example of his predecessors, demanded the investiture of his kingdom from the Pope, which, being granted, he, on the 4th February 1 760, signed and swore, in the presence of the legate, Cardinal Orsini, the oath called " Of homage and vassalage to the most high Pontiff," promising thereby not to promote his own elec- tion as Emperor of the Romans,^ or King of Germany, or sovereign of Lombardy or Tuscany ; and in the event of his election to the same, to refuse his assent. The regents governed in obedience to the pi'ecepts left them by Charles, as well as by fresh instructions which arrived from Spain, and were communicated to Tanucci in the form of sugges- tions, and sometimes even of commands. This private correspond- ence facilitated the designs of the minister, by rendering his colleagues still more amenable to his judgment in certain under- takings, disapproved of by their consciences ; these were, emancipa- tion from the jurisdiction of Rome, and the enfranchisement of the ^ This condition was first imposed by to renounce all pretensions to the empire Clement iv. on Charles of Anjou, when for him and his successors. — See Mac- he granted him the investiture of the king- chiavelu, vol. i. p. .36. dom of the Sicilies, under the obligation 1760. FERDINAND IV. 105 government from priestly domination while subjecting the eccle- siastics of the kingdom to the secular government ; which claims of the State aj^peared sinful to the vulgar minds of the regents ; but one kind of servility yielding before another, the real or sup- posed commands of Charles prevailed over the silent warnings of conscience. Thus, Tanucci contrived by despatches, ordinances, and decisions of the regency, so to change the face of affairs, and to create so many new relations and wants in society, that when the king attained his majority and assumed the reins of govern- ment, he could not undo the work already done, without producing mischief and disorder everywhere. Ferdinand was, therefore, forced to continue and proceed onwards in a path which was irrevocable ; and thus, while presenting the reader with a summary of all that was effected in matters of jurisdiction during the thirty years described in this book, I shall only record the wisdom of one man, Tanucci. As first in importance, I shall mention the pragmatic sanctions issued by the regents and the king, upon questions relating to the tribunals of Rome, by which the ministers of the Crown disposed of the property and land of deceased bishops, abbots, and incum- bents, and applied the revenues of vacant sees to secular purposes. Several monasteries were suppressed ; two in Calabria, which had been receptacles for worthless characters ; one in the Basili- cata ; four in Puglia ; three in the Abruzzi ; and twenty-eight in Sicily : all for diff'erent reasons, by an exercise of the sovereign l^ower. The property of these monasteries reverted to the com- monwealth. The ecclesiastical tithes were first reduced, next disputed, and lastly abolished. Subsequently, when obstacles had been removed, and the minds of the people had been prepared for still greater reforms, acquisitions in mortmain were interdicted, monasteries, churches, charitable foundations, the property of confraternities, seminaries, and col- leges, were declared to be in manua morta, dead in law ; and under the head of acquisitions were comprehended all kinds of new property, additions to houses or monasteries, the foundations of new churches or chapels, the patrimony^ of priests, and the dowry ^ Patrimony of priests. No man could tain extent of land assigned liim ; and if enter the priesthood without having a cer- his family were too poor to give the required 106 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 17C0. of nuns, if they exceeded the limits fixed hj law, as well as alms given for feasts, for processions, and masses. This wise law for- bade notaries to indite wills by which new acquisitions could pass into the hands of such persons, prevented exchanges of property,^ and made emphyteusis, long leases, and leases renewed to the same lessees equal to censi / so that, while the mainmort continued to receive the payment for the land, he lost the right of actual l^ossession. These measures, which were too enlightened for the times, were opposed, by the ignorance of the people, and evaded by the cun- ning of the clergy. A devout lady in her will named " her soul" heir to her property : Giovan Battista Latilli of Bitonto, dying sud- denly, the bishop and. parish priest together made the will "for the soul," tying up a large portion of the inheritance for the cele- bration of masses ; the Bishop of Bisceglia made a similar will ^^ for the soul" of Francesco Pascullo, killed; and the vicar of the diocese in Pisticce made one ^' for the soul" of the priest Lisanti, who had died intestate. All these wills were revoked by order of the government ; the bishops were censured, and wills in which property was bequeathed to the soul and for the soul were prohi- bited by law. The natural heirs succeeded to their inheritance, and in the case of Pascullo, who had no heirs, the community of Bisceglia inherited his property. By these means the secular government contrived to dimi- nish the inordinate wealtli of the Church, while by other laws, the pretensions of the pontiffs, which they claimed as rights, were lessened. The lay jurisdiction was enlarged, and the ecclesiastical proportionably restricted, and an advocate for the Crown appointed to watch over the rights of the sovereign was added to the " misto" tribunal, and to the delegate of the royal provincial court ; both which magistracies have been referred to in the preceding book. The number of priests was diminished ; the ten for every patrimony, it was sometimes advanced Ly ^ Censi. — The deeds by which land a friend, thus securing the Church from rented remained in the hands of the same being burdened by a poor priesthood. person as long as the rent was paid, while emphyteusis, or land held in jure ein- ^ Exchantje of property. — It was not pJu/teutico, was originally only retained unusual for ecclesiastical property to be for a term of years, and upon certain con- exchanged for adjoining land, if convenient. ditions. 1760. FERDINAND IV. 107 thousand souls, allowed by Charles, became the law of the State ; after a time the sacerdotal friars were included in the ten, and finally the ten were reduced to five. Priests or deacons without a patrimony were not allowed to be ordained, nor could their patrimony be increased or fixed at an amount to injure the family. Only sons were forbidden to enter the priesthood, and when there was one priest already in the family, a second was not permitted. If any bull or charter of the pontiff, whether recent, old, or of distant date, had not received the royal assent, it was declared of no effect ; " nor could usage, sufferance, nor the negligence of former monarchs suffice," such are the words of the edict, " to make them lawful." The royal assent was thus defined : " The royal will, inalienahle, ivhich can never set limits to its own poivers, nor surpass them ;" and in other edicts, " The concessions relating to ecclesiastical matters made or consented to hy the king, may he dissolved at the pleasure of the same king, or hy the kings, his succes- sors. The wills of founders may he suppressed or changed at the good pleasure of the king. Ecclesiastics are to depend upon the king, and the magistrates appointed hy him; and there is no dignity upon earth which has the right or power to derogate from what is here set forth." After these laws had been applied in many cases, and repeated in the acts of the government, they gradually came to guide the practice and opinions of the magistrates in their judicial decisions, and to be respected by the people. It was now forbidden to appeal to Rome without the royal permission ; the provisions made by the Roman chancery for the incumbents of benefices were annulled by the king ; the grants of the pontifts upon episcopal revenues were stopped ; the Pope was forbidden to unite, separate, or change the boundaries of dioceses ; the rules of the Roman chancery were abolished ; and no nuncio was accepted who had not been approved of by the king. Marriage was defined as hy its nature a civil con- tract, and the religious ceremony an accessory ; lawsuits connected with marriage were placed within lay competency, or if tried by the bishops, through a power delegated to them by the king. This was established in practice in the case of the Duke di ]\[addaloni. 108 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1760. who wished to dissolve his marriage by an article of the Council of Trent, which provided for such cases. The name, rank, and w^ealth of both parties made this the most famous suit of those times, and the nuncio was therefore anxious to bring it before the tribunal of the nunciature ; but the hing having appointed the magistrate by whom the case was to be decided, confirmed the law by which marriage was to be considered a oivil contract. The power of the Neapolitan bishops was increased by these means, at the expense of Rome, although the episcopal authority within the country was restricted and humbled. Bishops were prohibited from meddling with public instruction, or printing any- thing not subject to the common censorship, and approved by the king. Episcopal censures, as well as trials for moral offences, and the power of incarceration, were forbidden. Personal immunities were next abolished, begging for religious purposes prohibited, eccle- siastical fees subjected to a tariif, charitable institutions released from loans to bishops, and certain episcopal extortions, whose claims were so ancient that their origin was forgotten, were for ever revoked ; — the decree was thus worded : " The bishop cannot pre- scribe laws as supreme." I must here remind the reader, that when, in 1746, the Pope and Cardinal Spinelli attempted to introduce the tribunal of the Holy Office, and the people rose in rebellion, quiet was not restored until every trace of the detested tribunal had disappeared, and until (as a security for the future) four of the people were elected with the name and charge of deputies to guard against the introduction of the Holy Office. These persons, after the departure of Charles, demanded from the king his successor, the confirmation of the privileges granted by his predecessor, to the prayers, tribute, or violence of the people. The regents, anxious to satisfy their just demands, reproduced the edicts of Charles, which were con- firmed and sworn to by his successor ; and shortly before the king attained his majority, when enjoining the magistrates to watch over the rights of the sovereignty, in order to prevent the revival of those evil practices of the Court of Rome which had with diffi- culty been extirpated by the wisdom of the two Bourbon kings, the regents imposed an obligation on the royal chamber of Santa Chiara, and on the delegate of the royal court of judicature, as well 17G0. FERDINAND IV. 109 as the advocate for the Crown, to instruct the ruler and his subjects by means of popular works, in the true doctrines of the Christian religion, to reconcile the Government with the priesthood, and tlie decisions of the magistrates witli the consciences of the people. While the regents were thus engaged, the Prince of San Nicandro attended to the health and studies of the king, who, blessed from his birth with a robust constitution, and his time devoted to athletic exercises, acquired daily more muscular power, and delighted in feats of strength, in which he was encouraged by his preceptor, who was proud of this proof of his physical develop- ment. The game-laws were revived, as well as punishments, including flogging for trespassers ; the woods were filled with wild animals, the number of keepers were increased, and as Ferdinand surpassed even Charles in his immoderate passion for the chase, new forests were added to the old. The king was twelve years of age. Exercise and pleasure consumed many hours of the day, and diverted his mind from studies. His masters w^ere men of the greatest celebrity and learning, but sometimes time, sometimes the will was wanting, and his instruction was entirely neglected or seldom attended to. The king was seen growing up in bodily strength and mental ignorance, to the future peril of the State. As a child he disliked, and as a man he Avas ashamed, to con- verse with men of learning. He loved to display his skill, or boast of his experience in bringing down swans or stags, in hitting birds flying, or breaking-in horses ; of his sagacity as a fisherman, and how he was first in the race — accomplishments befitting man in a savage state, but admired by the common people who had been trained in the manners of Spain. As years progressed, the rude tastes of the king likewise increased, and having become the absolute sovereign of a wealthy monarchy when he had hardly reached man's estate (being only sixteen years old), he wasted his time in pleasures, and in domineering over youths like him- self, ignorant, and fond of athletic sports. Skill in these exercises, strength, a dissipated life, and other vulgar tastes, became objects of ambition among his subjects, and more especially among the nobles, the companions of the king, or admired by him in his court. He was so partial to these barbarous amusements, that a long life and reign of varied fortunes could not suffice to banish 110 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 17^0 a3. them. He was already a husband and father wlien at Portici, after instructing a body of sokliers, he called Liparotti, in the use of arms, he set up a booth in the camp, and himself attired in the dress, and with all the apparatus of a sutler, assumed that calling, selling food and wine at a low price, whilst the courtiers, and some- times his queen, acted the part of the attendants and the hostess. Once on a time when playing at ball, he happened to notice among the spectators a lean hungry-looking man, his hair powdered, and attired in the black and shining dress of an abate. The king determined to amuse himself at his expense, by making him ridiculous ; he whispered in the ear of one of his courtiers, who was seen to leave the place and return with a blanket, which four of the stoutest of those who had been engaged in the game (the king being one of them), held out by the corners. The abate was suddenly seized by the servants, or creatures of Ferdinand, and hurried into the arena of the game, forced into the blanket, and tossed several times in the air, falling back again in awkward attitudes amidst the laughter and shouts of the king and the rabble, who anticipated a succession of similar low and barbarous diversions. This abate happening to be Signer Mazzinghi, a noble Florentine, the Court of Tuscany comjilained to the Courts of Naples and Spain ; but, rs the claims of a private individual could not disturb the harmony existing between princes, it was left for history to revenge Mazzinghi. Escaping from the inhospitable city, and ashamed to return to his country, he remained a few months at Rome, where he died of melancholy. Several times every year, after fishing in the lakes of Patria and of Fusaro, the king sold the fish, assuming the manners and dress of a fishmonger, and bargaining as eagerly as any. Neither sick- ness nor death in his family, nor unsuccessful wars, nor the calami- ties of his kingdom, nor the loss of a crown, could turn him from the pleasures of the chase nor from vulgar amusements. These exer- cises, and the fatigue which followed, idleness, much eating, and prolonged sleep, filling all the hours of the day, consumed the time which should have been devoted to the cultivation of his mind, or the government of the State. He never opened a book from a love of study, or read a paper from interest in public affairs ; and, as the regents ruled the kingdom during his minority, so his minis- 1760-63. PEEDINAND IV. Ill ters or his wife ruled it when he became independent. As he found it tedious to subscribe his name to the acts of the govern- ment, he ordered them to be signed in his presence and impressed with his signet, which he jealously guarded. Impatient under every exertion of mind, the councils of state disgusted him, and he therefore rarely summoned, and quickly dissolved them, for- bidding inkstands, to avoid the delay caused by writing. I give these particulars, as they may account for many succeeding events which would otherwise appear incredible. In the year 1763, an expected scarcity in corn induced the rulers and the citizens to fill the public and private storehouses with all expedition. The remedy proved in itself an evil, because by laying up so much grain in reserve, a superfluity was provided for the future, while the present wants of the people were neglected. This con- firmed the scarcity in the commencement of the year 1764<, and made it general. The anxiety and complaints of the i)eople, the mistakes of the Government, the rapacity of the merchants, with the profits which fell to the few, always the case in every public calamity, produced greater evils and dangers ; the poor were seen dying of want, it was said that the magazines and bakers' ovens Avere empty, and innumerable thefts, crimes, and robberies followed. The regents, by fixing a low price upon corn in every town or city, ruined the markets, and by maintaining that the scarcity was not real, but produced by monopolists, excited disturbances, and they caused the murder of certain usurers by designating them by their names. Royal commissaries, with troops of armed followers, were sent into the provinces to discover the deposits of wheat, to sell it in the markets, and to punish (the edict ran thus) " the usurers, the enemies of the poor." The Marquis Pallanti, the chief commissary, who was intrusted with supreme power, wishing to make a display of rigorous justice, caused gallows to be erected in the villages, where he shortly arrived, followed by a numerous and disreputable suite of bailiffs and hangmen. No deposit was discovered, because all the magazines of corn had been already rifled by the people, and no one was punished because the monopoly was imaginar}^ These measures only served to prove the inefficiency of the Govern- ment, and to increase the despair, and the disorders among the people. It is unknown how many died of hunger, or were killed 112 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1764-6G. ill the tumults, for in both cases the computation was either neg- lected, or the government from prudence concealed the numbers. At length the news of the famine in Naples reaching foreign mar- kets, many ships laden with corn speedily arrived, and thus the scarcity ceased. A fresh pragmatic sanction dissolved the contracts entered into for the famine, reducing articles, the cost of which had been formerly regulated by the will and interests of the com- munity, to a low price, and prescribing certain conditions, while other decrees remitted the punishments for crimes, such as thefts, robberies, and homicides, occasioned by the scarcity. All maxims of State policy and of justice were violated. The regents failed to learn a lesson even from the events just described ; on the contrary, they became more timid, increased the provisions in the public storehouses during the subsequent years, forbade the export of the native products of the kingdom, and made the distress twofold. As the citizens, therefore, left the country in vast numbers, it became necessary for the Govern- ment, in April 1766, to restrain and limit their emigration by laws and penalties. 1767 FERDINAND IV. 113 CHAPTER 11. THE KING ATTAINS HIS MAJORITY, AND ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT. On the 12th January 17G7, King Ferdinand ended his mino- rity ; the event passed over in silence, for the day was neither celebrated by any act of the Government, ceremony in the palace, nor rejoicings in the city; the regents became councillors and ministers, and in substance as well as appearance the Government was unchanged. As the reader is sufficiently acquainted Avitli the internal state of the kingdom, it now becomes important to give a brief sketch of relations abroad. The powers of the North, who, to maintain the political balance of that time, did not find it necessary to extend their covetous and ambitious designs as far as Naples, continued faithful to the commercial treaties concluded with Charles. The connexion with Spain and France was one of friendship rather than alliance, for the convention agreed to be- tween these two kingdoms, called the Family Compact, had like- wise been accepted (with the secret connivance of the King of Spain) by the Bourbons of Sicily and Parma. The House of Austria was engaged in negotiating a new tie of relationship with tlie King of Naples. The Seven Years' "War had ended in 1763 ; Germany was in repose, and Italy at peace. Don Philip, Duke of Parma, was dead, and. his death was soon followed by that of the old Queen Elizabeth Farnese ; both of whom had instigated wars for the gratification of their ambition. Pope Clement xiii. was engaged in a contest with Naples, but as he was destitute of secular arms, his spiritual weapons inspired no fear. The first act of the king, upon attaining his majority, was the expulsion of the Jesuits. As Ferdinand himself some time later recalled the exiled Order, while other sovereigns converted their hostility into favours, it is important to know the reason of VOL. I. K 114 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NxVPLES. 1767. this enmity, as well as of the reconciliation which followed. It is well known by other histories how, in the year 1540, under the pontificate of Paul iii., the Company of Jesus was instituted to teach and convert, professing vows of poverty, chastity, and obe- dience ; how they were dispersed in various parts of the world, and in royal palaces ; how from being poor, they became opulent, how from the lowest places they filled the highest, from humble they became ambitious, and how many a dispute was raised or put an end to tlirough their means. In the year 1758, Joseph i. King of Portugal, returning after a night's orgies from the city to the palace, received a slight wound from a musket-ball ; upon inquiry being made into the authors and origin of this accident, it was discovered that several of tlie nobles and of the Jesuits had. conspired to kill the king, in order to change their master, the court, and tlie ministers. Some of the nobles were tried and executed ; and two Jesuit friars, re- nowned for sanctity, perished in prison, at the command, it was said, of the Marquis di Pombal, the all-powerful minister of Joseph ; another Jesuit, by name Malagrida, accused before the tribunal of the Holy Office, and declared to have seduced the people, ended his life at the stake in the city of Lisbon ; and the rest of the Order were all in one day embarked, and landed on the shore at Civita Vecchia in the States of the Pope. This was the first banishment of the Jesuits ; the second came from France, where Louis xv., urged on by intrigues in his court, by the persuasions of Pompa- dour,^ and the decrees of his parliaments, expelled the Company of Jesus in 1 764 ; and three years later, Charles iii.^ exiled them from Spain, commanding his son and nephew, the sovereigns of Naples and Parma, to imitate his example. In the middle of the night of the 3d November 1767, all the houses of the Jesuits in the Neapolitan kingdom (monasteries or colleges) were surrounded by the officers of the king and by gen- darmes ; the doors were forced open or thrown down, every cell taken possession of and guarded ; the friars, their servants and ^ Madame de Pompadour was implacable ^ By the advice of his minister, Count in her hatred of the Jesuits, since the Jesuit d'Aranda, and without apprising the Pope Father Sacy refused to reconcile her with of his intention. Heaven \intil she reformed her life. 1767. FERDINAND IV. 115 pupils, were collected in a room of each building, and tlieir furniture sequestrated, leaving no man anything but his clothes ; this done, they were escorted in a body to the nearest port or strand, and embarked on board a ship, which immediately weighed anchor : not even the aged or infirm were permitted to remain, departing so suddenly that all the Jesuits from tlie city were sailing past Terracina before the light of the 4th November had dawned. This precipitation and rigour was eitlier in consequence of the example of Madrid, or it was intended, by thus taking the people by surprise, and under the concealment of night, to hide from them a sight so affecting and impious. The edicts issued on the fol- lowing day ran as follows : — " We, the king making use of the supreme and independent power which we acknowledge immedi- ately from God, and which by his omnipotence is inseparably united to our sovereign right, given us for the government and guidance of our subjects, do hereby will and command that the said Company of Jesus be for ever dissolved and perpetually exiled from our kingdoms of the Sicilies." Other ordinances followed to assure the people that the property of the Jesuits, although confiscated, would be applied to works of charity, and for the general benefit ; tliat the self-imposed duties of these friars, their alms, obligations, and meritorious works would be continued, that tlieir places would be supplied in the services of the Church, and that after their schools had been reorganized, the public instruction given there would be both more liberal and erudite. The amount of wealth confiscated to the exchequer was un- known, because studiously concealed by the Government ; but the friars having perhaps heard, and indubitably suspected their im- pending misfortune, had already carried off many articles, valuable either for the material of which they were composed, or for the excellence of their workmanship. The expulsion of the Jesuits was variously regarded ; it was lamented by the weak and hypocritical, while the wise approved the measure, the masses showed no interest in the subject ; and the remaining friars and priests rejoiced, from their natural jealousy and envy of the prosperity and power of the Order. The minister Tanucci was triumphant, and the king indifferent ; but the mind of the youthful sovereign was thus 1,16 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1768. training boldly to oppose the claims of the Church, and to draw a distinction in his conscience between that which belonged to Christian humility, and what was due to his royal dignity. For many consecutive months the promises which had been given were faithfully performed ; and after the Government had proved its sincerity by its acts, another edict appeared, which I must here transcribe to the honour of the king: — " After the just and necessary expulsion from our dominions of the Company which calls itself of Jesus, we, by our paternal care, and by the sovereign power which we derive directly from God (taking upon ourselves to explain and alter the intentions of those who, in leaving their pro- perty to the said Company, mean to devote it through the works which this Society professed to perform, to the spiritual welfare of their countrymen), have founded public schools and colleges for the gratuitous education of poor youths in piety and in the knowledge of letters ; likewise hospitals for the maintenance of tlie male and female orphans belonging to the lower classes, and for tlieir instruc- tion in various trades ; as well as asylums for poor invalids or able- bodied vagrants, who, taken from a life of idleness, in which con- dition they were a burden and pernicious to the State, are now ren- dered useful by learning the arts required in our social condition. The community is relieved from the annual loans to the exiled Com.- pany for the maintenance of schools ; the people in the provinces are benefited by the division of vast tracts of land into small farms ; honest but necessitous persons are assisted by a fixed sum given daily in alms, and many other works of public utility have been performed, or are to be completed, when the first claims (those of Divine worship and the exercises of religion) have been provided for. By this use made of the property of the exiled Com- pany, the demands of public charity have been abundantly satisfied ; and with regard to the sanctuary, seeing the time is now arrived to apply the warning which Moses, inspired by God, delivered to the Plebrevv people, to bring no more gifts to the altar, Ave, consulting the interests of our subjects, and their secure enjoyment of their property, do, by this edict, resolve and declare all the entails or be- quests falling to the exiled Jesuits, but not yet in their possession, to be cancelled ; it being our royal will that the property compre- hended in the entails or bequests, shall remain at the free disposal 1758. FERDINAKD IV. 117 of the last lay proprietor, after whom it may be claimed by the Jesuits. " Ferdinand Rex." •' Naples, 2Sth July 17G9." In the midst of these transactions, letters from the Pope, in the form of briefs, were circulating throughout Europe, attaching the Duke of Parma^ for having, after the example of other sove- reigns, expelled the Company of Jesus. Clement xiii., by threat- ening the sovereign of a petty state, and a minor, whose anger he did not fear, with anathemas and censures, tried the efficacy of his spiritual weapons, before striking a blow at more powerful sove- reigns. The brief began by declaring that the state of Parma vras a lief of the Church, and that acts hostile to the Company of Jesus were adverse to the rights and authority of the papacy, and were made in contempt of the warnings, indulgence, and clemency of the most high pontiif ; it concluded in these words : — " As it is notorious and indisputable (by the Bull of Coena Domini), that the authors or participators in the publication of the above-men- tioned deeds, have incurred the ecclesiastical censures, so these same cannot receive absolution from any excepting ourselves and our successors." The duchy of Parma was governed during the prince's minority by the minister Guillaume do Tillot, a Frenchman ; without making any change in the administration, he appealed to the kings of Spain, France, Naples, and Portugal, against the Pope, who had offended all Catholic sovereigns in the person of the sove- reign of Parma. The King of Portugal, practised in controversy, expressed his disapprobation of the brief; the King of Spain refuted it, by reproducing the disputes and protests against the Bill of Coena Domini ; Louis, King of France, ordered his troops to occupy the states of Avignon and the Venaissin, possessed by the Pope ; ^ Ferdinand, Duke of Panua, son of Don Emperor Francis i. By a secret article of Philip, and grandson of Philip v. King of the Treaty of Luneville, 1801, it was stipu- Spain, and Queen Elizabeth Farnese, was lated that he should succeed to the grand seventeen years of age. Boi-n 1751, he duchy of Tuscany ; but the grand duke re- succeeded his father in the duchies of Par- fusing to consent, the arrangement was not ma and Piacentia in 1765, and expelled the made public, and the Duke of Parma died Jesuits in 17(38. He married Marie Amalie, in 1802. Archduchess of Austria, daughter of the 118 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1768. and in Naples, the royal chamber of Santa Chiara, and the dele- gate of the royal jurisdiction, determined to support the claims of the sovereignty, and while pointing out the fallacy of the pre- tensions of Rome, petitioned the king to provide for the mainten- ance of his own rights and those of the State ; the king, in his turn, after expressing his disapprobation of the brief, and forbidding its publication within his realms, commanded Benevento^ and Ponte- corvo to return to their ancient allegiance to the kings of the Sicilies. While taking possession of these states, and acting as their legitimate and hereditary sovereign, he confirmed the citi- zens in their present franchises, renewed those formerly granted them by past kings from the days of Roger, and promised them more as a reward for fidelity. The people of these provinces took the oath to the new government, ready to abandon the old, partly from their usual fickleness, and partly because generous minds revolt from submission to priestl}' rule, even when it brings with it ease and quiet. Upon this, the Pope conjured the Empress Maria Theresa to use her authority to bring peace to religion, to the Church, and to monarchs ; but she, feigning modesty and in- ability, declined the office, interdicted the Bull of Coena Domini in her own dominions in Italy, and commanded that the copies already introduced should be burnt. Such were the repulses which the papacy brought upon itself in the year 1768, by its insatiable thirst for power. King Ferdinand having attained the age of manhood, entered into a treaty of marriage with Maria Josephine, archduchess of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Francis i. The marriage having been settled, and the gifts interchanged, the day of departure for the young bride was fixed, and the festivals, which were to greet her on her journey, prepared, when she fell ill and died ; and the gala dresses and rejoicings throughout the empire, and in the imperial house, were changed into mourning. Another princess, Maria Caroline, sister of the deceased, was chosen for the wife of Ferdinand ; and in April 1768, she left Vienna for Naples. Re- * Benevento. Bestowed by tlie Norman pojies until 1077, when Landulphus the conquerors on the popes for the investiture last piince died, and Benevento remained of Puglia and Calabria. The princes of under the direct dominion of the popes. Benevento remained feudatories of the 1769. FERDINAND IV. 119 ceived with honours by all the princes of Italy, and more especially in Florence, whore reigned her brother Pietro Leopoldo, she arrived at Portella on the 12th of May, and was there met by her bride- groom. The palace of Caserta first received them, and from thence they proceeded privately to Naples on the 19tli of the same month, and on the 22d made their public entry in regal state. The fetes and rejoicings in the city and the palace lasted several months ; the king delighting in such amusements, the queen encouraging them from vanity, the courtiers from adulation, and the populace from their love of pageantry, and the profit it brought to them. A princess of the House of Austria, queen of the largest dominions in Italy, and wife of an indolent monarch, Caroline changed the whole policy of the government, which had hitherto been subservient to the will of Charles, King of Spain. The young queen was the better able to succeed, as she was ad- mitted into the councils of state, which, though neither in accord- ance with the laws nor usages of the monarchy, had been stipulated for in the marriage articles. The minister Tanucci, who derived bis power from the Court of Madrid, was disliked by the queen, who was equally distasteful to him, and he lamented when too late that he had advised or encouraged the ignorance of the king. Al- though Caroline had not yet completed her sixteenth year, her understanding was mature ; and, beautiful and clever, she appeared a harbinger of prosperity to tlie kingdom, and attracted the eyes, while rousing the hopes of the people. Her brother, Pietro Leopoldo, grand duke of Tuscany, had followed her to Naples for her mar- riage ; and the year after arrived her other brother, the Emperor Josei^h, both of whom, while conversing with the most learned men in tlie kingdom, expatiated on their projects for the reforma- tion of their states, according to the dictates of the age and of a wise policy. Thus the whole progeny of Maria Theresa appeared to us a family of philosophers in high places, sent by God to re- generate the human race. Upon the death of Clement xiii. in that year, 1769, Brother Lorenzo Ganganelli ascended the papal throne, under the name of Clement xiv. Having learned a lesson from the vexations ^en- dured by his predecessor, better understanding the spirit of 'the times, and being desirous of peace, he proposed terms of accom- 120 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1709-74. modation to the offended monarclis. Appeased by his urbanity and proffered pledges of friendship, they accepted the nuncios, sent ambassadors to his court, and restored to him the dominions which had been occupied by their troops. While maintaining the promises he had given, the pontiff reflected that the discord which was hardly extinguished proceeded from, or was aggravated by, the afiair of the Company of Jesus, and, yielding to the continued en- treaties of the princes, he published a brief, in which he confirmed their banishment. The brief was couched in the ambiguous lan- guage of Rome, and so as almost to appear as if, to avoid a worse evil, the pope had consented to yield before the superior power of the princes ;^ but they, who were both proud and jealous of their prerogatives, yet in awe of the priest for conscience' sake, in their turn dissembled, and appeared not to perceive his duplicity. Clement was enjoying the fruits of this peace, when he was seized by an illness of Avhich he died, after great suffering. The circumstances of his disease and of his death, or certain anti- dotes he had taken, confirmed the rumour that he had died of poison, administered by the friars of the Order in revenge for the brief which deprived these robbers of their privileges, and the ex- pectation of recovering their former wealth. If the rumour was false, the suspicion was not improbable. Pius VI., Cardinal Braschi, became Pope. As the King of Naples, through his ministers, had opposed his election, the two sovereigns, both from political and personal motives, were doubly hostile to one another. The archiepiscopal see of Naples falling vacant, the king, although the right was claimed by the pontiff, appointed a successor, and commanded the new archbishop, in his pastoral letters, to omit the solemn words, " By the grace of the apostolic see," in order to prevent the bare supposition of the pope having had any share in his appointment. For three past centu- ries at least, the archbishops of Naples had obtained the cardinal's purple, but Pius vi. refused it to the new archbishop. Upon this, the king wrote to inform him that his refusal was only a fresh in- ducement for him to accomplish a design he had long meditated, 1 Ce bref est redige de maniere a ne non pour les torts, mais a cause Jes accu- point flt-trir la compagnie. II est remar- satioiis portees cnutre elle.— Tocqui'ville, quable la que suppression est prononcee, Refjne de Louis XV., vol. ii. p. 352. 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 121 to found a now ecclesiastical order in his kingdom, eminent in rank and wealth, and likewise decorated with the purple ; one which, in reality as well as in appearance, should vie in magnificence with the college of cardinals. This threat was intended as an insult to the hierarchy ; but, nevertheless, though the archbishop did not receive the hat, neither did the king found the order. Soon after- wards, Ferdinand nominated Francesco Serrao to the bishopric of Potenza ; he was the learned author of many works in favour of lay jurisdictions, and so noted a Jansenist, that the Pope refused to consecrate him ; and neither advice, menaces, nor entreaties could move him from this determination, until the king at last informed him he would cause the new bishops to be consecrated in each province by three of the existing bishops, according to the rules prescribed by the holy and early discipline of the Church. In the year 1776, a trifling accident gave rise to an affair of importance. It was customary for the kings of Naples (as has been already mentioned in the course of this history) to present the Pope annually with the chinea (a white horse richly capari- soned) and seven thousand ducats in gold. This imposing cere- mony took place on the 29th June, the day of St. Peter, when the ambassador presented the offerings in the name of the king to the pontiff, who received them in the portico of the Basilica of the Vatican, pronouncing these words: " This is the offering due to the pope for the donation of the absolute dominion of the king- dom of the Two Sicilies." That year, while Prince Colonna, grand constable of the kingdom and ambassador from the king, was riding to the Basilica, a dispute for precedence arose between the servants of the Spanish ambassador and those of the governor of Rome, causing a pressure in the crowd, and a disturbance, which was however, quickly suppressed. After the ceremony was over, the ambassador wrote to the king, informing him of what had occurred, and Ferdinand, through a despatch of his minister, replied as follows : — " The disputes which have arisen on the occasion of the pre- sentation of the chinea have afflicted the devout soul of the king, as, considering the place, the time, and the circumstances, they might have occasioned serious consequences to disturb the harmony existing between the two sovereigns and the two VOL. I. . L 122 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 177C-83. states. As this example has proved how an act of pure devotion, such as the offering of the chinea, may be a source of scandal and discord, he has deliberated and resolved that the ceremony shall cease for the future, and that in place of this act of devotion towards the holy apostles, he shall, through his representatives or ministers, perform whatever else may be pleasing to them. Ex- ample, reason, reflection, prudence, humanity, and conscience, concur to move the royal mind to this determination, the form of this act being solely dependent upon the sovereign will, upon his pious inclinations and religious humility. These sentiments of filial reverence towards the supreme head of the Church may be com- municated to the Court of Rome. Dated Naples, 29th July 1776." The Pope demanded the revocation of this deed, but, unable to succeed, protested against it ; and although the humiliating tribute ceased from that day, he continued at every succeeding feast of St. Peter to complain and protest against the conduct of the government of Naples. A few years later, the king privately offered him seven thousand ducats of gold without the chinea or tlie ceremony, as the gift of a prince devoted to the Church ; but the Pope refused its acceptance, declaring his rights more solemnly than ever, and the disobedience (as he called it) of the Court of Naples. The news spread everywhere of the good laws passed by Joseph and Leopold for the benefit of their people ; they were approved of by the savans, were highly commended by the Queen of Naples, the sister of these princes, even excited a certain desire for glory in the indolent temper of the king, and thus smoothed the progress of the minister Tanucci, and of other noble men of that time, in the difficult path which leads towards political freedom. Palmieri^ and Caracciolo,^ De Gennaro^ and Galliani,'* besides other men of great learning, holding the posi- * P(/Z7n?VH,professorof theology at Pavia; and Clement xiii. ; obtainetla pension from born at Genoa 1753; he advocated the the Empress Maria Theresa, died 1803. system of political reform introduced by 3 2)e 6'enHaro, a celebrated jurisconsult ; Joseph II. ; died 1820, appointed a magistrate by Charles, who - Caracciolo, a learned philosopher, bom confided to him the task of reducing the at Paris of a Neapolitan family, 1721; legislative codes into one ; born 17U1, died joined the order of St. Philip Neri ; was 1761. received with honours by Benedict xiv. * GalUani, a writer on political economy 177G-S3. FERDINAND lY. 123 tions of ministers or magistrates, ]iad, by their authority and example, diffused the knowledge of political science ; whilst the minds of rulers and subjects were alike preparing to receive sound reforms through the writings of Filangieri/ Pagano,^ Galanti,^ and Conforti/ and by lectures which had been recently delivered by Antonio Genovese, a prodigy of genius and virtue, and a man of vast erudition, though in poor circumstances. Academies, meet- ings, and even conversation, exercised their influence in the same direction ; for the good of the State was the theme of every one's study, and the applause of society surrounded whoever could speak best on this subject. The banishment of the Jesuits had roused a spirit of rivalry, and afforded the means for the organization of a system of national education, as the Government felt itself pledged to surpass the good works supposed to have been accomplished by the exiled company. Every community paid salaries to masters in read- ing, writing, and arithmetic ; a college of nobles was instituted in every province, where twelve lectures were delivered, two on theology, and the rest on science or literature ; the same was introduced in the principal cities of the kingdom, and, though fewer, in the smaller cities likewise. The instruction was public, and the professors were chosen by public examination. The bishops, who had the sole direction of the seminaries, under the authority of the king, had neither voice nor power of interference in the secular schools ; and when, trusting to the piety of the prince or to ancient customs, they had the audacity to meddle, they met with severe repulse and censure. Upon a bishop once de- nouncing certain masters for not observing the rules of the Catholic faith, he was answered, that the sole condition required from teachers in the public schools was, that they should be Christians ; and upon the request of another bishop, that some professorships ^ Filangieri, an author who contributed ^ Galanti, a writer on jurisprudence ; largely to the progress of political science born 1743, died 1806. and jurisprudence ; born at Naples 1752 ; * Co7i/br?i, professor of historj' in the uni- died at the age of thirty-six, 1788. versity of Naples ; he was in sacred orders, but was employed by Tanucci to write in ^ Pagnno, a celebrated jurisconsult, and defence of the rights of the Crown against friend of Filangieri; born 17-18, died on the pretensions of Eome; born 1743, he died the scaffold, 1800. on the scaffold, 1799. ] 24 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 177C-83. in his diocese should be suppressed, which, in violation of the papal bull, had been filled up without his permission, the king declared the permission of the bishop to be unnecessary, that it was an offence to ask it, and the bull which was quoted in support of this bold demand was for ever annulled. The University {degli studii) founded by Frederic ii., altered (often for the worse) by the kings his successors, and which had almost ceased to exist during the long period of the viceroys, had been revived by Charles, and was now brought to perfection by Ferdi- nand, who collected there all the intellect of the age. The salaries of the professors were raised as well as their hopes for the future of the university ; useless professorships were abolished, while seven new were added, which I shall here specify, to prove how the ideas of the time already leaned toward useful institutions. They were Italian, elocution, the art of criticism as applied to the history of the kingdom, agriculture, architecture, geodassia, natural history, and mechanics. An extensive building called the Salva- tore, formerly the monastery of the Jesuits, supplied rooms for the university ; it contained besides the academies of painting, sculp- ture, and architecture, the Farnese and Palatine libraries, the Herculaneum and Farnese museums, a museum of natural history, a botanic garden, a chemical -laboratory, an astronomical observa- tory, and a theatre of anatomy ; all of which were either wholly new, or improvements upon the old. The Farnese library and museum formed part of the wealth which King Charles brought with him to Naples, and to obtain which he had robbed the palace of Parma. The statutes of the academy of science and literature were altered and reformed ; for the trivial details and formalities of past times were abandoned, and only looking to the question of public utility, it was laid down as a rule, that the sciences should be applied to the service of the arts, trade, and medicine, and to the discovery of new truths ; while the study of letters was to be employed to clear up obscurities in the history of the country, to advance general knowledge, and teach the art of self-government. But it is a fact worthy of note, that by law the major-domo at Court was president of the academy, and that the honorary members were chosen by the supreme arbitrament of the king (such are the 1776-83. FERDINAND lY. 125 words of the statute), and from the highest nohility ; so impossible was it to emancii)ate any social institution whatsoever from the royal arbitration, and from the power of the nobles. The Hercu- laneum academy was revived. It was begun by Charles in 1755, but afterwards fell into neglect ; so that only four academicians, who happened to reach old age, remained, out of seventeen. I will postpone the account of the military academies to their proper place, and only mention here, that they were founded at this time. In these various schools or academies the most learned men of the kingdom were collected as masters or fellows ; other institutions of a like nature sprang up, and all of them as they became known were held in high consideration throughout Italy, and were an honour to their country and the age. As the limits of my work will not allow me to record all the illustrious names they produced, I shall only mention those who played a prominent part in history. Among the nobles were Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sanseverino, Francesco Spinelli, Prince of Scalea, and Paolo Doria, Prince of An- gri ; among the magistrates, the Marquis Vargos Macciucca, Giuseppe Aurelio de Gennaro, Pasquale Cirillo, and Biagio Troise ; among the ecclesiastics, besides Galliani and Genovese, the Padre della Torre, one of the three brothers Martini, the Padre Carcani, and the Archbishop Rossi ; and lastly, among the ladies, Faustina Pignatelli, Giuseppa Barbapiccola, Eleonora Pimentel, and, above all, Mariangiola Ardinghelli. Those classes in which the studies had been formerly least assiduous, were at that time the most zealously attended. Many valuable works were published, two of the most celebrated being, I Saggi Politici, by Mario Pagano, and La Scienza della Legislazione, l)y Gaetano Filangieri. The constitution of society was there explained, the rights of subjects and the prince defined, and it was hoped that the end of despotic rule and blind obedience was near at hand. The rhetorical style of these works, although unsuitable to the gravity of the subject, was attractive to the mul- titude, and therefore beneficial, because the arguments were ad- dressed to the suffering and the hopeful. The authors were com- mended by all, and received rewards from the government ; Pagano obtained a professorship in the university degli studii, and Filan- gieri Avas raised to a high magisterial place in tlie finances, and 1.26 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. received a pension, Avliicli relieved the honourable jDoverty of his family. I have thus given a hasty sketcli of the projects for the regene- ration of the state, conceived by men of genius in Naples. But one fact must be noticed, which is as much to be lamented as true, that while the first germs of political virtue in our age, and in that of our fathers, sprang up in the soil of Naples, merit has always been treated there as a crime, and fame as infamy ; and this injustice has been more frequently the act of their own countrymen than of foreign enemies. In no distant days from those of which I write, we shall find what was the miserable end of these very men, ordered by the government and approved by the people : for the noble ideas and Avise laws here described did not emanate from the king, nor were they understood by the multitude (neither of them being capable of comprehending so high a degree of civilisation) ; but were conceived by a small band of philosophers, and only appreciated by the few ; the vulgar, as usual, disliking anything which savoured of in- novations, which the government, a few years later, punislied as crimes. Less wisdom was displayed in the management of other parts of the State economy : Naples, which had preceded Tuscany in throwing off the yoke of the Church, saw herself surpassed by Pietro Leopoldo in administrative statutes. Although the muni- cipalities were left free to settle their own affairs, and after an examination into their accounts, tlie unfaithful discharge of their duty was punished, and though the administrator, syndic, and auditors, were elected by the people in Parliament, nevertheless, these privileges were of little advantage, owing to disorders arising from the franchise itself, and even from tlie variety of minds and interests of the individuals who acted as administrators, and of the municipal officers, some of whom made their living out of the duties, some out of the customs, and others by the capita- tion tax. In one place, the money was devoted to the erection of public works, in another to charitable institutions ; here the out- lay was too niggardly, there it exceeded what was required ; that which was approved one year was disapproved the next, and the projects of one set of men were overturned by another ; una- nimity and perseverance were wanting in the administration, and, 177G-83. FERDINAND IV. 127 tlierefore, nothing* great or stable was effected. The king once lent the commune of Pescotanza the money by which to purchase their freedom from the avaricious baron Pietro Enrico Piccolbmini, tlie grant for the loan being thus worded: " To enable them to withdraw from the servitude of the baronial yoke:'"' but this solitary act, proceeding from a momentary impulse, was the sign, not the substance of prosperity. The arts of life continued under the control of the guilds and consuls ; internal traffic was hampered by the contributions for the amione^ (public storehouses), and for the assise,^ by the baronial privileges, by the franchises and immunities which remained to the clergy, and above all, by the continual interference of the government in private enterprise or interests. The cultivation of tobacco was again freed from duty, but at the cost of burdens being laid upon other articles, such as wine, salt, pepper, paper, and books. The manufacture of silk, wliich had increased during tlie reign of Charles, excited the cupidity of his successor, and by being included among the arrendamenti^ for the exchequer, suf- fered from the conditions inseparable from a state of thraldom ; first followed a diminished product, then the extirpation of the mulberry trees, and, lastly, the decline of the national manufactures of silk and silken stutFs. Any mariner who carried on a contra- band trade in silk was punished by death, and the slightest viola- tion of the law by flogging. The rich coral trade likewise suffered. Torre del Greco, a beau- tiful city upon tlie sea-shore, at the foot of Vesuvius, contains a population of twelve thousand inhabitants, most of them mariners or merchants ; because the land being covered with lava, or threat- ened by the neiglibouring volcano, only affords a scanty and inse- cure support to the husbandman. Until the sixteenth century these mariners were in the liabit of coral fishing in the seas of Corsica and Sardinia, but in 1780, venturing out still farther, they cruised along the coasts of Africa^ well armed, and prepared for war ; and took possession of a little uninhabited rock which lay about ^ Annone. Every district was obliged ^ Assise. A tax imposed by the syndic to siipply tlxe public storehouses for the to meet communal expenses, coming year, before being permitted to sell ^ Arrendamenti. See page 24. or export corn. 1 28 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. twenty-four miles distant from the island of Galita, and forty-three from the coast of Barbary. They called it Summo, after the sea- man who first set foot there ; and finding the shore rich with corals, built liuts for shelter, and threw up defences upon the wood-covered rock. They proceeded no farther during the two succeeding years, when, gaining courage, they attempted expeditions to more distant shores, and, facing the dangers of war and slavery from the tribes of Africa, were successful in their fisheries beyond Cape Negro, Cape Rosa, and Cape Bona. By this good fortune the trade increased so much, that six hundred large barks, carrying more than four hundred men, and of a size to resist tempests at sea, departed every April, and returned before the winter had set in. The city having thus grown in wealth, splendid edifices arose, for the inha- bitants were indifi'ereut to the dangers which threatened them from the neighbouring mountain, and, if the city happened to be destroyed by earthquakes, or to disappear under a stream of lava, another more highly ornamented and more beautiful than the former was built up in less than a year, and upon the same site, from the attachment the people bore to the soil, and from the sacred feeling to home. The interests which sprung up from this coral fishery were so many, so vast, and so new, that the code did not contain laws sufficient to regulate the way in which it was to be conducted, and secure the ends of justice. On occasions small meetings were held, to consider some case of private interest, and were immediately dissolved, as the idea of acting for the common benefit had not entered the minds of the people, and one coral fisherman would often grow rich at the expense of his neighbour. Such mal- practices where afiairs of great moment were concerned, induced the formation of a larger society, which was, however, still only composed of volunteers, and, being without authority to control the public, could not supply all that was needed. The Government then stepped in to their assistance, and by means of laws, ordi- nances, and conferring the name of Company on the society, suc- ceeded in regulating the departure and return of the vessels, the fisheries, the sale of the coral, the magistrates, officers, tribunals, and judicial sentences. So many were the laws thus dictated, that the book containing them was called " The Coral Code,'' The 17/6-83. FEEDINAND IV. 129 company liad its own banner, a tower between two branches of coral upon an azure shield, surmounted by three golden lilies. As long as the society had been independent, although constantly engaged in disputes, and committing acts of injustice, the trade prospered ; but when formed into a company with a code of laws, and when strife and injustice were at an end, tlieir wealth declined ; for the society had been urged on by an indefatigable zeal in the pursuit of private gain, while the company acted with slow deli- beration for the common benefit. The coral fishery continues to this day, but has ceased to prosper. A good law was passed, by which waste land brought into cultivation was not obliged to pay the predial^ taxes for twenty years ; and if planted with olives, for forty. By other laws the uninhabited islands of Ustica and Ventotene were colonized, and subsequently those of Tremiti and Lampadusa. Tlie colonists of the two first, who were taken from poor but respectable families, were granted land and provisions for a certain time, besides instru- ments for agriculture and fishing. These colonies prospered, while the inhabitants of the other islands, which were colonized from the thieves and vagabonds of the kingdom, sent there by the hasty man- date of magistrates appointed by the king, soon died off. Tlie Go- vernment then sent fresh colonists to supply their place, but in too great numbers, causing a decline in morals and industry. This same solicitude for the public welfare, induced the Government to divide the city into twelve rione^ and in each to establish a magistrate or guardian, who was empowered to imprison accused persons, for a short time, and more frequently to send them to confinement in the penal colonies. As long as these arbitrary sentences were only applied in the case of the lowest and most disreputable characters, tlie kingdom was relieved from many flagitious persons, and the city rejoiced in an improved state of things ; but it was not long before respectable citizens were sent to these islands witliout trial or proof against them, and only on suspicion of treason, condemned by the license usual to unbridled power, and simply because they were displeasing to despotism ; the city and kingdom were again plunged in grief and alarm. ' Predial^ consisting of farms. The predial tithes were tithes paltl on corn, grass, wood, &c. See Blaclistone, vol. ii. p. 24. ^ liione. A ward or district. 130 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF XAFLES. 1776 83. A cemetery was walled in upon the spot called Picliiodi, and afterwards Santa Maria de Pianto ; it contained as many vaults as there were days in the year ; but the bodies of the poor alone were consigned to burial there, for the upper classes despising the place, interred their dead in the churches of the city. The archi- tect Fuga designed the cemetery, which was completed in a single year, from money given in charity. The most useful institution of the time was that for the royal archives, wliich was first conceived by Ferdinand of Arragon as early as 1477 ; Charles v. followed up the idea in l-5o3, and Philip III. in 1609 ; but the inconstancy of princes, or untoward circum- stances, prevented the execution of their design, until the reign of Ferdinand of Bourbon, who completed the work in 1786. By ordering that deeds productive of claims of mortgage should be preserved in the archives and registered ; tliat property should be cleared, mortgages made certain, and the sale of inscribed property facilitated, creditors were secure of their rights, and debtors con- strained to be responsible for promised payment. The system of mortgage which has been deservedly praised in the " Code Napo- leon'' was, at least in great part, laid down thirty years before in the royal archives of Ferdinand, though less extensive and ex- plicit, and of no pecuniary advantage to the State ; whereas the French code is comprehensive, strictly defined, and profitable to the exchequer. By the archives containing the patrimony of every family, frauds are prevented, and litigation diminished ; the measure, therefore, was opposed by the lawyers, who were already influential in tlie reign of Charles, and had become still more so under his successor. Whether as ministers of the Crown, magis- trates, or heads and oflicials employed in the archive itself, these men disturbed the effects of this wise law, which was, however, maintained in force by the unceasing cares of the Government ; and they thus deprived society of an essential benefit, by debts and claims returning to the old state of confusion. Still more serious errors were committed in tlie conduct of the finances. During the reign of Charles, the treasure of Spain, the profits arising from the conquest, and afterwards from the peace, together with the parsimony of the rulers and the contentment of the people (released from the painful servitude they had endured 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 131 in the provinces), was helping to remove, or at least conceal, the poverty of the exchequer. Tlie Concordat with Rome of 17-41, produced some contribution to the taxes from the ecclesiastical property, and the census of the years immediately following, proved the existence of many towns which were now subjected to taxation, but which had formerly been exempt, because held as fiefs or belong- ing to the Church. The wealth accumulated during the reign of Charles, was consumed under his successor. The exchequer drew its supplies from three sources, donations, direct taxes, and indirect taxes. The system of donations had in former times been abused, because the easiest mode of raising money under a temporary government, but was rarely employed by Charles, and only twice durino; the reis-n of Ferdinand. The direct taxes, assessed by the community, were paid accord- ing to the number of hearths in a district (a/itoco or fire signifying a family), some communities originally feudal, or at that time be- longing to the Church, and others, privileged by grants from former kings, enjoyed entire or partial exemption from the common bur- dens. The allotment among the rate-paying communities was not according to the extent or fertility of the land, the skill or industry of the inhabitants, their success in commerce, or (to use a modern expression) to their real value, but according to a certain rule of population, laid down in l7o7, which was rather nominal than real. By these errors, cities adjoining one another, might often be found, one rich in land and manufactures, and with superabundant wealth, the other poor in everything, yet the last paying more taxes than the first. The method by which the taxes were levied was not less falla- cious ; they were divided under three heads ; the capitation tax, that on manufactured goods, and the land tax. Ecclesiastics, barons, and those reputed noble, as doctors of philosophy, notaries, and all who subsisted without exercising a trade, swelled the re- spectable class of nobles, and were exempted from the two first ; for these taxes relating to the number of heads, and to hand labour, were supposed to refer solely to the existence and toil of the poor. With regard to proi^erty, the feudal lands (sometimes wholly and sometimes in part) being free from taxation, — besides those belong- ing to the king, or the exchequer, the church lands, the patrimony 132 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. of tlie clergy, the property attached to seminaries, the lands of the parochial clergy and the hospitals, — a small number of unfortu- nate landowners bore the whole burden of the direct taxes, which amounted to 2,819,500 ducats annually, which was increased by another 290,000 ducats under the pretence of constructing new roads. The indirect taxes included all which the subtle invention of the farmers of the public revenue had been able to devise for the benefit of the exchequer in every age and for every people. Skill, industry, provisions, recreations, vice and gambling, were all made profitable to the exchequer. They were called (as I have before stated) from the Spanish term, Arrendamenti ; and were for the most part sold, or pawned for new debts, or given in security for old ; in wliich case the purchasers or creditors were charged to levy the taxes, and even permitted to punish evasions according to the severe rules of the Government. They, therefore, exercised strict vigilance, stimulated by all the zeal of private avarice, and armed with the authority of public functionaries. The Arrenda- menti thus yielded twice as much to the purchaser as to the ex- chequer, while the rate-payer had to pay three times the real amount of the taxes. The king abolished several arrendamenti, that called del minuto (the excise), another levied upon the Capitano della Grascia, the chief magistrate of the markets,^ those upon tobacco, manna, brandy, saifron, the tolls levied on foot-passengers, and in certain provinces, the duty upon silk ; but in order not to deprive the treasury of sources of revenue, nor fail in the obligations entered into with the purchasers, new taxes, less oppressive to the people and more profitable to the finances, were laid on, and others in- creased. The following anecdote is characteristic of the times : The Government having become aware of the injury caused to the State by the arrendamenti, desired to buy back some of them ; and when the assignees (such was the name given to the proprie- tors) refused their consent, the king decreed that the case should be laid before the law tribunals, and submitted to a fair and open ^ Chief magistrate of themarlcets. Capi- were well supplied. The office is now tano della Grascia, a magistrate charged abolished, to superintend the markets, and see they 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 133 trial. The question under consideration was, whether the exclioquer might, upon equitable terms, redeem the arrendamenti, which had been transferred to other hands, and thus be enabled to change or reform the public finances, as the necessities of the State required. Among the judges was one Ferdinand Ambrosio, a cunning and avaricious man, wlio, when the sentence was about to be pronounced, finding that his colleagues meant to support the claims of the Government, entreated silence, and drawing forth a large crucifix from the folds of his gown, and assuming the tone and attitude of a missionary, addressed his audience in these words : — " Remember, gentlemen, we must die ; that the soul alone is immortal ; that this God (pointing to the crucifix) will punish us for having preferred ambition to justice ; therefore I vote for the assignees.'" His vote, however, being unjust, was not seconded, and it was besides known that a relative of the pious orator was among those opposed to the Government ; the arrendamenfo of salt therefore was redeemed. In spite of the disordered state of the internal administration, it contributed annually 14,400,000 ducats to the revenue ; yet the barons, although they possessed more than half the land of the kingdom, paid only 268,000 ducats out of this large sum. Feudalism, which had been only slightly depressed during the reign of Charles, daily gained in material advantages under Ferdi- nand, assisted by the labours of the lawyers, who, while they were eager to diminish the extent and power of the feudal jurisdictions, in order to add them to those of the law, were equally anxious to increase the wealth of the feudal proprietors, that they might share in it themselves. They found a powerful support in the Government, which was as desirous as they were to put an end to the mero e misto jurisdiction, as well as in the king, who, by habits, attachments, and the instinct of royalty, favoured the barons. Many pragmatic sanctions or charters of this period, therefore, are in existence, intended to repress the baronial juris- diction, while, beside them, are others maintaining their privileges and diminishing their taxes. The heaviest duties imposed upon the barons for the Adoa and the Rilevio} as they were termed, ^ Adoa. A compensation paid by the service. The payment was annual, and feudal lords to the king in lieu of military introduced chiefly in the fifteenth century 134 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-S.3. were seven per cent, on their revenues, whereas the most favoured citizens had to pay twenty per cent., most of them thirty, some forty or fifty, while otliers had to pay even sixty ; the feudal tithes, forced labour, and all the abuses called rights, continued ; so that feudal districts could be distinguished at first sight by the poverty of the houses, the squalid appearance of the inhabitants, and the want of those comforts and embellishments usually found in cities ; there were none of the signs of civilisation, neither an exchange, court of law, nor theatre, while the marks of tyranny and bondage were many ; castles, spacious dungeons, monasteries, or the dwellings of extinct bishoprics, with a few other large and fortified palaces of the nobles, were scattered here and there amidst heaps of ruins and cottages. The eminent historian, Giuseppe Maria Galanti, hardly ventured to state the almost in- credible fact, that in the fief of San Gennaro di Palma, at a distance of only fifteen miles (five leagues) from Naj^les, visited by him in 1 789, the only persons inhabiting houses were the agents of the baron, and that the people, 1 0,000 human beings, were seeking shel- ter from the inclemency of the season like beasts, under hurdles or straw-ricks, and in caves. Such was the condition of the fiefs, and yet in a kingdom numbering 276.5 cities, towns, or inhabited places, all but fifty were, in 1734, under feudal dominion, and all but 200 in 1 789. Happily the feudal lords, improved by living in a more civilized age, were then ashamed of the worst abuses of their power. The above-mentioned laws, relating to the economy of the State, were all that occurred worthy of note during thirty years. The ad- ministration and the finances continued barbarous and servile as in the time of Charles, for we did not profit by the examples set us by other kingdoms, or even by our neighbour Tuscany, the native land of Tanucci, and where Pietro Leopoldo had proclaimed the enfran- chisement of property, the division of land, the abolition of predial servitude, and (liis true glory)'cominercial freedom. Everything, how- ever, relating to trials, magistrates, and judicial matters, was better under Ferdinand the Catliolic ; it had he- bound to pay, was eutered, and formed part come so common in Naples, that a regular of the public revenue. — Eilevio, the fino registry, called the Cedolaris, was fonned, paid on succeeding to a property by the in which the Adoa each feudal lord was death of the former proprietor. 177G 83. FERDINAND lY. loO provided for in Naples. The jurisdiction of the barons, and the number of their armed retainers, was limited by new enactments, and the power of the Crown and the commons increased in propor- tion, but with them likewise the authority of the courts of law, where the utmost effrontery was displayed in dishonest dealings, dangerous to the State. Several ordinances were passed intended to curb their vices, by obliging lawyers to undergo a prescribed course of study, examination, and discipline ; their rapacity was checked by a tariff, and their perfidy by threats of punishment, in which they were stigmatized as cavillers and ignorant and un- mannered persons. Nevertheless their old habits prevailed, and the profession of the law was swelled by men of every condition in life, the lawyer's gown being worn even by the lowest of the people. Marriages were wisely regulated by new laws, which, while strengthening the paternal authority, and making promises and vows invalid, even though taken before the priest or at the altar, put an end to female artifice, elopements, and unequal alliances, to to the advantage of morals and domestic peace. A more im- portant statute regulated the forms of judicial sentences. As the magistrates in our country hold a position among the first or the most influential orders of the State, persons occupying that office, while delivering sentence, despising the usual forms and simple mode of explanation, assumed a style of autliority and command ; by which assumption of dignity, some of the judges concealed their ignorance, others their love of power, whilst all approved a practice by which their decisions were nothing more nor less than intimations of their supreme will and despotic power. But as men degraded by servitude find it more troublesome to think than to obey, the people submitted quietly, until, under the better government of the two Bourbons, and by the general progress of intelligence, their minds were directed to the subject, when they could no longer tolerate this state of matters, declaring, that under the pretence of brevity, the judges masked injustice, venality, and ambition. A new law was passed to soothe the apprehensions of the people, by which the magistrates were instructed to state the reasons for tlieir decisions, and, if a law were wanting in the code, to demand it of the king, and, wherever a doubt existed, to refer to him for explanation. 186 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. The magistrates rebelled against this decree, declaring that their dignity Avas offended, as well as their independence as judges. Under the first feeling of excitement, they proposed to refuse obedience, to oppose the measure, and resign their offices ; but re- flecting afterwards, that by reclamations and intrigues, they might obtain the repeal of the obnoxious law, they reserved extreme measures for an extreme case, and resolved to prove their riglits by demonstration. The immense body of lawyers, either from ignorance, adulation, or a love of controversy, took the side of the judges, and increased the outcry. The Supreme Council, or the first court of magistrature, was divided into four sessions called Ruote ; and whenever, from the importance or doubtful nature of a case, all met together, so much wisdom was supposed to be collected in the congress, that their decisions had the force of law. In the present instance, the coun- cil, in a congregation of the four Ruote, drew up, for the informa- tion of the prince, a bold statement of the errors and mischievous tendencies of the new statute, which they afterwards published. The wisdom of the decree was, however, supported by men of the greatest learning. It was now that Gaetano Filangieri, who had not yet completed his twenty-second year, appeared for the first time before the public, in a worlc entitled, Rifiessioni 'politiche su la legge del 23 di Settemhre del 1774 (Reflections upon the politi- cal consequences of the law of the 23d September 1774), in whicli he proved that, as the liberty of the citizen and the power of the monarchy resided in an exact execution of the laws, the arbitrary decisions of the magistrates were both tyranny towards the people, and rebellion towards the sovereign. The work was well received, and proved a harbinger of future glory to the young author. The king replied to tlie council by an edict, in which he declared, " Equity required of the magistrate that justice should be plain spoken, and not, as the supreme council pretended, concealed under an oracular veil ; that it belonged to the sovereign to create new laws, or to explain the obscure meaning of the old, and to the judges to exe- cute them ; that the decisions of learned doctors, and the clauses added by commentators, were intended for the study of the judges, and were not the laws, which were contained in the Pragmatic Sanctions." 1770-83. FERDINAND IV. 137 The edict proceeded to reject tlie exceptions proposed, and to censure any delay in tlie fulfilment of the decree, concluding nearly in tliese words : " In consideration of human frailty and the usages of the supreme council, the king pardons the sophisms invented and put forth in their publication ; and he hopes that by their obedience the magistrates may arrest and disarm the hand of justice, inseparable from majesty." The law tribunals were silenced by the menacing style of this edict ; and the terrified lawyers declared themselves convinced. None of the magistrates resigned their offices, nor did they resort to any of the extreme measures by which, when first discomfited, they proposed to save their dignity ; and from that day forth they announced the reasons for their judicial sentences, and public justice was more fairly ad- ministered. By an ancient pragmatic sanction of the Arragonese princes, the office of syndic had been introduced into the kingdom, to exa- mine into the administration of the jjublic money, and the conduct of the magistrates. This office was filled in the metropolis by the eletti of the market-place ; in other cities or towns by citizens chosen by the people in parliament. The examination of the public officers before the syndic lasted forty days in every year ; twenty were assigned to receive the accusations, and twenty for the dis- cussion, during which time the officer on trial was deprived of his employment and authority. Every man, even from the lowest of the populace, was allowed to accuse him of injustice, or of justice refused. If no charge could be substantiated against him, he re- ceived letters-patent approving liis conduct ; if considered guilty, a trial was opened for his condemnation. The kings who succeeded those of the house of Arragon, allowed these ordinances to fall into disuse ; but they were subsequently revived by Charles of Bourbon, and added to by Ferdinand, but without any advantage being obtained, since the other parts of the government, and the habits of the people, Avere not on a par with this institution ; and the fear lest the accused should shortly regain his authority, often closed the lips of the injured against a dishonest judge ; while private revenge would as often bring a just judge into trouble, only be- cause he had been instrumental in punishing those in power. The trials for criminal oflences continued the same as during VOL I. M 138 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. the reign of Charles : courts of secret inquiry, Scrivani, employed for this purpose ; the accused subjected to torture and other sufferings ; the judges using no criterion but their own arbitra- ment, and even the power of objecting to them, which had been formerly permitted, now revoked by a new law. The trial by Truglio^ was continued, and even increased in frequency, and in a worse form, because the wishes of the accused persons were not consulted, nor their consent made necessary. By a barbarous law, the class of thieves called Saccolari (piclcpochets) were punished by torture, ujwn proofs which only amounted to suspicion, produced hy secret inquiry, although incom'plete, and the accused unheard and undefended. A still harsher law prescribed the respect to be paid to the royal palaces, in which were included all the king's houses, the villas, country or hunting seats, with the porticos, courts, and offices of these same buildings, even when not inhabited by the king ; and capital punishment was decreed to whomsoever should brandish a weajoon within these precincts. By another law, the Society of Freemasons, as they were termed in the edict, were punished, and were placed on an equal footing with those guilty of high treason, and therefore rendered amenable to the tribunal of State, to be tried ad modurn belli; and the punishment, though not stated, was, by the nature of the crime as defined, death. Shortly afterwards, a new law classed all other secret societies with that of the Freemasons, as dangerous to the tranquillity of the State, and to the authority of the sovereign. To read the works of Voltaire subjected the reader to a penalty of three years in the galleys, and the Gazzette of Florence to six months' impiisonment. Flogging, which had been less frequently used before trial, became a more common mode of punishment. A new court of magistrates was instituted, under the name of Udienza Generale di Guerra e Casa Ileale (general tribunal of war and the royal household), for cases of criminal and civil law, in which military men and those privileged to appear only before special tribunals, were implicated ; and thus tlie powers of military jurisdiction were extended and became permanent. A general was placed at the head, and four magistrates acted as judges. The * Trial hy Triiglio. A mode of trial by demned in a body, witbout any separate wbicb tbe prisoners were judged and con- examination. 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 139 forms were brief, and the sentences without appeal. The jurisdic- tion extending from persons to places, another decree established that all crimes or disputes arising between the inhabitants of cer- tain houses, or in certain streets of the city, should be laid before the Udienza Generale di Guerra. The territory thus privileged in Naples alone, included a full twentieth part of the city, and contained not less than thirty thousand inhabitants. The j^rece- dent was followed throughout the kingdom ; and every fortress, castle, or military edifice, included a certain district and number of inhabitants in the vicinity not amenable to the civil jurisdiction. These encroachments on the civil judicature rapidly increased, and it was next decreed that no tribunal could try misdeeds or inter fere in the affairs of officials under the Secretary of State, as the king alone could decide the merits of the case. This despotic law was proposed by the Marquis Tanucci, to favour one of his subor- dinates in a civil suit. Amidst so many political errors, the amount and enormity of crime increased. A proclamation of the king against malefactors ran thus : — " Robberies upon the highway and in the country are so frequent, as well as assassinations, rapine, and other heinous offences, that security of traffic is at an end, and the harvests are interrupted." Magistrates and soldiers were commanded to arrest or put to death the disturbers of the public peace ; and merchants and travellers were advised to perform their journeys armed and in caravans. Brigadier Selaylos was sent with gendarmes into the provinces, with absolute power for the extermination of male- factors ; while these last were meantime invited to submit, and promised oblivion of the past and pardon, — a clemency which did not proceed from humanity on the part of the Government, nor was accepted because those guilty of crime repented their mit;- deeds, but was a hollow and temporary pacification, to which neces- sity obliged both the Government and the oftenders to submit. The remission of crime and punishment on the occasions of any happy event in the palace, such as a marriage or birth, helped to demoralize the people ; they were so frequent, that nineteen may be reckoned in the thirty years recounted in this book; so that the Nea- politans may be said to have moved in a perpetual round of crimes, barbarous punishments, and impunity, followed by worse crimes. 140 HISTOEY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 177G-83. The enactments for the regulation of commerce were ad- mirable ; and after Ferdinand had added new statutes to the statutes of his father, lie ordered that they sliould be registered in a book, entitled, The Commercial Code. This work, completed by the labours of Michele lorio, and published in four volumes, but not authorized by the king, and forgotten during the agitations at home and abroad which immediately followed, remains a document of good intentions, or is used as a guide in commercial transactions. The admiralty court was instituted to decide specially in commer- cial cases, and in all relating to mercantile and naval affairs, under the control of the supreme tribunal of commerce appointed by Charles. The punishments instituted against fraudulent bank- ruptcies were revived, and were so severe, that I read with horror in the pragmatic sanctions of the day, one which ordered the muti- lation of the offender. A duke of a high family, and among the leaders in the court circle, happening to owe for a bill of exchange, endeavoured, under the shadow of his name, to shelter himself from payment, and the punishments consequent on failure ; but, accused before the king, he was obliged to submit to the common rule, Ferdinand declaring, that neither exalted rank, nor purity of blood, nor the dignified position of a magistrate, should save the debtor who had incurred an obligation upon letters of exchange. By another law, the ex- change was founded, and it was determined that the bills with foreign nations should be made directly from Naples, and not, as heretofore, through the intermediate cities of Rome, Leghorn, Genoa, and Venice. After these rules had been laid down for the regulation of commerce, the king proceeded to confirm former treaties of navigation, and to enact new : first, with the govern- ment of Tripoli, in August 1785, on equal terms for the merchants, but more honourable for the king than the barbarians, who acknow- ledged liis superior dignity and power, — it was reserved to a more unhappy period for the Neapolitan monarchy to fall so low as to bow before the people of Tripoli ; secondly, with Sardinia, in June 1786 ; thirdly, with the Republic of Genoa, in the same year and month ; fourthly, with Russia, in May 1787, with whom he not only stipulated for commercial advantages, but in case of war, for reciprocal neutrality, according to the laws of nations. 1776-83. FERDINAND lY. 141 In every part of tlie administration, good statutes miglit be found side by side with bad ; but the first were more numerous than the last : the army alone, by the natural decay of every- thing which is neglected, degenerated from year to year. The pos- sibility of war was forgotten, as the last ended in 1744, and men had since enjoyed peace, until it had become a second nature. Under the bright and voluptuous skies of Naples, and with a fruit- ful soil, the inhabitants were like the climate ; the king was addicted to pleasures, while his ministers were only eager in their endeavours to promote civil institutions and ease ; the body of lawyers were hostile to everything warlike ; and the queen lier- self, though covetous of fame and power, was negligent of the army, because at that time useless for the purposes of ambition ; the regiments formed by Charles were already enfeebled by age, the walls of the fortresses lay in ruins, and the arsenals were empty ; military science, arts, order, and habits, therefore, were alike forgotten. The king, when a child, had formed a battalion which he had named the Liparotti ; and whom, as a boyisli amusement, he had trained in the use of arms. He afterwards founded the military college for cadets, but under regulations compiled by officers who were neither learned in their profession nor experienced in war. He next raised 14,000 militia by conscription in the kingdom of Naples alone, from the most abject classes of society ; to prove which, it is sufficient to mention, that barons, nobles, doctors, men holding any property, and those exercising professions or trades were exempted from serving, whilst the most degraded of the citizens were accepted, and with reason, as the military formed the lowest order in the state. Criminals, and those guilty of the most infamous deeds, were often condemned to military service; and still more frequently, galley-slaves and men taken from the prisons were converted into soldiers. Such was the military condition of the country in the year 1780, when, owing to events which I shall shortly relate, an army was raised. 142 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 177G-83. CHAPTER III. CONTINUATION OF THE REIGN OF FERDINAND. The queen having given birth to a prince, claimed, as had been stipuhited in her marriage-contract, admission and a vote in the councils of state. The king offered no opposition to her desire, but the minister Tanucci, who feared her talents and arrogance, as well as tliat of her family, first secretly placed obstacles in her way, and then openly attempted to frustrate her designs. She conquered, and the minister was dismissed. No king banished from his kingdom could more bitterly lament and complain of his loss, than Tanucci, at being forced to resign the ministerial office ; the neglect of those he thought his friends, the disrespect shown him by his inferiors, his deserted rooms, the change of scene upon the fall of his power, all the displiiy of those vices which are in- herent in human nature, were by him attributed to the surprising- corruption of the time ; and to escape the hated sight of man, he retired into the country, where he ended his days. Minister to the king of Naples from 1734, he was dismissed from office in the year 1777, and after ruling the state with princely power for forty- three years, he died in 1783, in comparative poverty, and without children, leaving an aged wife and a fair reputation. The fall of Tanucci confirmed the opinion of the powder of the queen, both in the minds of the people, and in the councils of state. In the bloom of youth, only twenty-five years of age, blessed with many children, beautiful, proud by nature, and still more proud from the greatness of her family, she found it easy to rule her hus- band, who was wholly absorbed in sensual pleasures. She changed all the foreign relations, broke off their connexions with Spain, and leaned more towards England than France. The Marquis della Sambuca, a favourite at the Court of Vienna, when ambassa- 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 143 dor there, was, tlirough her means, appointed minister in place of Tauucci. On liis arrival in Naples, he supported her in her laud- able schemes for the welfare of the people ; as, following the ex- ample of her brothers, she was desirous of gaining the approbation of the savans, and, therefore, proposed to introduce reforms into the kins^dom. Thus, havinc: become the centre on whom rested the hopes of the great, the ambitious, and the patriotic, she felt con- scious of her power, and was elated by her success. This change of policy, which made the kingdom more inde- pendent, at the same time roused the pride of the Government ; and, no longer dwelling under the shadow of foreign potentates, it became necessary for the king to provide for the safety of his dominions. Ruling over a kingdom coveted by many, and abound- ing in wealth, yet with a diminished army and navy, he was exposed to danger in the first war ; the long line of coast was unprotected, and commerce, which was now so widely spread, depended on the vacillating faith of treaties, and on the hollow promises of the people of Barbary. Both ships and soldiers were wanting, but as no native Neapolitan could be found thoroughly versed in military matters, the king sought a general for the army among the Austrians, and looked elsewhere for an admiral, who should neither be a Spaniard nor a Frenchman ; all these subjects were discussed by men of high consideration and talents in the private coteries of the queen ; some of whom were admitted there for the support they gave her secret wishes in the royal councils, or for proposing them as their own, and others because they circulated, or gave the authority of their names, to the acts and edicts of the Government. On one occasion, the Prince of Caramanico, the in- timate friend and reputed favourite of the queen, proposed that Sir John Acton, an Englishman by birth, at that time in the ser- vice of Tuscany, should be appointed admiral of the Neapolitan fleet : He had been covered with glory in a late enterprise against Algiers, and was said to be well versed in nautical matters, as well as in military science ; besides being a man of bold and energetic character. The Marquis della Sambuca seconded the proposal, because eager to increase his fortune rapidly, and aware that his favour with both sovereigns was on the decline, he was ready to flatter the views of those in power. As the opinion of Caramanico 144 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. met with no opposition, and received the consent of the queen, and soon afterwards of the king, the cavaliere Gatti was sent to Florence to obtain the permission of the Grand Duke Leopokl to engage the services of tlie new admiral. Acton was thus brought to Naples in 1 779, and was well received by the queen and king, praised by the great, and appointed head of the marine department. From causes above stated, the finances of the State were declin- ing ; the former taxes were insufficient to meet the increased ex- penditure of the palace, while to add new, besides appearing too heavy an imposition in times of peace, would have been more than the people could have borne. As the Marquis Caracciolo, ambas- sador to France, was reputed an authority in the science of political economy, he was appointed minister in place of Sam- buca, and it was thought that he would restore the administra- tion of the interior without the irksome retrenchment which had been timidly hinted at in the councils of state ; in this confidence, the extravagance of the king, the prodigality of the queen, the luxury of the palace, and the embarrassments of the exchequer, were in no way diminished. But the Marquis Caracciolo, though a scholar and philosopher in his day, was now enfeebled in courage and intellect by the advance of age ; and, while he perceived tlie errors in the administration, he felt, from the shortness of life and his failing strength, his own inability to apply a remedy ; the favour enjoyed by Oaramanico, and the rising power of Acton, excited neither his jealousy nor anger, for he only washed to enjoy in repose, past honours and present ease. The weakness of the minister, as usual in a despotic government, infected all members of the State, and opened an easy way to the realization of Acton's hopes. When the Court of Rome saw Naples governed by a minister too feeble to dispute her power, she proposed a new Concordat ; and the offer being accepted, sent Monsignor Caleppi to advance her bold and extravagant claims. But though twenty-two points were conceded, a controversy arose touching the Court of Nuncia- ture and the election of bishops. The Pope aimed at a separate jurisdiction for the nuncios, besides armed retainers, and dun- geons at their disposal ; and proposed that the prelates, though named by the king, should be recognised at Rome as worthy and 177683. FERDINAND I\^ 145 acceptable hy the decision, or at least by the spiritual approbation of the jwntiff — one of many formulas by wliicli tlic tyranny of tlie Popes had been exercised for centuries ; and it was therefore rejected. The dispute was dragged on to so weary a lengtli, that the congress was broken up, and Caleppi, the nuncio and the ambassador, dismissed tlie kingdom. The last glory of the Minister Tanucci had been the abolition of the CJiinea ; the last of Caracciolo was his resistance to the Court of Rome in the instance just mentioned. Such were the bold struggles for freedom and such the genius of the age. Whilst these disputes were still pending, it was remembered to the honour of the minister, that when viceroy of Sicily, he had banished tlie Holy Office, and had approved the conduct of the citizens of Palermo, who, when prevented de- stroying the palace of the Inquisition, liad broken the marble statue of St. Dominick in pieces, and scattered the fragments ; burnt the archives, and, throwing open the doors of the dungeons, had led forth in triumpli the unhappy victims confined there. In the midst of these transactions the most daring* and implac- able spirits were the old, the grey-headed, and those bent with the weight of years, who, remembering the auto-da-fe of 1 724, had excited the frenzy of the young by repeating the story of the sufferings of Gertrude and Brother Romualdo, re- corded in the first book of this history. Thus, praised by the world, and full of years, died the Minister Caracciolo. Fortune proved propitious to tlic ambitious schemes of Sir John Acton. He was Minister of Marine during the lifetime of Carac- ciolo, and, gaining the favour of the queen, while accommodating his view^s to the genius of the age and the spirit of the government, became popular at Court. He was soon afterwards appointed to the Ministry of War, and, at the death of Caracciolo, was intrusted with tliat of foreign affairs. Crafty b}' nature, and accustomed to deal with the passions of men, he feaied a rival in Caramanico, who had not yet wholly forfeited the royal favour, and that by his vicinity to the palace, the associations and memories of the past might be maintained ; he, therefore, contrived to have him sent as ambassador, first to London and then to Paris, and, finally, appointed viceroy of Sicily. Fearing public opinion, however, and anxious to obtain the suffrage of the people, Acton courted the men who were most VOL. I. N 146 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. esteemed in the kingdom, expressed himself averse to feudal pri- vileges, blamed the indolent lives of the nobles, and introduced normal schools, establishing them in all parts of the country ; he furthered the interests of commerce by restoring the ports of Miseno, Brindisi, and Baia, by designing many highways and roads through the provinces, and by proclaiming religious toleration in Brindisi and Messina. The circumstance of his being a foreigner did not deprive him of the respect of the Neapolitans, too much accustomed to this infliction ; and the absence of persons fitted for the office of minister, or ambitious of that honour, saved him from enemies of any importance, and removed obstacles from his path. While avoiding the responsibility of the public purse, he yet feared that some one minister, deriving importance from the present emergency, should supersede him in power and favour ; and, therefore, he caused the office of Minister of Finance to be abolished, and confided the management of these affairs to a council, because by thus dividing the merit and the praise due to success among thirteen council- lors, no one individual could attain celebrity. The remaining offices of government, those of Justice, Divine worship, and the head of the administrations, were given to lawyers ; Carlo de Marco, Ferdinando Corradini, and Saverio Simonetti, bore the title of ministers, but were in fact all subordinate to Sir John Acton, who, by his office, by court favour, and by the servility of those who surrounded him, was considered, and was in reality, the prime and sole minister, as powerful as the king, but more respected and feared than Ferdinand, who was thoughtlessly degrading his royal dignity by plunging into the most sensual pleasures. Sir John Acton was created a field-marshal, and from that day assumed the title of general, which he kept until his death ; he was next made lieutenant-general, afterwards captain-general, and, decorated with all the orders of chivalry in the kingdom ; he re- ceived several foreign distinctions, and, among others, was made an English nobleman for his services rendered to England as minister of Naples,' and acquired unbounded wealth. Endo"wed by nature with a robust constitution, and fine person, there was no gift of fortune which he need have coveted, yet he was often melancholy ' He became a baronet in 1791 by sue- bis cousin (in tbe tliird degree), Sir Eich- ceeding to tbe family title on tbe deatli of ard Acton, of Aldenbam Hall, Sbropshire. 1776-83. FERDINAND IV. 147 (as I have been told by one of liis family), and was apt to indulge in imaginary grief. He undertook to form a navy and army. As only a sufficient num- ber of vessels were needed to defend the coast, and overawe the petty sovereigns of Barbary, too small a navy or too large was, for opposite reasons, equally prejudicial to the country ; but to satisfy the queen and the vanity of the minister, a great many ships of the line were built, besides frigates and other vessels which, while far exceeding what was necessary for the protection of commerce, carried off seamen better qualified for trading ves- sels : besides which the exchequer was drained by this useless expense, and new reasons for alliances and hostilities with foreign nations arose, into which we were prematurely forced, by our recently acquired power at sea. Our land forces being nominally thirty thousand, but in reality fourteen thousand soldiers, the first idea of the minister was to recompose the regiments, so that the army should be again complete. For this end a new law was passed by which the commons were obliged to furnish a consider- able body of infantry, and the barons cavalry and horses. This contingent included volunteers, debtors, vagabonds, and men taken from the prisons and galleys. Baron Salis, from the Grisons, was invited to train the new levies, and Colonel Pomereul, a French- man, well known in his native country for his talents and services, to form the corps of artillery. Many foreign officers and Serjeants, either invited or brought thither by Salis and Pomereul, joined their ranks ; among them was serjeant Pierre Augereau, destined some years later, when general of the French Republic, marshal of the empire, and Duke of Castiglione, to fill many a page in his- tory ; and lieutenant Jean Baptiste Eble, afterwards first general of artillery in France, who shared in many victories, and died in battle in 1812; happy in not living to behold a change of standard. This levy was looked upon with dislike by the degenerate populace of Naples, while the discipline, habits, and orders in a foreign lan- guage were equally adverse to the feelings of the soldiers, and still more so to their superior officers, who concealed their ambition for command, under zeal for the honour of their country ; a foolish pride, since they had none of the habits of military life, and were sunk 148 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1776-83. in tlio corruptions of an idle city. The discontent at length became so loud, that the government, fearing a dangerous mutiny, dis- missed Salis and the rest of the foreign officers, with the exception of Pomereul, who, being only employed for a small part of the army, and acting with officers who were less ignorant than the others, had not excited the opposition and enmity of the multitude. The consequence was, that while the artillery improved, the rest of the army degenerated. About this time commenced the hatred the people bore Acton and the queen, while their attachment to the king increased, as it was believed (as was really the case) that he was averse to these innovations, although they were issued in his name, out of compliance to the will of his wife and minister. Fame having spread the news of the increased power of the kingdom, the Bourbons of France and Spain desired to form a closer alliance with the king of the Sicilies ; but the disposition and views of the Court having undergone a change, they met with cold replies, and, finally, repulses. Upon this, Charles in., writing to his son, as a king, father, and benefactor, advised him to dis- miss his ill-chosen favourite, Sir John Acton, from the ministry and from his kingdom : his advice was not listened to ; and soon afterwards when he offered to allow two Neapolitan men-of-war, and as many merchant vessels as the king pleased to send, to join the Spanish flotilla bound for America, this offer (in many respects so advantageous) was rejected. Wood for ship-building was refused to France, although it had been sold to her from the earliest period at a high price, and abounded in the forests of Calabria. All man- ner of incivility was displayed towards those sovereigns who were allied in blood, while every courtes}'- was shown towards the monarchs of Austria and England. Louis xv. was, therefore, ill- disposed towards the Court of Naples, and Louis xvi., after all hope of a friendly understanding had failed, was converted into an enemy : even Charles in. died displeased with his son. The order of time has brought me to the year 17S3, when a violent earthquake overthrew many cities, and altered the sur- face of a vast extent of land in Calabria and Sicily, causing the death of men and cattle, and a universal panic throughout both kingdoms. On Wednesday, the 5th February, about an hour past mid-day, the land of that part of Calabria which lies between the 1783. FERDINAND IV. 149 rivers Gallico and Mctramo, from Mounts Jeio, Sagra, Caulonc, and the shore, and from betwixt these rivers to tlie Tyrrhenean sea, was convulsed. Tliis district is called the Piana, because the country at tlie foot of the last of the Apennines stretches out into a plain, twenty-eight Italian miles in lengtli, and eighteen in breadth. The earthquake lasted a hundred seconds : it was felt as far as Otranto, Palermo, Lipari, and the other iEolian islands ; only slightly in Puglia and the Terra di Lavoro, and neither aifected the city of Naples nor tlie Abruzzi. A hundred and nine cities and villages with a population of 166,000 inhabitants covered the Piana : and in less than two minutes all these buildings fell, causing the deaths of 32,000 human beings of every age, men and women, more of whom were wealthy and of noble birth than poor or plebeian: for no human power could avert this sudden destruction. The soil of the Piana, composed of granite rock wherever the spurs of the mountains are prolonged, or of various earths brought down by the waters which descend from the Apennines, varies from place to place, in consistency, power of resistance, weight, and form. Whatever, therefore, may have been the origin of the eartliquake, whether volcanic, as stated by some autliorities, or electric, according to others, the movement was in every direction ; vertical, oscillatory, horizontal, rotatory, and vibrating ; and it was observ^ed that the causes of destruction were often ditferent and pro- duced opposite results. One half of a city or of a house sunk while the other was upraised ; trees were swallowed by the earth to their very topmost branches, beside other trees which had been torn up by the roots and capsized ; a mountain burst and fell to the right and left of its former site, while the summit disappeared, and was lost in the bottom of a newly-formed valley ; some of the hills were seen to become valleys, while the sides of others became rugged and steep ; the buildings upon them moving with the land, generally falling in ruins, but sometimes remaining uninjured, and the inhabitants not even disturbed in their sleep. The fissures in the ground in many places formed large gulfs, and soon afterwards mounds were thrown up ; the waters, either gathered in hollow basins, or escaping from their beds, changed their course and condition ; rivers met and formed a lake, or expanded into marshes, or disappeared altogether, and burst out anew as rivers flowing 150 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1783. between new banks and laying the most fertile fields bare and sterile. Nothing retained its ancient form. Every trace of towns, cities, and roads had vanished, so that the inhabitants wandered about in a state of stupefaction as in a remote and desert region : so many works of man and nature, the labour of centuries, be- sides rivers or rocks, perhaps as ancient as tlie world, had been changed in a single moment. The Piana was thus the centre of the first earthquake, but from the change in the whole surface of the ground here described, sometimes villages at a distance were more injured than those close at hand. At midnight of the same day there was a second shock, as violent, but not so destructive as the first ; for the people, warned of the danger, and already houseless, and without the means of shelter, were standing in the open air, stunned and desponding. The noble cities of Messina and Reggio, however, and all that part of Sicily called the Valdemone, sufiered more from this second shock than from the first. Messina in that year, 1 783, had not yet fully recovered from the damage caused by the earthquake of 1744, so that the present earthquake, by shaking buildings and land which had already been injured, overthrew everything, and thus new ruins were heaped upon the old. The shocks continued, until the land itself was subverted, and men and things which had been engulfed days before, were often again uncovered. The high chain of the Apennines, and the great mountains upon which are situated Nicotera and Monteleone, resisted for a considerable time, and though cracks might be seen in some of the buildings, they were neither thrown down nor moved from their original sites, and the earth beneath them had not yet been convulsed. But on the 28th day of March of that same year, in the second hour of the night, there was heard a hollow rumbling noise, loud and pro- longed ; and soon afterwards a great movement of the earth was felt, in the space lying between the Capes Vaticano, Suvero, Stilo, and Colonna, at least 1200 square miles, which was only the centre of the shock, for the concussion reached the most distant confines of Calabria Citra, and was perceptible throughout the kingdom and in Sicily. It lasted ninety seconds, and caused the deaths of upwards of two thousand human beings. Seventeen cities were entirely destroyed in the same manner as the hundred and nine 17s:j. FERDINAND IV. 151 cities of the Piana ; twenty-one, besides, were partly laid in ruins and partly injured ; more than a hundred small villages were sub- merged or tottering ; and that which was standing upright one day, was the next thrown down ; the shocks continued with the same violence and destructive force for seven months, until August of that year, a time which seemed like eternity, because measured by seconds. Whirlwinds, tempests, volcanic fires and conflagrations, rain, wind, and thunder, accompanied the earthquakes ; all tlie powers of nature were shaken : it seemed as if her bonds were loosened, and that the hour had arrived for the commencement of the new era. In the night of the 5th February, whilst the earth was still convulsed, a meteor burst and swept away the liighest part of several buildings ; a bell-tower in Messina had the top carried off, an ancient tower in Radicena was cut across above the base, and a lieap of rubbish (so massive as to contain part of the staircase) remains still in the j)lace where it was thrown, and is pointed out as a curiosity to the stranger. Many roofs and cor- nices, instead of falling upon the ruins of the buildings to which they belonged, were carried away by the whirlwinds, and fell in distant places. Meantime the sea between Charybdis and Scylla, and along the coast, near Reggio and Messina, was raised several braccia,^ invaded the shores, and in retreating to its own bed, swept away with it men and cattle. Thus perished about two thousand persons in Scylla alone, all of whom had fled to the sandy beach, or had taken refuge in boats to escape the dangers of the land. The prince of Scylla, who was amongst them, disappeared in a moment, and neither the efforts of his servants and relatives, nor the pro- mise of ample rewards, could lead to the discovery of the body, which they wished to honour with a tomb. Etna and Stromboli emitted a larger quantity of lava and inflamed matter than usual,^ but this calamity did not excite much attention at the time, from being far the least disaster. Vesuvius remained quiet. Conflagra- tions, worse than any fire from the volcano, were the consequence ^ More than twenty feet. See Lyell's vapour towards tlie beginning, and Stroni- Principles of Geologij, p. 418. boH towards the close of the commotions. 2 The great crater of Etna is said to — Lyell's Principles of Geoloc/;/, p. 488. have given out a considerable quantity of 152 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1783. of the earthquake ; for in the fall of the houses, the beams came in contact with the burning stoves, and the flames, fanned by the wind, spread so vast a fire around, that it appeared to issue from the bosom of the earth, which gave rise to false stories and the belief in subterranean heat. This was confirmed by the loud noise and rumbling sound like thunder which was sometimes heard preceding and sometimes accompanying the shocks, but more frequently alone and very terrific. The sky was cloudy yet serene, rain falling, the weather variable, and there was no sign of the approaching earthquake ; the indications ob- served one day were missing on the morrow, and others were discovered, until it was found that the earth shook under eveiy aspect of the heavens. A new calamity appeared ; a thick cloud, which dimmed the light of day, and increased the intense dark- ness of night, which was pungent to the eyes, oppressive to the breath, fetid and motionless, hung upon the atmosphere of Calabria for more than twenty days, and was followed by melancholy, disease, and shortness of breath, felt by man and beast. I must now turn to a still more tragical part of the history ; the misery endured by the inhabitants of this region. All Avho were within their houses on the Plana, at the first earthquake of the oth February, perished, with the exception of those who remained half alive under the casual shelter of beams, or other parts of buildings, which happened to fall in an arch over them ; ihey were fortunate, if disinterred while still living, but their fate was dreadful when left to die there of starvation. Those who chanced to be in the open air were saved, though not even all of them ; for some were carried down in the gulfs which opened beneath their feet, others swept oif by the waves of the sea as they returned, and others struck by materials blown along with violence by the whirlwind ; but more miserable than any, were those who remained spectators of the ruin of their houses, under- neath which lay buried a wife, a father, or children. As some years later I conversed with eye-witnesses of this catastrojihe, and with men and women who had been dug out of the ruins, I am able, as far as relates to the feelings and character then exhibited, to delineate the moral eflfects of the earthquake of Calabria; a more difficult task than the description of its physical aspects. 17S3. FERDINAND IV. 153 The first shock was preceded by no sign on earth, or in the lieavcns, to excite citlier alarm or suspicion ; but at the move- ment and tlie sight of the destruction of everjtliing around them, all were seized with panic, so that, losing their reason, and even the instinct of self-preservation, they remained stunned and motionless. As their senses returned, the first sensation of those who had escaped was joy at their good fortune ; but the joy was fleeting, for it was immediately succeeded by the overwhelm- ing thought of the loss of their families, tlie destruction of their homes, and, amidst the various forms of death with which they were surrounded, the fear that their last moment was at hand. They were still more agonized by the recollection that their rela- tions might be alive beneath the ruins, and by perceiving the impossibility of helping them, they could only hope (a fearful consolation !) that they were dead. How many fathers and hus- bands could be seen wandering amidst the rubbish which covered those they loved, unable to raise these piles of masonry, and vainly calling to passers-by for assistance, until at last, in despair, they sat weeping day and night over the stones. In this mortal abandon- ment they turned to religion, and vowed offerings to the Deity and a future life of contrition and penance ; Wednesday, in every week, was to be held sacred, and the 5th February in every year ; on which days they hoped to appease the wrath of God by self- inflicted torture and solemn festivals in the church. But the most dreadful fate (worse than can either be pictured or conceived) was that of those who remained alive beneath the rubbish, waiting for aid with eager and doubtful hope; they blamed the tardiness of their friends and those they loved best in life, accused them of avarice and ingratitude ; and when, overcome by hunger and misery, they lost their senses and memory, and fainted, the last sentiments they breathed were those of indignation at their relatives, and hatred of the human race. Many were disin- terred by the affectionate care of kindred, and a i^ew more by the earthquake itself, which, while disgorging the first ruins, restored them to the light of day. When all the bodies were uncovered, it was found that a fourth part of these unhappy beings would have been saved alive, if assistance had not been delayed, and that the men had died while struggling to disengage themselves from the 154 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1783. rubbish, whilst the women had covered their foces with their hands in despair, or were tearing their hair. There were likewise mothers, indifferent to their own suiferings, while protecting their children by making an arch of their own bodies over them, or hold- ing their arms extended towards their beloved ones, although unable to reach them through the rubbish, and many proofs were here given of the masculine courage and strong aifections of women. An infant at the breast, which afterwards expired, was disin- terred in a dying state on the third day ; a woman with child, who had remained thirty hours beneath the stones and been rescued by the tenderness of her husband, gave birth to a healthy infant some days later, and the child survived a long time ; when the mother was asked what was the subject of her thoughts beneath the ruins, she replied, " I was waiting." A girl of eleven years of age was dug out on the sixth day, and survived ; another of six- teen, Eloisa Basili, remained buried eleven days, holding a boy in her arras who expired on the fourth, so that his body when taken out, was corrupt and putrid ; but she had not been able to rid herself of the corpse, because they were both inclosed by the rubbish, and she counted the days by the dim light which penetrated even to this tomb. The tenacity of life in the case of certain animals was still more remarkable; two mules continued to live under a heap of ruins, one twenty-two days, and the other twenty-three; even a turkey sur- vived twenty-two days, and two pigs remained thirty-two days alive underground. Both beasts and men, when brought again into the light of day, exhibited a dull apathy and indiiference to food, but an unquenchable thirst, and were nearly blind ; the usual effects of a prolonged fast. Of the human beings saved, some recovered their health and spirits, while others continued suffering and melancholy : this difference was attributed to the differ- ence of time when succour reached them ; whether before or after they had lost hope. The servant girl Basili, though handsome, and well provided for in the house of her master, sought after and admired for her adventures, never relaxed into a smile during the remainder of her life : in short, all who had been rescued, when asked their thoughts while they were beneath the ground, answered by relating their histories as I have given them, but each con- 1783. FERDINAND IV. 155 eluded by sa^nng ; " Thus far I remember, and then I fell asleep." None of them lived long ; the unhappy Basili died young, before she had completed her twenty-fifth year, and neither wished to marry nor to take the veil ; she liked to be alone, and to sit under a tree, from whence she could neither see the city nor houses, and turned away her eyes at the approach of a child. A long interval indeed had elapsed before aid had reached the sufferers, but not owing to the indiiferencc of their relations, or of the people ; for, in the earthquake of Calabria, as in other events, good preponderated over evil, and while a few men showed themselves atrociously wicked, others displayed heroic virtue. In one instance, a wealthy man caused excavations to be made in the rubbish of his house, until he had found and recovered his money and other valuables ; he then stopped the search, although he left his uncle, brother, and wife, perhaps still alive, beneath the ruins. Again, there were two brothers who had been disputing the pos- session of a large inheritance, and, as will happen between near relations, were at variance with one another and enemies. Andrea fell with the house ; Vincenzo inherited the disputed property ; but anxious and uneasy for the fate of his brother, he never rested until he had unburied him, and was fortunate enough to take him out alive. But hardly had the magistrates resumed their func- tions when Andrea, deaf to all proposals of accommodation, had the ingratitude to renew the lawsuit, and lost it. Were I to relate all the instances of kindness and savage cruelty, of gratitude and ingratitude which occurred, I should fill many pages, merely to prove the truth of the old adage, that man is the best and worst of created beings. The cause of the delay in disinterring those buried beneath the ruins, was, that terror and the care of self-preservation absorbed every other thought and affection during the fiist days ; deprived of their homes in the most severe month of winter, ex- posed to violent rain, stoi'ms, and wind, their cellars destroyed, their stores of corn wasted, and the people of the neighbourhood afraid to bring victuals to a place where death was so constant and near, all their labour and money was devoted to the construction of rude huts, and the purchase of food for the support of life : the thought of their relations was faint and secondary. Habit made these trials supportable ; the rudest huts were 156 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1783. improved, and even embellished ; the inhabitants of distant vil- lages, attracted bv the love of gain, brought food and articles of convenience and luxury, and, when their sufferings and afflictions were abated, they returned to the enjoyments of life, to love and marriage. Society was re-organized, but not improved ; during the first days, the general feeling of terror had absorbed all other pas- sions, such as hatred, cupidity, and revenge, and there being no temptation to crime, that vicious population were for the moment peaceable and devout, except that when they saw the great with their heads bowed in affliction, they kept repeating with a mali- cious pleasure, which might be excused in the vassals of proud and haughty barons, " Ah ! now rich and poor are all equal." The inhabitants of the baronial towns, menials and low ruffians, who had lately been released from prison (as in the terrible commo- tions of the 5th February, a feeling of humanity had caused the prison doors to be thrown open), now began the work of plunder amidst the ruins, robbing the huts which were least strongly guarded, and committing murder and every iniquity: yet these very men were earning large sums by their labour, in building cottages or digging in the ruins, or by going to a distance to purchase food. Many families who had been in easy circumstances were impover- ished, and many more acquired great wealth. Personal property was for the most part destroyed, while in the new direction taken by the waters, the earth having been carried away in some places, and accumulated in others, rendered the most fertile lands bar- ren ; and distant kinsmen of deceased families suddenly received unhoped-for accessions. By the land belonging to one person being superposed upon that of another, and by other cases of disputed property, for which there was no precedent in the Code, nor guide for the decision of the judges, numberless changes occurred, and property was divided and subdivided ; and as suits at law had been destroyed with the archives, and papers and documents with the houses, tlie claims of private individuals were lost or confounded. The riglits of property were therefore as much convulsed as the earth itself, and these changes of fortune being so rapid and unex- pected, helped to degenerate the morals of the people. The first tidings reached Naples so speedily, that from its very suddenness, and because truths which exceed the common belief 17S3. FEKDINAND IV. 157 look like fiction, it was not credited. Flying rumours, besides messengers and letters, informed the Government tliat the disaster was only too true, and immediately as much as human weakness could supply against the irresistible force of nature, was sent to the assistance of the sufterers. Clothes, food, money, physicians, arti- ficers, and architects, followed by learned academicians, archaeolo- gists, and painters, all hastened to Calabria ; and, before any, the representative of the principality, field-marshal Francesco Pigna- telli. A junta of magistrates was placed at the head of the admi- nistration ; and the public revenue, and those of the Church, were collected and preserved in chests said to be consecrated ; order was maintained in the State, the taxes, of which the ecclesiastical property paid half, as agreed to by the Concordat of 174J, were proportioned to the distressed state of Calabria, while an extraor- dinary tax of 1,200,000 ducats was imposed on the remaining ten provinces of the kingdom, for the aid of the two which had been ruined ; and thus the afflicted population gradually recovered from their losses.^ In the summer, the stench from the dead bodies (some of which only had been burnt, and those too late), that from the stagnant waters, with unhealthy meteors, penury, distress, and bodily suffer- ing, jn-oduced an epidemic disorder, which spread throughout the two Calabrias, and added dead to the dead, and affliction to the affliction of the people. Thus the year passed miserably away, and it was not until the commencement of the year 178+, when the land had regained its consistency, Avhen the epidemic was spent, when the calamity was forgotten, or men had become re- signed to misfortune, that they were able to look back and coolly ^ Lorsque la nouvelle du fatal Louie- triner Fignatelli arant son depart. Pigna- vcrsemeiit de la Calabre arriva a Naples, le telH n'executa pas la dixieme partie des roi fit aussitot partir \in de ses ministres ordrcs qu'il avoit reciie du roi. II garda M. Pignatelli, avec une somme considerable une bonne moitie de I'argent qui lui lestait, pour secourir Ics habitans. Si les ordres et remit le surplus an roi en I'assurant que du roi eusseut ete executes avec fidelite, la Calabre etoit en bon etat. Pignatelli est aucun Calabrois n'eiit peri depuis I'epoque devenu I'objet do rexecration publique ; le du tremblement de terre, mais la niegere roi instruit quoique fort tavd de sa scelera- Autricliienne voulant affoiblir sur le cceur tesse et de sa perfidie dcvint furieux ; mais de Ferdinand I'impression de cette nouvelle, la protection de la reine a sauve Pignatelli. tacha de lui persuader que le recit etoit 11 brille encore a la cour. — 3Iemoires Se- fort exagere ; ct cut srrand soin d'endoc- crets des Cour b deV Italic . Pub. 1793. ] 58 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAFLE3, 1784 calculate tlieir losses. In the course of ten months, two hundred cities and villages had been destroyed, and 60,000 Calabrese had perished by all manner of deaths, while it was impossible to com- pute the amount of damage, which miglit well be said to be in- calculable. There w^ere the usual number of births, many and strange marriages ; crimes were frequent and atrocious, and afflic- tion and mourning everywhere. In the first days of the year 1784, the Emperor Joseph ii. came to Naples under a private name. Refusing the honours due to his rank, and the reception prepared for him in the palace, he asked for a guide and instructor to point out all that was re- markable in the city. The queen sent him Luigi Serio, a learned man and scholar, of agreeable manners and conversation. Joseph wished to visit the scenes of the recent devastations in Calabria, but was deterred by the difficulties of access, the winter season, and the want of good roads. He, for the second time, con- versed with those Neapolitans who bore the highest reputation for learning and patriotism, whose acquaintance he had made on his former visit. He again spoke with them of his bold and philosophical projects for the government of the empire, and, at his departure, left behind him a character for virtue and philanthropy. Anxious to imitate his example, and that of Leopold Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Queen of Naples persuaded the king to make a tour in Italy ; but the pride of the Bourbons not permitting them to assume private names, or to rest contented with a small retinue of civilians, they travelled with all the pomp of royalty. On the oOth April 1 785, they embarked on a vessel riclily fitted up, followed by twelve men of war, and sailed for Leghorn, avoid- ing the States of Rome, in order to mark their displeasure towards tlie pontiff, at that time their enemy. Arrived in the harbour, they were visited by the princes of Tuscany, with whom they pro- ceeded to Pisa and Florence. The old custom of holding a tourna- ment on the bridge was revived in Pisa, though, by omitting the warlike reality of a fiercer age, it was reduced to a theatrical show. Other honours and diversions awaited them at Florence. It is said that the Grand Duke Leopold, full of the reforms he had in- troduced in his State of Tuscany, asked the king how much and ir88. FERDINAND IV. 159 wliat he had done for his kingdom ; to whicli Ferdinand replied, " Nothing." Then, after a moment's pause, he added, " Many Tus- cans beg for employment in my kingdom ; liow many Neapolitans ask the same of your highness in Tuscany V But before the Duke could answer, the queen prudently interrupted the conversa- tion.^ The sovereigns proceeded from Florence to Milan, thence to Turin and Genoa, Avhere they embarked upon the same fleet, increased by English, Dutch, and Maltese vessels, which, together with the ships of the king (twenty-three men-of-war of all sizes), conveyed them as far as the port of Naples. They had travelled four months with so much splendour and profusion, which was reported and exaggerated a few years later in Gemiany, that Fer- dinand acquired the name of the Golden King. The city of Naples held great rejoicings on the return of the sovereigns, which was celebrated as if they had achieved a national victory. The journey cost the treasury more than a million of ducats, enough to have healed the recent wounds inflicted by the earthquake. The end of the year 1788 left the palace in mourning. Two of the princes, Januarius aged nine years, and Charles six months, were seized with small-pox just when a messenger arrived to announce the death of Charles iii., king of Spain, which had taken place on the 14th December of that year. Although he was suc- ceeded by Charles iv., brother of our king, the royal family lost the support of the wisdom and name of the deceased monarch. A few days afterwards the Infant Januarius died, and was followed to the grave by the younger Infant Prince Charles ; and at the funeral rites, which were celebrated in the royal chapel, the efiigics, and the names of the father and two sons of the king, were ex- hibited. This accumulation of misfortunes would have caused ^ Gian Gastone, the last Grand Duke of son, Leopold. Many Tuscans left the the House of Medici, died 1737. Under country on tlie death of Gian Gastone. his mild govemmeut, the attachment of More than 30,000 families settled in Naples the Tuscans to the House of Medici, which and Sicily, where they formed a strong had heen long dormant, revived. After bond of union among themselves, and, from the war between the Houses of Hapsburg their superior education to that of the and Bourbon, the powers of Europe de- Neapolitans, made rapid fortunes, and cided on bestowing Tuscany on Francis tilled places of influence and profit. — See Duke of Lorraine, the husband of ilaria Memoires Secrets des C'oitrs de Vltalie, Theresa, from whom it passed to her second vol. i. p. 2y3. 160 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1788. endless sorrow in a private family ; but the palace was consoled by eight living children ; the queen was pregnant, and these mis- fortunes befel a royal house, in whom the affections of blood are weakened by the habits of life, and the diversions of a court. That same year, 1788, died, universally lamented, Gaetano Filangieri, at the age of thirty-six, leaving his immortal work, en- titled, Sciema della Legislazione (the Science of Legislation), in- complete. His loss was bitterly deplored by his friends, as well as by the philosophers of the age ; but a time of great misery was at hand (then not far distant), when men as distinguished as Filangieri for learning and virtue were doomed to perish upon the scaffold, or under tortures ; and those who had mourned him, were then consoled with the thought, that his premature death had anticipated an age of tyranny. The king had gained nothing by his visit to other states ; for, as he neither cared for constitutions nor laws, nor the growth nor decay of empires, and had seen no land whose beauties were comparable with his own Naples, he returned to his king- dom more in love witli it than ever, and more than ever despising every other. This sentiment or prejudice, which he shared with his subjects, is confounded with the idea of patriotism in the minds of the most civilized as well as the most barbarous people. But whatever his motives might be, Ferdinand felt that he owed some monument of regal grandeur to the demands of the age ; the palaces and buildings which he had finished at a heavy expense were begun by his father, and the glory belonged to Charles ; the two theatres of the Fondo and of San Ferdinando, built in his reign, did him little honour, compared with the magnificent theatre of San Carlos, which owed its origin to his predecessor; and the other building of the Granili, as it was called, at the bridge of the Mad- dalena, was rather censured than praised ; the good laws of his reign, and the power of the secular jurisdiction maintained against that of the Pope, did not originate with him, but was begun before his time, and redounded to the honour of his councillors and ministers. He, therefore, determined to repeat his experiment which had been so highly applauded, by establishing a colony, like those in the desert islands off Sicily, and proposed to found one still better adapted for the promotion of arts and manufactures, in a place not 1788. FERDINAND IV, 161 f-AV remote from tlic palace of Cascrta. He selected for its site tlie rising ground called San Leucio, where lie built a number of houses for the colonists, and otliers of larger dimensions, for the manufac- ture of silk, besides an hospital, a church, and a small villa for his own residence. He provided, at a great expense, foreign artifi- cers, new machinery, and ingenious works ; and, when this was completed, he collected thirty-one families, who came there upon his invitation or their free choice, and formed a population of 21 1 souls. He next composed statutes for the regulation of the manu- facture, and for the administration of the rising society, and added a code of laws, of which I will here give a few extracts, as this was the true glory of the king, and a document of the spirit of the age, and as it gave no small imj^ulse to the political opinions of the day. A royal edict was issued in the year 1789 in these words : — " In the magnificent palace of Caserta, begun by my august father, and continued by me, I did not find that silence and soli- tude conducive to meditation and repose of mind, but another city in the midst of the country, which rivalled the capital in luxury and magnificence ; and, while seeking a place of retirement, I fixed on the mount San Leucio as best adapted to my purpose ; from whence the colony arose/' After having explained his intentions, and related what he had already accomplished, he dictated the laws, and urged the duties incumbent on the inhabitants, towards God, towards the State, in the colony, and in their families. The ordinances which follow are worthy of record : — " Merit alone shall confer distinction among the colonists of San Leucio ; there shall be perfect equality in dress, and all luxury is strictly forbidden. " Marriage shall be celebrated as a religious as well as a civil rite ; the choice of the young people shall be free, nor shall the parents be allowed to interfere ; and as the spirit and soul of the society of San Leucio is equality among the colonists, dowries are abolished. I, the king, will bestow the house with the implements of trade, and all necessary assistance to every new household. " I hereby will and command, in order to avoid those legal con- tests which are the usual sequel of the act, that none among you VOL. I. 162 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1788. make a will. Natural justice alone must guide you in your behavi- our towards your relatives. Male and female children shall succeed in equal shares to the heritage of their parents ; the parents shall succeed to the children, and, after them, the collateral relations, only in the first degree ; failing them, the wife in the usufruct ; if there should be no heirs (and none can inherit except those above mentioned) the property of the defunct shall go to the Monte,^ and to the fund for orphans. " Funeral obsequies shall be simple, devout, without any dis- tinction, and shall be conducted by the parish at the expense of the family. It is forbidden to wear black, except for parents, for a husband or wife, and then not longer than two months, when the sign of mourning may be worn on the arm. " Inoculation for small-pox is commanded, which the magistrates f-hall enforce, without permitting the authority or tenderness of parents to interfere. " All boys and girls shall learn in the normal schools, reading, writing, arithmetic, and their several duties ; and shall be taught their trade in other schools. The magistrates shall be responsible to us for the fulfilment of this law. " These magistrates, called ' seniori,' shall be elected in a solemn assembly of the citizens, composed of the heads of families, by secret ballot, and by a majority of votes. They shall settle dis- putes among the citizens, and pronounce judgment ; and their deci- sions on matters appertaining to the manufacture carried on in the colony, shall be without appeal ; they shall be empowered to punish all petty delinquencies in the way of correction ; they shall watch over the execution of the laws and statutes. The office of ' seniore' shall last one year. " The citizens of San Leucio in all cases involving interests be- yond the competence of the ' seniori,' or for misdemeanours, shall be amenable to the common magistrates and laws of the kingdom. A citizen delivered up as guilty to the ordinary tribunals, shall be first privately stripped of the dress of the colonists, and then, until he shall be declared innocent, he shall be deprived of the rights and benefits of a colonist. ' Monte. A bank where money is leu t by the Right Honourable W. E. Gladstone, out upon interest. See Farini, translated vol. i. p. 143. 1790. FERDIXAlsD IV. 1G3 " On feast clays, after the celebration of the day, and after de- livering up the work of the past week, those capable of bearing- arms shall go through their military exercises ; and as your first duty is to your country, you must give your blood and labour in its defence and honour. " These are the laws which I present to you, citizens and colo- nists of San Leucio. Observe them, and you will be happy.'' By such good laws, the colony prospered and grew rich. At its commencement it numbered 214 colonists, and now, after a lapse of forty years, there are 823. Their manufactures are excellent ; the operatives were happy until the pestilence of political opinions and suspicion penetrated this receptacle of industry and peace. But when the code appeared it was the wonder of the world, and delighted the people of Xaplcs, who, although they knew that these ideas did not proceed directly from the king, hoped to see the prin- ciples of government in the colony spread throughout the kingdom. Two of the king's daughters, Maria Theresa and Luigia Anialia, had readied a marriageable age; and his son and heir, Francis, was twelve years old, when it was proposed to form new connexions for the family by their three nuptials. Even the shadow of Spanish authority in the Court of Naples had disap- peared by the death of Charles iii., and the Bourbons of France were held in little estimation. The queen, therefore, liberated from foreign influence, and all-powerful over her husband, deter- mined by the marriages of her three children to strengthen the bond with one ally ; and, therefore, to unite the two princesses to two Austrian archdukes (Francis and Ferdinand), and the Arch- duchess Maria Clementina, of the same family, to Prince Francis of Naples. But the untimely death of Joseph ii. intervened in February 1 790. To him succeeded the Grand Duke Leopold, whose eldest son Francis remained at Vienna, the hope of the empire; and his second, Ferdinand, came as grand duke to Tuscany. The future destin}' of tlie royal brides being thus improved, the preparations for the marriages were hastened; and that year, 1790, the king and queen of Naples accompanied their daugliters to Vienna, where both nuptials took place, and where the preliminaries of the third were settled ; the betrothed pair being yet too young to 164 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OP NAPLES. 1790. marry, the queen was satisfied with having drawn the tie to her family closer. Splendid fetes were given in the imperial palace ; hesides Avhich the Emperor Leopold went to Hungary to be crowned king, escorted for the ceremonj'^ by Ferdinand and Caro- line of Naples, whom the Hungarians, after having honoured their own king, addi'essed in Latin, praising the reforms they had already introduced for the benefit of their people, and mentioning San Leucio by name. So far does the good or evil fame of princes extend ! 1790. FERDINAND IV, 165 CHAPTER IV. THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE AND ITS FIRST EFFECTS IN THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. The revolution begun in France was already, in the year 1790, disturbing tlie peace of the sovereigns and people of Europe, and effected so entire a change in the tone of the government in Naples, that it hardly appeared the king and his ministers were the same. I have, for tliis reason, divided the proceedings of the reign of Ferdinand iv. down to the year J 799, into two books : and as it would be impossible to comprehend the political changes of Naples apart from those of France, I shall give an account of what there took place (although well known through other books), but in the liope that it will not be unacceptable to the reader of the present day, and useful to the future. The disorders in the interior administration of France, which had commenced during the reign of Louis xiv., and had increased under the kings his successors, reached their climax in the reign of Louis XVL When, in the year 1786, it became necessary, in order to save the country from imminent ruin, to retrench the expenses, to abolish or restrict privileges, and increase the taxes, these measures met with obstacles in the habits and luxury of the palace, in the audacity of the clergy and nobles, and in the fears of the people. The ministers were daily changed, and, as is usually the case where there are disorders in the State, every change raised the confidence and hopes of the people, and restored the finances, but only for a time, and to fall again with the fall of the minister. The king summoned a council of notables, consisting of seven princes or members of the blood-royal, five ministers, twelve councillors of state, thirty-nine nobles, eleven ecclesiastics, and seventy-six magistrates and officials ; in all, one hundred and 166 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. fifty members. They met in Versailles in the beginning of the year 1787; Louis opened the meeting by declaring it to be his intention in this assembly to follow the example of other French kings, and that his object was to increase the revenues of the State, and to render them secure and unembarrassed, to disfran- chise commerce, and relieve the distress of his subjects ; he there- fore asked the advice and assistance of the notables. The Garde des Sceaux spoke next, pronouncing a eulogy on the king ; and was followed by the comptroller of the exchequer, Charles Alexan- der Calonne, who, in a haughty tone, endeavoured to impress upon his audience, the services and labours of Louis, the miserable state of the interior administration in 1783, its prosperity in 1787, and his own merits ; proceeding to reply to the public accusations, he charged Terray and Necker, his predecessors in office, with false- hood, and concluded by proposing extraordinary taxes to be levied upon ecclesiastical and feudal property. His speech and arrogant manner displeased, were unsuited to the times, and only increased the difficulties of the king and the government. His proposal there- fore met with the oj)position its author deserved, and such was the outcry raised against Calonne, that the king was obliged, from pru- dence, to dismiss him, and he chose, as his successor, the bishop of Toulouse, a violent speaker in the assembly of notables, but accep- table to his colleagues : when seconding the wishes of the king, the assembly proposed new taxes on the property of the clergy and nobles, and revoked many privileges ; after registering these de- crees, they dissolved themselves. Whilst the assembly of notables and the court of Versailles were thus agitated, the savans and friends of innovation in France were discussing the same political topics with popular freedom, and rousing the people to demand more extensive reforms than those offered by the king. When these offers, therefore, were (in accord- ance with usage) sent up to the parliament of Paris, the members, ambitious of the applause of the nation, refused to ratify them. One young deputy denounced the extravagance of the palace, and another spoke upon the necessity of convoking the States- General ; as this measure promised to be of great utility, as well from the powers delegated to that body, as from its being in accordance with the universal desire expressed by the nation, the resolution 1790. FERDINAND lY. 167 was dadlv heard and seconded. The convocation of the States- General, wliich was the commencement of the Frencli Revolution, was first demanded by the parliament of Paris. The king was indignant at this proposal, and summoning the parliament to Versailles in a special meeting (called in the Con- stitutions of France a Bed of Justice), caused the acts which had been rejected in Paris, to be ratified. But the Parliament, on re- coveiing their liberty, protested against the violence to which they liad been subjected, and the king, as a punishment and example, banished them to Troyes. Tlie other parliaments of France pro- claimed to the people the acts of the parliament of Paris, and as none of the edicts or laws had been registered, they could not take effect, and immeasurably increased the difficulties of the exchequer. The king at length, obliged to feign a reconciliation, declared the parliament penitent and su})pliant, and recalled the members to Paris, in order to re-assemble them on the 20th September. Ulion this day, with ill-timed assumption of power, laying aside the proper and usual forms of address, he read a decree, which imposed a loan of four hundred and forty millions, and promised the convocation of the States-General at the end of five years. Silence and consternation prevailed throughout the assembly, and the Duke of Orleans asked, with submissive gestures, whether this were a bed of justice or a free congress ? To which the king re- plied, " It is a royal session i" After the first speaker, other and bolder tongues were unloosed ; and Orleans and the deputies being exiled from the assembly and from the city, the new law was re- gistered by decree. It was next resolved in the royal councils to destroy the cause and germs of disobedience in the parliaments, by restricting the judicial authority, as well as by undermining the political power of this assembly. The king, therefore, created a new court, called the Coiir Pleniere, composed of peers, prelates, and the chiefs of the army ; but before publishing the edict, he awaited the arrival of the military at tlie seat of parliament, and until the agents of the royal authority should be prepared for the seizure and punishment of the contumacious. These intrigues were discovered to the parliament of Paris by means of spies and by bribes to those intrusted with the secret. They thereupon thwarted the edict by a public manifesto, setting 168 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. forth the institutions of France, the rights of the people and of the parliaments, and the obligations of the king. Menacing voices were heard, while more alarming disturbances agitated the pro- vinces, where the discontent was unrestrained by fear, and where the people were neither duped by the artifices, nor corrupted by the gifts of the court. In the midst of all this, the new taxes were refused, the loan failed, the expenses were increased, the adminis- trations were disorganized, and the treasury empty. As evasions were no longer of any use, the king, forced on by hard necessity, in the middle of the year 1788, convoked the States-General for the first of May of the ensuing year, and recalled Necker to the ad- ministration. So great an event in prospect soothed present irrita- tion, every faction placed its hopes in that great assembly, and the king himself trusted to their support for his despotic power. Tlie days which intervened between the convocation of the States- General and its meeting, were passed on either side in solicitude and active endeavours to promote the interests of their party ; but the labours of the savans were most successful. While discussing political questions, they explained what constitutes the people, and what the monarchy ; in whom the sovereign power resides ; what were the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate in the nation ; the judicial authority of the magistrates, and the prin- ciples of taxation ; in what consists the citizen, his duties and rights, and how far the dignity of man ought to be considered, in the end aimed at by the laws and the acts of rulers. By these lessons France learned to know and to aim at the attainment of that form of government best adapted to her circumstances. The idea of freedom did not then pass the boundaries of monarchy ; for the very men who one year later became the warm advocates of a republic, at that time terminated their arguments and hopes in a representative chamber, and in other forms which neither encroached on the prerogative nor the dignity of the sovereign. The States-General recalled difficult but honourable periods. Out of fifteen assemblies enumerated in history, beginning with the year 1302, under Philippe le Bel, until 1604, under Louis XIII., one alone, that of 1560, had been turbulent and ineffi- cient. The remaining thirteen at one time supported the king in his contests with the pontiff, at another reconciled dissensions 1790. FERDINAND IV. 169 within the royal family, sometimes furnislicd an army to repel a foreign enemy, and frequently supplied money to the impoverished exchequer ; but amidst the infinite variety of impulses by which such crowded assemblies arc moved, the peace of the kingdom iiad never been disturbed. The king was encouraged by these exam- ples, and besides hoped to introduce such persons into the States- General as would support the prerogatives of despotism. TJic deputies assembled at Versailles on the day fixed, but were divided among themselves ; for the nobility and clergy now per- ceiving the injury they would sustain by the fall of absolute power, and repenting their sliow of resistance in the assembly of notables and in the parliaments, approached the throne, although timid and mistrustful, but resolved to support their own rights (as they called their privileges) against the attacks and presumption of the Third Estate, wlio arrived elated, strong in their numbers, and supported by the arguments of philosophy. While this want of liarmony subsisted, it was impossible to reduce the three assemblies into one ; and, finally, the name of Third Estate being considered inappropriate,^ t-hey were called the chamber of commons, and afterwards the National Assembly. The instructions of their con- stituents were first read, by whicli it appeared that the electors desired the government of France should continue monarchical ; the crown hereditary in the male line ; and that the person of the king should be sacred and inviolate ; that tlie king should remain the depository of the executive power ; the agents of his authoritv responsible ; the laws only valid when made by the nation, and confirmed by the king ; the consent of the nation necessary for taxation, and that property as well as the liberty of the citizen should be lield sacred ; while all agreed in proposing that the pre- sent States-General should give the kingdom a code of laws, and that their future convocations should be fixed at certain periods and guaranteed. These were the instructions and demands of the French people in the year 1789, a document alike honourable to the age and ^ Because, tliough originally composed and many of the clergy joined them, after of men of letters, merchants, and lawyers, r: the proposal for the union of the three into Bome of the nohles likewise procured their one chamber had been rejected by the two own election as deputies to this chamber, _ first. VOL. I. P 170 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. nation. The necessity of a reform in the State was apparent to all except the king, the nobles, and clergy, who were blinded by the fascinations of despotism. On the 20th June, the royal guards stopped the National Assembly when about to enter their hall of meeting ; and after vain remonstrances, the members were obliged to seek shelter in a large building used for the game of tennis,-^ and there standing during the whole day (the old and infirm included), they declared themselves permanent until they should have given a perpetual statute to France. This resolution was sealed by an oath. The Assembly itself, the place of meeting, the declaration, and the oath, were the beginning of the Revolu- tion, which was now inevitable. The nerve and soul of these move- ments was Gabriele Onorato Ricchetti, Count of Mirabeau, of Italian origin, a noble, but deputy to the Third Estate from Pro- vence, and celebrated for his eloquence and for his political schemes ; he was a passionate lover and champion of liberty, but only of that liberty which the wants and habits of France demanded. His views were shared by other men of great abilities ; but while their honours were eclipsed by deeds of greater renown which followed, Mirabeau alone among the men of his time still holds an exalted position, and is held up as a spectacle to future generations. The meeting of the 20th June alarmed the king and the court. The king sent a messenger to announce his intention to address the Three Estates together, in a general assembly, on the day after the morrow ; and the next day, having summoned strong detachments of infantry and cavalry, he encamped them in a hos- tile attitude around Versailles and Paris. On the day fixed, he repaired to the Congress amidst the loud cheers of the people, and addressing the members in a haughty tone, revoked the decrees, and even the name of the National Assembly, and commanded the ^ The Tiers Etat had voted themselves was most convenient for the purpose. Work- the National Assembly on the 17th June, in men were accordingly sent there to erect a their single chamber ; they declared the throne, and the royal sitting proclaimed in taxation levied in the kingdom by illegal the streets of Versailles, but no intimation means, null ; but allowed its continuance was sent either to the Assembly or the until the separation of the assembly. The president, who, on arriving at their own king resolved to hold a sitting on the 23d door, were unceremoniously repulsed. — See June, to harangue the States in the hall of Smythe, Lectures on the French Bevolu- the Commons, which, on account of its size, tion. 1790. FERDINAND IV. 17J union of the three chambers in one. It was ohservcd that he declared : — " No measure of the States-General should take cftect without the royal approbation. That no king had ever done as much as he for the benefit of his people ; that he alone understood how to act for the good of the French, and (if abandoned by others) he alone would complete the work commenced, since he was the real and sole representative of his people." In the midst of this oration, the Garde dcs Sceaux read a paper aloud in which tlie words, " Le Roi le vcut, le Roi I'ordonne,'' were frequently heard, with other phrases equally at variance with the temper of the times. The king, then declaring that all the demands of that assembly had been complied with, departed, followed by the applause as well as by the persons of the members of the first and second Estates, and b}' the silence of the third, who remained in the hall for deliberation ; when dismissed tliey resisted, and in the midst of this confusion and hurry of time, they decreed the persons of the representatives of the people inviolate. Suspicions and uneasiness continued to increase. The king, tired of the lukewarm counsels of Necker, sent him into exile ; additional soldiers were collected round Versailles; the loyalty of the guards was stimulated by military banquets in the palace, and the queen fomented the spirit of irritation ; the stores of corn for that year, already scanty, were still further exhausted ; and popular commotions disturbed the whole of France. Yet both the Assembly and the king desired peace ; but peace to one party was new laws and a free government, and to the other, submission and the wonted docility of the people ; and thus from a mutual desire for tranquillity arose discord. Hardly was it known that Necker had been dismissed, when the minds of men being already prepared for some great event, all Paris was in a state of excitement, as he was believed to be the support of the finances, the barrier opposed to the extreme measures of despotism, and the mediator between the Assembly and the Court. The populace rose in a tumult, and bore the marble bust of the dis- graced minister in triumph through the city, vociferating praises in his honour, and menaces against the monarch. The Swiss guards, unable to tolerate this sight, rushed upon the crowd with their weapons, broke the bust, and interrupted the triumphal pro- 1 72 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. cession ; a triumph as undeserved as his exile, for Necker was only a well-intentioned man with fair abilities, vain, and unequal to the exigencies of the times, and owed his reputation and mis- fortunes to the present emergency : thrice honourably invited into France, and thrice banished, his fall was each time lamented, and his last dismissal was an act of imprudence on the part of the king. The three chambers, until that time at variance, were recon- ciled by their fears, so that they conjointly sent to petition the king to remove the camp from the two cities, and to arm the civic guard for the defence of the state. He replied, that the condition of Paris obliged him, instead of removing the troops, to draw them nearer, and increase their numbers ; that to arm the civic guard would at that moment be dangerous ; that he knew how to repress popular tumults, and that he alone was able to judge of the urgency of the case. These bold words would not have emanated from so timid a character as Louis, had not he, prompted by the instincts natural to royalty, by deference to the will of his beloved and haughty queen, and by evil counsellors, been long inwardly re- solved to crush the spirit of innovation by the force of his array, as soon as affairs reached such a climax as to justify the extremity of turning his arms against his own subjects ; and meanwhile the dissensions in the chamber, popular tumults and civil com- motions, were smoothing the way for the accomplishment of his evil design. But in Paris, the civic guard assembled in a disorderly manner, elected as their commander-in-chief the Marquis de la Fayette, who was distinguished for the glory he had won in America, fighting in the name of that same liberty for which France was now sighing. Suddenly there arose a cry in the city, " To the Bastile I" The most daring among the people, supplied with weapons stolen from the depots of arms and from the Hotel des Invalides, and their numbers augmented by deserters from the neighbouring camps, rushed with heedless fury to attack a fortress defended by high walls, plenty of arms, and a faithful garrison, and commanded by the Marquis de Launay, a staunch royalist, who despised the people and theories of political liberty. Vast multi- tudes presented themselves before the gates of the castle, loudly demanding its surrender by cries and by their messengers, and 1790. FERDINAND IV. 178 upon a refusal, their rage, excitement, numbers, and preparations for an assault, increased. It was a fearful day whicli saw, on one side, fifty tJiousand soldiers led by six generals with a hundred cannon, stationed in eight camps, around Paris and Versailles, other troops quartered within both cities, and with an armed fortress in their posses- sion ; and all these instruments of destruction read}' to act at a word from an oifended king: and on the other, armed ruffians, deserters from the army, the people, and vast numbers of the lowest of the populace. Fierce encounters were apprehended between the contending parties, and that the victory would decide the destinies of France. Tlie king meanwhile, eitlier terrified by the aspect of affairs, or from irresolutioji, only drew the camps nearer the city, upon which the citizens hastily closed the gates, fortified the walls, tore up the pavement, and prepared for defence. The civic guard of a hundred and fifty thousand men, armed in various ways, waited their orders from the civil authority, who sustained his official dignity with marvellous serenit}^ But the rabble collected around the Bastile went about with eager rage, seeking an entrance and attempting to force their way through the gates and over the walls, while hurling menaces against the garrison. The governor, tired of this clamour, and feeling secure in the fortress against the efforts of an undisciplined mob, while certain of aid from the neighbouring camp, ordered his men to fire upon the people, when some fell dead and others wounded. The crowds retreated, but rage soon succeeded terror, and so numerous were the enemy surrounding the fortress, that after they had passed the first circuit of walls, and the people were standing beneath the second, the governor, who had hitherto been deaf to terms, hoisted the flag of peace, and the fortress was surrendered to the citizens on condition of sjiaring the lives of the garrison. But a raging populace keep no terms ; the unhappy Launay leaving the walls was murdered, and his head, fixed on a lance, was paraded, amidst horrible rejoicings, through the city. Many acts, both heroic and terrible, followed ; the instruments of torture were drawn forth to public view, and seven unhappy beings came into the light of day, one of whom had lost his reason and was sinking from extreme old age, an inhabitant of the Bastile 174 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. from time immemorial, with none to recognise liim, and his name and country unknown ; another, who had been confined thirty years, and five who had been placed there during the reign of Louis XVI. That same day (the 14th July 1789), the people began to demolish the walls, and the National Assembly decreed that the Bastile should disappear. The spot so infamous for acts of tyranny, was then called "Place de la Liberte." The revolution advanced by rapid strides ; having been already declared in the acts and oaths of the Assembly, it was made irre- vocable by the seizure of the Bastile, and by the blood of the citizens. This last deed had roused the minds of all men, and while the court was overwhelmed with terror, the populace became arrogant, the confidence pf the people rose, and the world wondered wliat was next to follow. The king next day went to the Assem- bly without guards or escort, accompanied only by his brothers, and remained standing, while he informed the members he had come to consult them on affairs of the utmost importance to the state, and still more painful to his feelings ; he alluded to the disorders in the city. He, the head of the nation, asked the National Assem- bly for the means of restoring public order and tranquillity ; he was aware of the malicious rumours current against him, but he trusted for their refutation to the universal belief in his rectitude. Always one with the nation, and confiding in the representatives of the people, and in their loyalty, he had withdrawn the soldiers from Versailles and Pari.g. After the Assembly had applauded these words, and testified their respect for the king, and their joy at this announcement, Louis was petitioned to choose ministers better adapted to the times, and to show himself to the people of Paris. He granted or promised all they asked, and departed on foot, accompanied by the Three Estates as an escort as far as the palace, where the queen, holding the dauphin by the hand, was waiting his return ; so that it ap- peared as if the whole family of the king was united to the people in the bonds of concord for the happiness of France. The ministry was changed, and Necker returned ; many of the court retired either by command or from the warnings of their consciences ; the king went the next day to Paris in a procession composed of civilians, escorted by the civic guard, with the National Assembly 1700. FERDINAND IV. 175 in his train ; he was met by tlic civic magistrates, and was accom- panied by a vast assemblage of the people, who cheered him on his way. The hopes of all being confirmed in the speeches which followed, the tremendous spectacle of the taking of the Bastile was, by a freak of fortune, strangely contrasted in a single day with a triumphant peace. This flattering appearance of harmony lasted two months or more. The chambers made good laws which the king promised to ratify ; the clergy and nobles resigned their ancient privileges ; patriotic donations relieved the poor and assisted the treasury; and the welcome title of " Restorer of the national liberty" was be- stowed upon the king. Whilst the good elements of the state were thus strengthening, misdeeds were proportionably fewer. But under an outer rind of prosperity, two germs of opposite tendencies were secretly fructifying — republicanism and absolutism. Since the curb of law had been first loosened and then broken, time- honoured authorities fallen, and that of the king declining, while the path by which to reach the summit of fortune and ambition had been made easy, many bad or bold spirits proposed to insti- tute a more comprehensive form of government in the shape of a republic. On the other side, the habits and fascinations of despot- ism, which princes and the great can never learn to forget, sug- gested schemes of tyranny. The crimes or disorders of the people were the means by which the first hoped for the attainment of their end ; and those of the second, secret plots and connivance within the palace. Sundry indications betrayed the real intentions of both parties. On the first and second of October the Royal Guards gave a banquet to the regiments quartered at Versailles, and when in- toxicated, they were heard to give cheers for the king and the royal family, accompanied by insults and menaces directed against the National Assembly and the most distinguished deputies, who were mentioned by name. The king appeared amongst them on his return from the chase ; and soon afterwards the queen and the dauphin ; upon which the acclamations, auguries of success, abusive language, and hilarity increased. The queen did not forget this banquet when in the court circles, but rewarded those officers who had been most vehement in their lano-uase and ardent in their 176 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NArLES. 1790. offers of service with gifts and words of praise, while the ladies of her court dispensed amongst them white cockades, the badge of the royalist party. The guards prevented all access to the palace to those who wore the tricolour (the national colours), and some of the citizens adorned with ribbon of the three colours, were beaten and murdered by the body-guard, on the road between Versailles and Paris. Meantime the National Assembly, unsuspicious of what was going forward, sent up laws to the king, praying for his approbation ; but Louis, who had resumed the tone of an absolute monarch, answered that this was not a time to confirm such acts. Tlie tidings of these events spread throughout France, and Avere exaggerated by fame and by the malice of party spirit. The Republicans accordingly gained courage. On the morning of the 5th October, a number of women (upwards of four thousand) of the lowest description, uttering loud cries and lamentations, and pretending they were rendered desperate by hunger, re- jDaired to the Hotel de Ville to demand bread, and thence with the cries and gestures of mad women, proceeded to ransack houses, and commit robberies in the city, and on the road to Versailles. Armed with pikes and clubs, and led by some of the people who had made themselves notorious at the Bastile, they made all other women they fell in with, join their ranks, either voluntarily, or by compulsion. The civic guards having quelled the tumults in the city, part of them followed the women, suspicious of these new kind of troops, and of the uncertain humours of a female army. On a sudden, the soldiers stationed in Paris asked leave to accom- pany them, and as they could not be deterred either by the autho- rity or the advice of their commander-in-chief, twenty thousand bearing the name of the army of Paris, and followed by La Fay- ette, started for Versailles. They came up with the women when it was nearly midnight, and whilst these dispersed themselves separately or in groups over the city, the soldiers encamped in the squares. Many disputes arose during the night, and many more the following day. The women sent deputations to the Assembly and the king, to whom they related all their wants and wishes, mingled with entreaties and menaces, tears and rage ; the answers were kind and consolatory, and returning to their companions, 1790. FERDINAND IV. 177 they gave an account of all tlicy had said or heard ; and wrangled and brawled among themselves, until, weary with the fatigue of their new vocation, and with the rain which fell in torrents, they sought shelter for the night in the churches and under the por- ticos of the House of Assembly. A band of ruffians, however (five hundred or more), who had followed the women to Versailles, pre- pared for tumults, or ready to create them, took no repose ; but one after the other entering the gardens und courts of the palace, which were negligently guarded, they seized and murdered the sen- tinels, and gained possession of the royal mansion. The family, consisting of the king, the queen, the princess Elizabeth, and two children, awakened by the noise of arms and by their servants, fled to the most secret recesses of the palace; and meantime these hardened wretches, with their weapons bared, reached in their search the room where the queen had shortly before been sleeping ; finding the bed empty, but yet warm, they pierced it in several places with daggers or pikes. It providentially happened that they were unacquainted with the interior arrangement of the palace, and therefore could not reach the place where the unhappy family lay concealed, terrified and weeping in silence, lest the sound of their cries should betray them : many of the king's guards and of the servants were killed. But the civic guard of Versailles and the army of Paris now hastened to their aid^^i^d at the first dawn of day the deputies of the Assembly, and those citizens who were friends of justice meeting together, a guard was placed around the palace, and the sanguinary ruffians of the night disappeared. This horrible night, never effaced from the mind of the king, and never forgiven, was the chief cause of the slaughter of his family. The republicans desired that the king should proceed to Paris, where their party was strongest, and went about shouting with the rabble — " Tlie king to Paris I" The Assembly did not interfere, as they hoped for greater security in the metropolis, and La Fayette consented, because he could there guard the king better, serve the cause of monarchy in his person, and present him as an obstacle to both factions. The king made submissive by the alarm of the past night, but always declaring his wishes identical with those of his people, resolved to proceed that very day with his family to Paris. The National Assembly were to follow. 1 78 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. As soon as tlie news was made known, his departure and re- ception were prepared. The ruffians who had quitted Paris two days before, now returned triumphant, carrying two heads fixed on the points of lances, which bore witness to the deatlis of two of the body-guard, who, faithful to the king, had been killed fighting in the interior of the palace ; this barbarous procession, however, only excited pity and respect for the sufferers, and was a disgrace to those who triumphed. The battalions of women followed, but having laid aside the delicacy and modesty of their sex, they ap- peiired transformed into furies and monsters ; after them, the troops led by La Fayette marched in order, and succeeding these multi- tudes came the carriages of the king, the queen, and the royal family ; who, although they answered with smiles to the joyful shouts of the people, still bore on their brows the impress of gloom and suspicion, with the fatigue and terror of the preceding night. The whole conduct of the government underwent an immediate change ; the king confirmed the new laws passed by the Assembly, and confided the care of the city to the municipal magistrates, and the protection of the kingdom, and even of the palace, to the national guards. The ministers were retained as a form of the monarchy ; the municipalities, the electors, and the Assembly ruled the state ; the king was to all appearance a prisoner, but called himself free, in order to conciliate both factions, who desired at once to find in him the submission of a captive that he might not oppose the new statutes, and the power of a king to legitimize them. Louis now began to despair of a restoration to power by his own strength, or by the lielp of his party, and therefore turned his thoughts and endeavours to gain the assistance of foreign poten- tates, hoping to escape from France, in order to return thither with Prussians and Germans. But the time and opportunity had not yet arrived for the great struggle. Meanwhile France, set free from the restraints of ordinary rule, was governed according to chance, and to the abilities of those who happened to be in authority in each separate place. The first violence of the people was directed against the castles and baronial residences, where, excited by their hatred of feudal recollections, and burning and plundering in the name of liberty, they committed every kind of atrocity. Obscure men, in the hope of rising to power, 1790. FERDINAND IV. l79 met together in secret conspiracies ; and the nobles, flying from the unliappv land, sought refuge in foreign countries ; the words aris- tocrat and enemy became synonymous. The court nobility migrated to Coblentz, and the provincial nobility to Piedmont, where, under the Count d'Artois, the brother of the Idng, they opposed the Re- volution by plots and arms, all which only helped to smooth the way to the Republic. Amidst so many discordant or perverse designs, the Assembly alone continued to discuss political theories, and proposed to rest the monarchy they still advocated upon rational foundations. They declared the equality of man, made the laws equal, and property and person secure, while clearing the path of equity, and preventing or punishing injustice. To the king they left honour, wealth, dominion, and the happy privilege of granting pardon ; the clergy were no longer to be enriched by superstition, but paid by the State, and the Church, thus rendered powerless for evil, was increased in dignity. These, and other wise and beneficent laws, were matured in the National Assembly. Such was France towards the end of the year 1790, but variously reported in the world, and conveying a different impression, according to the character of the listeners ; kings, courtiers, and ministers were alarmed; the clergy were incensed ; whilst the hearts of philosophers and innovators rejoiced. The sovereigns of Naples heard the news with the greater horror and indignation, as they were related to the Bourbons of France, and the two queens were sisters. They were at that time in the palace of Vienna, where the Emperor Leopold, who was already roused to anger by the rebel- lions in Belgium, communicated to them his designs ; for, though inclined to promote the welfare of his subjects, he desired it should be accepted as a gratuitous concession on the part of the sovereign, and, therefore, he had prepared an army to march' to the aid of King Louis as soon as he should succeed in making his escape across the frontiers of France. But unanimity was wanting among the kings of Europe, for while the theories of the French Revolution Avere applicable to every people, the policy and character of the ruling powers essen- tially differed. England rejoiced in the troubles of her rival ; Spain was languishing under a feeble and pusillanimous monarch ; • Prussia was bargaining with the empire about the price of a larger 180 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1790. share of Poland ; Russia was engaged in a war with the Turks ; and Italy, in an impoverished condition, was preparing endless cala- mities for herself by vain hopes and aspirations. Piedmont, in- deed, agitated by the commotions of a country so near as France, and perceiving that the inliabitants of some districts in a remote part of Savoy were inclined to rebel, increased and organized her army, and Naples, burning with the same passions as her queen, made ready for war and vengeance. The time was, however, unpropitious, for the military force of the State had degenerated. The census numbered 4,800,000 Neapolitans, but none among them were disposed for war either by nature or habits. The barons had forgotten the use of arms, and, only attached to the king from their love of pleasure and grandeur, were so enervated that they turned away from every generous ex- ertion. Tlie clergy were opposed to tlie government, and indiffer- ent to the troubles of the king, though hostile to the Kevolution in France, and sharing the common dangers. The resolution of the law courts wavered, from the uncertain results of coming events ; the lawyers secretly supporting the government, but ap- pearing to submit on compulsion, in order to obtain present ad- vantages, without future risk. Philosophers, patriots, and those who looked to improvements in the State, admired the theories of the Revolution, but, accustomed to see useful reforms emanate from the monarch, deprecated the violence which would subvert the monarchy. The mass of the people were attached to the king, and only knew as much of the Revolution in France as was com- municated to them by the great nobles in their district, and by the priests in the confessionals and pulpits, and therefore believed the French to be impious, cruel incendiaries, murderers, and the oppressors of the people. The Neapolitan army consisted of 24,000 infantry and cavalry, half foreigners and half natives, ill composed, and worse disciplined; and there were no means of increasing their numbers, except by the usual routine of forced levies made by the twofold despotism of royalty and feudalism ; nor could they be trained, nor taught obedience, because they had none to instruct them, and were with- out military ardour. The long peace, the abject spirit of their rulers, and the poverty of the exchequer, had, as I have already 1790. PEltDINAND IV. 181 stated, caused tlie neglect of the numbers and efficiency of the troops. The artillery, by the care of Pomercul, Avas the best- ordered part of the army, but it was only in its commencement ; there was an insufficiency both of arsenals and depots of arms ; the administration was corrupt ; the fortresses in decay ; and the traditions, or recollections of the past, and even military liabits, were forgotten. The navy, however, though composed of only three men-of-war, several frigates, besides other smaller vessels — in all, thirty ships, was under the direction and management of officers, who were some of them good, and others first-rate, and was supplied with expert and daring seamen. The finances, which for ten years had been in an impoverished condition, had been still further drained by expenses caused by the earthquake in Calabria, the two costly journeys of the sovereigns, and three marriages in the royal family ; they, therefore, could hardly meet the expenses of the State in a time of peace, still less provide for the exigencies of war ; nor v.-as there any prospect of improvement, as the existing taxes, which scarcely aifected the rich, bore heavily upon the poor ; and, while the former by their privileges and power were secure from the imposition of new, the latter were equally safe, from their inability to pay. Art there- fore had ceased to flourish, industry was diminished, commerce lan- guished, and agriculture, although favoui'ed by the climate, remained in a primitive state owing to the ignorance of the times, and was starved by the bad regulations of the Government ; thus all the sources of public wealth were dried up or impoverished. Sicily, who acknowledged and yielded her products to the same king, and constituted not less than a fourth part of the kingdom, was of little service either in providing men or treasure, as she refused to furnish soldiers, and the money raised by taxes within the island was wasted amidst the disorders of the finance and the Court. Such were the men and such the state of affairs over which ruled Ferdinand iv., weak in courage and intellect, ignorant of government, fond of luxury and amusement, indifferent to glory and his kingdom, and therefore inclined to a life of indolence and pleasure. The queen, who governed rather than the king, was a prey to her various passions. The daughter of Maria Theresa, and 182 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. ir9a educated in the Austrian palace during a period of anxious soli- citude caused by long wars, the sister of Antoinette, Queen of France, and of the two Emperors, Joseph and Leopold, she was ambitious of glory, eager to emulate their renown, vindictive and proud, and possessed of more than woman's daring. She was sup- ported by General Acton, the all-powerful minister, a stranger to the country, as well as to the feelings of the Neapolitans, and who was ignorant and cunning, and well skilled in those arts which lead to fortune. The rest of the ministers or councillors tacitl}^ obeyed his wishes, and thus the kingdom was abandoned through the midst of the approaching storms to the guidance of a weak king ; of a queen, blinded by the vehemence of her passions ; and of Acton, corrupted by selfish avarice. BOOK III. REIGN OF FERDINAND IV. 1791-1799. CHAPTER I. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR AND DEFENCE. 1791-1793. When the sovereigns of Naples left Vienna in the year 1791, they hoped to form a confederation in Italy for war against France; but on finding that other princes, though ef[ually alarmed, were not equally irate, they reserved the necessary explanation of their scheme, until the times were mature, and were the more willing to submit to this alternative, as they were aware how much Austria deprecated a league of the armed forces of Italy. They therefore proceeded to Rome where the Pontiff awaited them. Pius vi. was handsome in person, and possessed agreeable manners, but was as fond of ornament, and as vain as a woman. The king and queen of Naples in their first journey in 1785, when their quarrel with Rome was at its height, had avoided the Pontifical States, and had even omitted those outward signs of courtesy usual between princes. But the revolution in France, and tlic common danger, had mitigated their Avrath, and they had, through their represen- tatives, agreed to conditions of amity, by which the gift of the Chinea, and the accompanying ceremony were for ever abolished ; the kings of the Two Sicilies ceased to be called vassals of the Holy Sec, and a large donative was to be conceded by them upon their coronation, as a pious oftcring to the holy apostles ; the Pope was empowered to nominate the subjects of the king to ecclesiastical benefices ; to aj^point the bishops out of three candi- 184 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF XAPLES. 1791. dates proposed by the king, to grant dispensations in the case of impediments in matrimony, and to confirm the dispensations already granted by bishops. This having been agreed upon, the raonarchs of Naples ap- proached the dominions of the Pontiff as friends, and with the respect due to his office ; while his Holiness prepared to receive them with honours and favour. Arrived on the ^Oth April, tliey proceeded that same day to the Church of St. Peter, and thence by a private entrance to the apartments of Pius, where, the king enjoining silence on the guards and pontifical menials, entered the palace unexpectedly, and penetrated to the room where Pius was reposing upon an arm-chair, attired in his magnificent sacer- dotal robes. This confidence, proceeding from such haughty princes, so gratified the Pope, that past grievances were forgotten, and from that time forth he became their sincere friend. The festivities lasted many days, and rich presents were interchanged. The two princesses of France, Adelaide and Victoria, the aunts of king Louis, w^ere in Rome, having fled from the revolutions of their native land, and, by their narrative of the sufterings endured by their family, still further incensed the wrath of the king and queen. Full of indignation, they arrived at Naples, where they were received amidst as sumptuous festivities as the impoverished state of the exchequer would admit. The countenances of the king and queen were austere, and portentous of approaching severi- ties, while the spectators, both those who disliked and those who were inclined to favour the new doctrines of France, saw no real sign of pleasure in these celebrations. The rejoicings were, there- fore, confined to the populace, with whom the anticipation of evil does not often disturb present amusements. After some days liad elapsed, consultations on matters of state were held in the palace ; and although the councillors were many, their decision was unanimous, and agreed with what had been predetermined by the queen : war with France and a strict surveillance of their Neapolitan subjects. The ministers divided the care for the exe- cution of these projects. Additional ships of war were collected, and the arsenals supplied witli wood, cables, and various metals procured both at home and abroad ; cannons were cast, gun car- 1791. FERDINAND IV. LS;" riagcs manufactured, bcsules ammunition waggons and camp equi- page ; the armouries were increased, and new arms forged day and night. The tiremcn were organized into military companies, and employed to manufacture powder and rockets ; uniforms, har- nesses, and shoes arrived from all parts of the kingdom ; large bodies of infantry were raised by conscription upon the feudal pro- jirictors, and many volunteers oftcred their services for the levy en masse. Even A^agabonds were admitted into the army, and prisoners were taken from the dungeons and galleys, and converted into soldiers; fresh corps of Swiss and Dahiiatians accepted the pay of Naples, besides foreigners of rank, such as the princes of Hesse Philipstadt, of Wiirtcmberg, and Saxony, all three of royal blood ; priests, friars, and missionaries preached from their pulpits, and instilled in the confessionals, hatred against France. Thus every art, every faculty of the mind or labour of men's hands, as well as their persons, were alike made subservient to this pro- ject of war, an object as repugnant to the feelings as foreign to the habits of the Neapolitan people. The government next provided by open as well as secret mea- sures for the internal security of the kingdom. The police appointed a commissary in every rione of the city as inspector and judge, with subordinate officers and men ; and over all, was placed the Chevalier Luigi de Medici, with the ancient title of Regent of the Vicaria : he was a young man of a designing yet bold character, and ambitious of place and power. Other agents were appointed as secret spies over the actions and thoughts of the subjects ; some in public places and others in private houses. The queen conducted these aifairs herself, and held conferences with the spies at midnight in a saloon of the palace called " Oscura" (the dark). This degrad- ing office was dignified by the name of loyalty, and was not dis- dained by magistrates, priests, and nobles, among which last was for the first time suspected, Fabrizio Ruffo, prince of Castelcicala: possessed of an independent fortune, he was not tempted to evil deeds by want, and the path of ambition was open before him ; but it was supposed that his natural depravity induced him to prefer this vocation. The clergy, after the disasters which had befallen the Church in France, hoped to recover their lost power, by becoming props and companions of despotism. The king nomi- VOL. I. Q 186 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1791. Tiatecl men full of ardour and zeal to sixty-two bislioprics which happened to fall vacant ; he restored the national education t^ the care of ecclesiastics, and gave tokens to priests and monks of the sincerity of his friendship. Philosophers and men of learning were more than any class of men exposed to the displeasure of the Government, and to the machinations of spies, from the erro- neous opinion entertained that the French Revolution was the work of philosophy and of books, rather than of necessity and the spirit of the age : a mischievous notion, which, as long as it con- tinued, and even to the present day, has entailed serious calami- ties on the most estimable men, and has deprived the Government and the priesthood of the powerful aid of genius. In Sicily the works of Filangieri were forbidden and were burnt ; Pagano, Cirillo,' Dolfico,^ and Conforti were looked upon with suspicion and watched ; the reforms in the state ceased entirely, and those already efiected were repented of; foreign books and newspapers were prohibited ; the coteries of the queen were at an end ; the meetings of men of letters forbidden ; and a shelter was even refused to French refugees, though hostile to the Revolution, because they raised a scandal and caused disquiet by their accounts of what was passing in France. The whole appearance of the city was changed, and universal gloom succeeded the calm- ness of repose. Public matters having been thus disposed of, the Government waited coming events in Europe. England, Holland, and Prussia, demanded from Austria the cessation of the war in the East, and peace was promised ; while Russia and the Porte, when likewise petitioned, allowed their animosity to subside. The Emperor Leopold, who was most violent against France, proceeded to Italy, ^ Cirillo, a celebrated botanist and pby- prudence, &c. In 1806, be sat in the Coun- sician, professor of botany at the university cil of State in Naples, under Joseph Bona- in Naples, and afterwards professor of lue- parte, and composed most of the adminis- dicine ; born 1754, died ou the scaffold trative,financial, and judiciary laws planned 1799. at that time. Most of his life was, however, 2 Melchiore Delfico, born 1744 at Te- spent in retirement and study, and he con- ramo, died 1835 ; the pupil of Antonio Geno- tinued in favour with the Government imder vese in philosophy and political economy, both the Bourbon and French kings. He he wrote ou the importance of the militia, retired to Teramo in 1833, and was visited on the evils existing in his native province, there by King Francis before his death, on the Tavoliere of Puglia, on Roman Juris- which occuiTed in his ninety-second year. I 1791. FERDINAND IV. 187 from whence, after a secret conference witli the ambassadors of Louis, he wrote to the king- on the 2()th May, to be prepared for tlie invasion of France ; wliicli woukl be entered from Fhinders by thirty-five thousand Germans, from Alsace by fifteen tliousand, bv as many Swiss on the road through Lyons, by more tlian as many Piedmontese through Daupliinc, and by twenty thousand Spaniards from the Pyrenees. Prussia woukl act as the ally of Austria, and England remain neutral. A manifesto was prepared by the Bour- l)ons of Naples, Spain, and Parma, and signed by tlie members of the royal family of France who had escaped, intended to demon- strate the justice of the war. King Louis was to remain passive, awaiting these movements, and ready to assist them, cither secretly or openly, by the forces at his disposal. But Louis, fearing lest an invasion should render the partisans of liberty furious, determined on a measure of greater precaution ; to escape from Paris, seek shelter at Montmedy, where General Bouille had collected the most loyal of the troops, and from thence, his person being in safety, attack France by foreign armies, supported by his own troops, the refugees and his adherents, whom he believed more numerous and strong than they really were. The route, the time, and the signals for flight being concerted, the king left the palace in disguise, accompanied by the queen, the Princess Elizabeth, and the royal children, led by the hand of Madame de Tourzel, who, under the assumed name of Madame Korff, pretended to be travelling with her children, and that the queen and princess were her female attendants, the king her servant, and three of the body-guard in disguise, her couriers or menials. At the same time, the king's brother, with his wife, fled by another route, and speedy messen- gers were sent to foreign sovereigns to inform them of their flight. The following morning, the departure of the king was known in Paris, and the Assembly, pretending that he had been carried off by the enemies of France, decreed that he should be detained ; but rejoicing to see themselves delivered from their greatest ob- stacle, the}' desired his escape. Providence, however, ordained a better destiny for France ; for foreign and native troops, the weak- ness inherent in a new State, the division of parties, and despotism, would have probably succeeded in destroying, in a short time, the marvellous labours of the past two years, and the hopes of the cen- 188 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1791. tury, and subjected the people of France once again to a tyranny. T]ie injuries inflicted by revolutions are delusive, because im- mense at the moment ; but they are not so great as they appear, as, thougli violent, they are temporary. The Queen and King of Naples were rejoicing in the escape of the royal family of France, when they learned by other letters, that they had been discovered at Varennes, and reconducted as prisoners to Paris, where they were guarded by soldiers. The sove- reigns, leagued together for the invasion of France, did not however resign their hopes ; the Emperor Leopold, the King of Prussia, the Elector of Saxony, and the Count d'Artois, met at Pilnitz, and published an edict in the name of the two first, which ran thus : — " Social order being completely subverted in France, the monarchy insulted and the king a prisoner, it becomes imperative on sove- reigns to restore the peace of that kingdom and the liberty of the prince ; numerous corps of Prussian and Austrian troops are col- lected in an army, and they invite other kings of the earth to join in the enterprise, to secure the safety of their own kingdoms, and vindicate the dignity of the crown."' Gustavus iii., king of Sweden, burning with indignation, and covetous of gloiy, declared himself ready and eager to accept the challenge, and impatient of delay. The new statute for France had been completed in September 1791, and the king, now set at liberty, went to the Assembly, greeted by the sliouts of the populace as in times of prosperity ; the powers he received by the statute restored him to his royal state, after the ignominy of being detained prisoner ; trusting to time, therefore, for better things, as well as to the fickle temper of the Frencli people, and to a new assembly, he stopped the movements of the foreign armies. Just as the republican party were increasing so rapidly as to alarm even the most ardent friends of freedom in the constituent assembly, the Count de Mirabeau died in the vigour of his age and intellect. With views as favourable to liberty as were compatible with the times, he had perceived the violence of the Jacobins, and united himself with the king to oppose the project of a republic, unsuitable to a people long inured to servitude, and who had neither the vigour of a young nation, nor the wisdom of mature civilisation. But Mirabeau, who understood human nature well, and comprehended the spirit of the age, and who desired all 1791. FEKDIXAND IT. ISO possible liberty for France, was now dead ; and the ambition of tlie people for power awakened by two years of revolution, and which the Legislative Assembly was unable to contain, vented itself in clubs, and principally in that of the Jacobins, where all manner of political questions were discussed : elections, division by pj'ovinces, the office of president, besides other offices, the tribune, deci- sion by vote, publicity. Nothing but the authority of law was wanting to impart to these meetings the force of a representative assembly ; but they compensated for this defect by their numbers, violence, and the approbation of the people. The Jacobins voted for a popular form of government, and the other clubs were not far behind-hand in their wishes; while the Legislative Assembly, a king who had been so often vanquished, and a new statute which liad not yet been established, were but feeble barriers to the accomplishment of their desires. In reply to the circulars of Louis, containing his consent to the new statute of France, the king of Naples declared he would sus- pend his belief until the king was free, and the rest of the Euro- pean monarchs answered in the same tenor, though varied in ex- pression according to their different interests and policy. The king of Piedmont alone, terrified by so near a conflagration, and his foolish expectation of conquering France already turned to fear, proposed an Italian league to the princes of Italy, to prevent the entrance of French soldiers and revolutionary doctrines. All acceded, except Venice and the Imperial States of Lombardy, as the House of Austria was more afraid of a united Italy than of revolutionized France. This prevented the proposal taking effect, and each separate Italian state trusted for safety to its own wisdom, or rather to chance. Meantime, the Emperor Leopold, who by nature was averse to war, and had only taken up arms in the first burst of indignation, being in reality more inclined than any king, or rather alone among kings, in his desire to promote the welfare of his people, sent back to their former quarters the army he had assembled. The Empress of Russia, at peace with the Ottoman Porte, had no intention to commence another war, Prussia was silenced ; Spain supine like her monarch, and England at peace ; therefore the rage of the Queen of Naples, and the warlike im- pulses of King Gustavus, were powerless against France, The 190 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1791. Frencli people miglit perhaps have been able to cope with repub- lican opinions, and have established a settled government, had tlicy not been disturbed by two political factions, more fierce even tlian Jacobinism, — the refugees and the clergy. The former (whom I shall call emigrants, adopting the name while relating the events of French history) were assembled in great numbers and in warlike array on the two frontiers of the Rhine and of Piedmont, and threatened the safety of the kingdom. The majority composed of nobles, not true citizens of France nor faithful servants of the king, and neither warriors nor brave men, but thirsting for pri- vilege and favour, had fled from the new order of civil equality, and, under the ill-assumed name of loyalty, sighed for the return of a prodigal and despotic monarchy. The first emigration took the country by surprise, and was tolerated ; but when their num- bers increased so as to form two armies supplied with arms and nioney, led by skilful oflicers and princes of the blood-royal, the legislative assembly became alarmed and indignant, and invited them to return home. The property of the contumacious was taxed, and they were threatened with personal punishment ; but invitations and threats proved fmitless, and they continued hover- ing on the frontiers, ready to commence a conflagration, which they hoped would spread throughout France. They misrepresented the most patriotic intentions, excited foreign potentates to war, and endangered the life of the king, whose name they used as an lionourable pretext to cover their infamous practices. The clergy were divided between those who objected to take the oath to the statute, and those who accepted it ; the majority belonged to the first, and were the most untainted of their order. The church lands were first sequestrated, then confiscated. Two briefs from Rome and the Pope's effigy were burnt in mockery, and priests were insulted and injured ; while they, on their side, went about rousing the consciences of believers, and urging them to arm. Louis adJiered to the emigrants because he was a king, and to the priests because he was devout. Such was the state of Europe in the year 1791. In the begin- ning of the ensuing year, the Emperor Leopold died, and was suc- ceeded by his son Francis. In the same month died Gustavus iii., king of Sweden, murdered by his nobles ; but as the authors of 1792. FEEDINAND IV. 191 this conspiracy were undiscovered, the act was imputed to the Jacobins. The death of Leopold was hxmented, \yhile suspicion followed that of Gustavus ; and the world was reminded of the Frencli club, the propaganda, and the legion of tyrant-slayers, as well as of a saying in the Assembly, " To the king who shall send us war, we shall send liberty ;" with other actions or words por- tending destruction to princes. The police in Naples, therefore, increased their vigilance ; and in order to improve the system of espionage, the names of the streets and numbers of the houses were inscribed in marble tablets, at all times a useful regulation in a large city. Ten thousand condemned persons, and twelve thousand prisoners in the dungeons of Naples and Castellamare, causing some alarm, a great number w-ere removed to the penal islands of Lampedusa and Tremiti. The new regent of the Vicaria made a profit out of the cast-off clothes and deposits of money left by those condemned to the galleys, whose guilt was proved upon the information of spies, the inquisitorial researches of the scrivani, and the sentence of the regent himself At first, only the lowest of the populace, men of infamous character, or felons, suffered tliis punishment ; until the people, having become accustomed to the sight, and submissive to the exercise of despotic power, had learned to tolerate it with patience, when the police did not fear to use equal license in the punishment of innocent persons. Real crime M-as the consequence of suspicion where offences did not exist. Those very Neapolitans, admirers of the French theories, who had been shortly before consulted for their wisdom on the reforms in the State, were now watched and suspected, and therefore met in secret to discuss the events in France ; not, indeed, from any hope of near or immediate benefit, but as an exercise of reason, and to enjoy an ideal bliss in the future ; but for this innocent amuse- ment they were obliged to use the duplicity and mystery of crime. Delighted with the French statute of 1791, and with the declara- tion of the rights of man, besides all the philosophical sentiments which adorned that charter where the universal desire for equality before the laws is distinctly laid down, they ordered a printer, in whom they could confide, to prepare upwards of two thousand copies, wdth fresh types, at a great expense. They did not, how- ever, proceed further, for fear succeeding boldness, they only dis- 192 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1792. tributed a fevv copies by niglit in the streets of the city ; while in a spirit of youthful defiance, they dropped two in the apartments of the queen ; but the greater number were concealed in sacks of flour, and thrown into the sea among the rocks of Chiatamone. Two young nobles, attired as porters, took the sacks on their backs just after sunset (to avoid daylight and the night ^vatch), and passing tl-r:i:gli the most populous parts of the city, carried them out of Naples, and deposited them in the place designated. They were applauded by their comrades as if they had saved the Repub- lic ; but, meanwhile, their audacity, and the printing of these papers, increased the rage and suspicion of the rulers. Such were the first sparks of that civil conflagration which has never since been extinguished. The affairs of France becoming worse through the evil agency of the emigrants, clergy, and Jacobins, political parties, the posi- tion of the king and the people became more desperate. Men of great energy had arisen in the midst of these civil convulsions, but discord had torn asunder the elements of force in the State. Dumouriez, exhausted by opposition, resigned the office of mini- ster, by an act of easy but ignoble virtue. La Fayette, a soldier of liberty and a French chevalier, was stopped midway in his career, when, after the tumults of the 20th June, he came to Paris, in- tending to save the monarchy ; while Bailly, Condorcet, and other virtuous men, continued in the track of the doctrinaires, then feebly supported. Pethion and many others capable of rousing, were impotent to direct the rage of the people. The king was patient rather than intrepid, possessed of passive virtues, high- minded but indolent ; and the queen thoughtless and petulant, was agitated by the desire for vengeance. Law, the throne, the people, religion, words once revered as sacred, had not wholly lost their ancient prestige, but the man was wanting who could fit them to the temper of the times ; for Mirabeau was dead, and Bonaparte had not yet appeared upon the stage. Hence arose calamities and errors. The king, suspicious of poison, ate in private with his family such simple food as he could trust, and for many months endured the greatest hardships. Meantime he sent secretly to the camps of the emigrants, and to the sovereigns of Austria and Prussia, to solicit the aid of their armies for his liberation. War 1792. FERDINAND lY. 193 was tlien declared against France. The Prussian and Austrian armies approached ; and the queen, measuring the road they ]iad to traverse, foretold the day of their arrival in Paris with ill- concealed joy. Changes and perils in the city and the royal palace were con- stantly occurring, and of various kinds, followed by lassitude and waste of time and thought. La Fayette repeated his offer to save the king by flight ; and Marshal Luckner, a foreigner in the French service, carne to Paris on the part of the enemy, to secure his escape. But the royal family were obstinate ; the queen declared she preferred death to the shame of living under an obligation to the constitutionalist, La Fayette ; and tlie king yielding to her desire, rudely rejected the proffered kindness. Their pride, per- haps, saved the life, and certainly the reputation, of the general ; for such were the circumstances of the time, that France or the monarchy must have fallen. Amidst these conflicting passions, the edict of the Prussian Brunswick appeared, which, Avhile pro- testing against the moderate tone of the manifesto formerly issued by the sovereigns, designated all France as a faction, and asserted that the king alone had the wisdom to devise, and the lawful power to concede reforms in the State ; he abrogated all the acts of the three past years, and insisted, as if secure of victory, that the revolutionary armies should be disbanded, the assemblies and clubs dissolved ; that the Austrians and Prussians should be re- ceived as friends, and he called on the adherents of the king to join them, and his enemies to fly, or sue for pardon. Meanwhile, nume- rous troops of emigrants, the last in the field though the first in their expressions of indignation, and the instigators of a civil and sanguinary war, were following in the rear of the Gennan columns. This edict, which, though the terms of his demand had been ex- ceeded, was nevertheless grateful to the king, who saw the perils threatening his dynasty, drove the people to desperation. Some dreaded the royal vengeance, others despaired of forgiveness, others again mourned the fate of their country, and all were thrown into alarm and excitement. Some again, more discerning and bold spirits, rested their hope of safety in reducing all passions into one, and guiding the popular impulses in one direction, and there- fore held up as a rallying-point their common hatred of the king. VOL. I. R 19 i HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1792. It is unnecessary, in a history of Xaples, to give an account of all that passed in France ; and it is therefore here sufficient to remind the reader, that on the 10th August 1792, the king was attacked in his palace, which was taken and burned by battalions of the people; that with his wife, children, and sister, he escaped in haste to the Legislative Assembly, where they remained in concealment in a miserable room, from whence they heard the decree read, which declared Louis fallen from his throne. The world beheld in wonder the palace of the kings of France besieged and taken, not by ene- mies in war, but by subjects, who, rising in a transport of fury, and in the name of liberty, burned the escutcheons and effigies of a race of powerful and venerated kings. Amidst the conflagration Louis escaped, followed by the queen, with the little dauphin in her arms, while the Princess Elizabeth carried his young and tender daughter ; they were witliout an escort, and their heads bowed with sorrow, or from their anxiety to hide their tears. The royal family Avere conveyed prisoners to the Luxembourg, and thence to the Tem- ple, and the State being without a fixed government was ruled by factions. General La Fayette, declared an enemy of his country for having resisted the first impulses of unbridled liberty, was refused obedience by the troops, and escaped into Belgium, where he was thrown into prison by the Austrians. Others who had supported the first ideas of the Revolution fell under suspicion, and, menaced with death, fled their country ; for to them had succeeded Danton, Marat, Robespierre, and other such maniacs, who in civil commo- tions spring from the dregs of the people. Dumouriez returned to favour, because the enemy of the people's enemy, La Fayette ; he was placed at the head of the French army, which numbered a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers distributed along the fron- tiers, but who, with their confidence in their leaders weakened, were insubordinate and stubborn, and were opposed to a hundred and thirty-two thousand Germans. Fortune smiled on the Ger- man arms. The fortress of Longwy, and soon afterwards Verdun, fell into their hands. The Austrian army laid siege to the for- tresses in the north ; while sixty thousand Prussians, and crowds of emigrants, were marching upon Paris. Amidst the agitation caused by the approach of the enemy, and the fears and suspicions of the people, many and dreadful were the atrocities perpetrated in .1792. FERDINAND IV. 195 France. The unliappy family of the Bourbons confined in the Temple witnessed part of the slaughter ; they lieard the dying groans of those massacred in the adjoining prisons, and their last ray of hope was foreign succour. But Brunswick was heavy and slow iu his movements, his king impatient, the emigrants false to their promises, and the allied sovereigns diifered in policy and views ; the result was, discord and inaction in the German camp ; while in the French camp, the genius of Dumouriez, the youthful ardour of his troops, and the cheering influence of liberty, compen- sated for defective numbers and want of success. The Prussians, however, readied Chalons ; but there, disheartened by disease, by their defeat at the battle of Valmy, and by the inclement season, they relieved France from their presence. The rest of the Austrian and Prussian troops, engaged on various parts of the frontier, has- tened their retreat. Francis and Frederic-William, with altered plans, returned to Vienna and Berlin. The first league against France was dissolved, and the progress of the Revolution secured. The last hope of the unhappy family had fallen. The Jacobins, now all-powerful, prepared for the trial of Louis. Ancient respect for their kings, the virtues of the present sovereign, and his calm demeanour, which appeared like a serene conscience, pleaded in his favour. His actions, and the name of king, were his accusers. Disorder reigned in the discussion, legal justice was set aside, and the rank of the accused forgotten ; such was the climax to wdiich matters had arrived, that the king's life or death hung on the question, "Which would be most advantageous to France?" It Avas decided by the majority of a single vote that his death would be of greatest service, and Louis lost his life on a scaffold. The deaths of the queen and that of the Princess Elizabeth followed, both of them condemned by the iniquitous sentences of a ferocious tribunal. The dauphin perished from Avant in the dungeon, and his sister was exchanged as a ransom for some French prisoners in Germany. Upon the arrival of these dreadful news, the Court of Naples forbade every public or private celebration of the Carnival ; and after many days spent in grief, the royal family went in mourning to the cathedral, to weep and pray for the dead ; even the king followed the chase less frequently, and in private. France, meantime, was organized as a republic, but the sovereigns of 196 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1792. Naples refused to acknowledge the citizen Makau, who came thither as ambassador, and even interfered to prevent the Ottoman Court from accepting the citizen Semonville in a similar cajiacity. Further, the king communicated a note to the governments of Sardinia and Venice to this effect : — " Whatever may be the for- tunes of the Germans on the Rhine, it is important for Italy to form an armed barrier upon the Alps, to prevent the French, if conquered, turning upon us in desperation or revenge ; or, if suc- cessful, attacking us from the love of conquest, and disturbing the peace of the Italian Governments. If the Sicilies, Sardinia, and Venice, were to form a league for mutual defence, the most high pontiff would concur in the holy enterprise, and lesser potentates, whose states are intermediate, voluntarily or on compulsion, will follow the move ; thus a force Avill be assembled capable of defend- ing Italy, and giving her weight and authority in the wars and congresses of Europe. This note is intended to propose and form a confederation, in which the king of the Sicilies, the last exposed to danger, offers himself as the first in the struggle, and reminds every Italian prince, that the hope of escaping singly has ever been the ruin of Italy." This wise and courageous proposal had been accepted by the king of Sardinia, though refused by the Senate of Venice, when the king of the Sicilies suddenly withdrew ; for, in the interval, a large French fleet, witli sails spread and colours flying, had anchored in the Bay of Naples. The Government, in- formed that several men-of-war belonging to the Republic were sailing in the Tyrrhenean Sea, had already repaired the ancient strand batteries, constructed new, and provided the port more amply with arms and men. Meantime Admiral La Touche led his fleet of fourteen men-of-war into the Bay of Naples as into a friendly or unarmed port ; he dropped the anchors of the larger vessel within half a gun-shot from the Castel dell' Uovo, and anchored the other vessels drawn up in line of battle across the port. An immense crowd were assembled to witness the spectacle, and the Neapolitan soldiers and fleet were on the eve of an engage- ment, when the king sent to the admiral to demand the cause of his arrival, and of these demonstrations, and to remind him of the ancient treaty by which only six men-of-war were permitted to enter the port. La Touche replied by sending a messenger of 1793. FERDINAND IV. 197 high rank (as lie was lionoured in his passage by continual salutes from the fleet), who, in writing and by word of mouth, asked the reason the king had refused to receive their ambassador, and why he had acted as the enemy of France with the Sultan ? He further demanded reparation for these offences, or war. The king called a council, and although the i3reparation5 for re- sistance were superior to the force of the enemy, and would have obliged La Touche either to make his escape, or submit to de- feat, the queen, declaring the kingdom to be full of Jacobins, entreated for peace, and was seconded by the terrified members of the Council. The king accordingly granted their request, and immediately by word and letters signified his acceptation of the minister Makau, his disapprobation of the practices which had been carried on with the Porte, recalled the Neapolitan ambassador at that Court to receive punishment, sent an ambassador to Paris, promised neutrality in the wars of Europe, and consented to ad to revenge the deaths of three hundred of their com- rades, at least as many wounded, besides the executions in the town, and the insolent replies which had been sent to their offers of peace. Three thousand of the inhabitants of Sanseverino were lying dead upon the field, and the havoc was still continuing, when the women with dishevelled hair, their dresses torn and soiled, and carrying their infants in their arms, presented themselves to the conqueror, praying that he would stop the slaughter, or consum- mate the punishment deserved by rebels on the wives and chil- dren of the few men who remained alive. So moving a spectacle excited the compassion of the French, who relaxed their severity, and reassured the conquered city. The example of Sanseverino, which damped the courage of many small towns in Puglia, only served to confirm the cities of Andria and Trani in their resolution to resist. They were reinforced by numbers who had fled from the fight, and by whom they were en- couraged in the belief that Sanseverino had fallen by treachery ; an invention not unusual with fugitives, and which meets with too 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 329 ready credence. General Duliesme having increased his force by eiglit thousand French from the Abruzzi, prepared to advance upon Andria ; wliile at that very moment envoys and liostages from the three provinces of Puglia, arrived in liis camp. In Naples, mean- while, tlie command of the army had been changed from Cham- pionnet to MacdonaUl, and the aim and phm of that campaign had been altered ; the troops were all recalled, except a handful who weie left in Foggia, and one battalion at Ariano, another at Avellino, and a regiment at Nola. The Turks and Russians were besieging Corfu, when these news reached the army, and the ships of both flags coming within sight on the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, the hopes of Trani and Andria rose, and the other cities or towns wliich had surrendered at the rumour of the approach of the French, now, at tlie rumour of success in an opposite quarter, turned Bourbonists ; the liostages likewise took their departure, or escaped, and thus regained their liberty. Sanseverino alone, although burning for vengeance, deprived of the youngest and bravest of her men, all her remaining inhabitants mourning for those killed in battle, and every house and inch of ground bearing the marks of recent slaughter, was obliged to submit, though bewailing her unhappy fate. Matters had now reached an extremity, when it became neces- sary either to resign Puglia as lost ground, or to reconquer it. A fresh squadron of French having been collected at Cerignola, as numerous as the first, and placed under the command of General Broussier, joined the Neapolitan legion of Ettore Caraffa, and directed their march upon Andria. Andria contained a large population, and was surrounded by walls with three gates ; after the unhappy fate of Sanseverino, she increased her defences, by repairing her walls in several places, where they had fallen in ruins, by raising new fortifications, and barricading two of her gates, digging a wide ditch, and by throwing up a high trench before each. The city was defended by ten thousand Bourbonists, aided by the inhabitants, who numbered seventeen thousand. Priests and friars used the powerful incentives of religion to ex- cite the people ; and, raising a crucifix of colossal size upon a large altar in the public square, they asserted that, during the celebration of mass, they heard the holy image declare that no VOL. I. 2 E 830 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. power on earth was sufficient to obtain possession of a city defended by the cherubim of paradise, and that a numerous band of soldiers and people would shortly arrive to the aid of the inhabitants of Andria. These promises were written out in large characters, and placed in the hand of the crucified image, there to be read by the people. As it chanced, the day before the appearance of the French, a battalion of Bourbonists arrived, brought thither in transport ships from Bitonto, and tidings reached Andria tliat English, Russian, and Turkish soldiers were expected in a few days ; the predictions, therefore, were confirmed, and the people, secure of victory, rejoiced, and had no fear of the approaching combat. The enemy around Andria divided his forces into three columns (as many as there were gates), and attacked, or feigned attacks against the city on the best military principles, while the defenders kept the assailants at a distance by a discharge of cannon and musketry from their ramparts. General Broussier gave the signal, and amidst martial sounds and the roar of artillery, the Republicans advanced at a charge, and placing tlie scaling ladders against the wall, began to mount them ; but as many were killed and more wounded of the bravest and most distinguished of their men by the volleys of musketry, stones, and rubbish thrown from above by the defenders, a retreat was sounded, and, derided and insulted by their opponents, the attacking party returned to the camp. Luckily for the French, just at that moment the gate towards Trani was burst open by the explosion of a shell, and Broussier, with a chosen band of his men, happening to be stationed near it, they rushed in ; but as he penetrated into the city, he found the battle raging fiercer within, as every house was converted into a castle ; and although the second column came up through the same gate in support of the first, Broussier was hesitating whether to proceed or retire beyond the walls, when he saw Ettore Caraffa advancing to meet him with his troops of Neapolitans and French, They had been stationed opposite the gate called Barra, but unable to succeed in battering it down, and hearing of the peril to which Broussier was exposed, they had attacked the walls by scaling ladders, and alike indifferent to the loss of their com- rades and to their own wounds, had made their way into the city. 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 331 During this assault, Colonel Berger, when seriously wounded on the ladder, caused himself to be assisted to mount ; and Ettore Caraffa was seen with a long ladder on his shoulder, and a Neapo- litan pennon and a naked sword in his hand, surveying the height of the walls, and seeking a place the ladder could reach ; having found it, he ascended the first, and entered the city alone. Though tlie whole force was now in Andria the battle was not ended, for such was the valour of the Bourbonists, that ten men within a weak building sustained the attacks of whole battalions of French for many hours, and others gave proofs of no ordinary courage. The city of Andria at last succumbed. It had once been a fief, and afterwards the rich possession of Ettore Caraffii, by whom it had just been stormed ; yet in the council of war he proposed that it should be burnt to the ground, — a marvellous instance of self- denial or thirst for vengeance. This sentence was confirmed bj' his comrades, and the commander-in-chief ordered its execution, which was followed by a vast destruction of property, and by misery which would be too painful to describe. The rage of either party was yet far from satiated. A still greater number of Bourbonists were collected in the city of Trani; and the army of Broussier proceeded thither, though with dimi- nished numbers, for at least five hundred brave soldiers had been killed or wounded at Andria. Trani was a stronger city, protected by massive walls and bastions, and with a large supply of cannon, vessels equipped for war, better disciplined troops, a citadel, and the plan of defence prepared. Broussier advanced in three divi- sions, and having invested the city in the night, raised several batteries, and by three attacks, two of which were feigned, but the last, led by himself, real, endeavoured to effect a breach ; but the defenders discovered his designs, and frustrated his attacks. The combat was carried on from both sides, those within the walls being vigilant and active, those without watching the accidents of the day, with a caution which will be appreciated by all acquainted with the rules of war ; for though we may often gain our end by valour, yet we more frequently secure the victory by taking advantage of the errors of our opponents, and seizing opportu- nities presented by fortune. In this instance the city was in fact taken by an accident, for it happened that upon the sea-shore there 332 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. lay a little fort, almost concealed by roclvS and walls, and that day left imperfectly garrisoned by the least available of the citizens. This fact was discovered by a soldier on the side of the French, who hoped to reach it by walking throngh the sea or by swimming. Having informed some of his comrades of his intention, and hoping by the smallness of their number to obtain the greater glory, they advanced to the assault. The water was breast high, but carrying their arms above their heads, they reached the rocks, clambered over the ruins of the old wall, and arrived at the top of the ramparts, without being seen by the guards, who, however, paid for their carelessness with their lives. One of their comrades, whom they had left as a vidette in the camp, informed the com- mander-in-chief of their success, and, at a given signal, a large detachment of troops was sent thither and entered the fort ; but instead of having to make their way by a difficult access through the sea and over rocks, they scaled the walls without opposition. As soon as the Bourbonists heard of the danger to which they were exposed, they hastened in crowds to attempt the recovery of the lost castle, but the skill and valour of the French repelled all their attacks. The defenders were diverted from their vigilance on the other fronts of attack by the battle which was thus raging on the coast; and General Broussier commanded a second attack on the walls, which proved successful; for although he lost many killed or wounded, he forced a way into the city, where the battle became still more sanguinary and tenible, but occasioning most loss to the French, who were fired at from the houses, and from behind the barricades or trenches, almost without seeing an enemy. They therefore determined to get to the tops of the houses, which in Puglia have flat roofs, and to pass from one to the other by break- ing through the walls, or making bridges of the beams and other timber. The aspect of the battle was now changed ; the defenders who had been secure within their houses, surprised by the enemy, descended from the roofs, and as the fortifications and heavy artil- lery of the citadel were now rendered useless, and the guards be- hind the ramparts killed, a new kind of warfare commenced, which disheartened the people, and disconcerted the whole scheme for their defence. After the destruction of the means they had pre- 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 333 pared for resistance, even tlieir resolution to fight to the hist failed with the impossibility of success. Their arms dropped from tlieir hands, and Trani was in the possession of the enemy ; less as a pnnisliment than as a second example, the city was in the fury of the moment reduced to a heap of corpses and ruins. Ettore Caraffa, valiant in war but cruel in council, and who had taken the little fort on the sea, and afterwards assisted to gain possession of the city, supported the vote by which Trani was ordered to be burned. Leaving tlie unhappy city to its fate, the army proceeded to Bari, Ceglia, Martina, and other cities or towns where they reanimated their friends, subdued their enemies, and imposed heavy taxes on all ; for besides having to satisfy the rapacity of foreign troops, Carafla had to provide for his own necessities, as he had no means left but those of war by which to maintain his soldiers : himself a native of Puglia, he replied to the deputies of those communes who appealed to him for the removal or diminution of the tribute unjustly im- posed on faithful and friendly cities, by citing as an example tlie necessary rigour which had been employed towards his own city of Andria which had been burned at his desire, and that he liimself was ready to resign his family possessions, his high name, his re- pose, and his very existence for his country. Tlie French column in Puglia repeatedly dispersed and defeated the Bourbonists in open fight, owing to want of skill in their leader De Cesare, who \\as a coward at lieart, and profoundly ignorant, for he had been trained in domestic servitude, which is unfavourable to the growth of mili- tary courage, and even destroys its germ where bestowed by nature. The adherents of the king were discouraged by the number of disasters and deaths, and the rule of the Republic was once more feared and its symbols respected in Puglia. But Duhesme, as well as Broussier, was recalled, as both were implicated by Faypoult in his charge against Championnet ; and Generals Olivier and Sarra- zin were sent to command the troops, with orders not to advance into the more distant provinces, and to keep their soldiers prepared at the first intimation for a retreat upon Naples. General Macdonald suspected that they would not be able to maintain their footing in Lower Italy, as the French army in the north were meeting with one disaster after another. The Austrians 334 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. had begun their march, and the Russians were following. TIic battle of Magnano, which was long contested, although occasion- ing much loss to the Germans, had forced the French to quit the Adige, encamp behind the Mincio, and thence fall back on the Oglio. Mantua was invested, Milan threatened, and the army of Scherer which had been reduced to 30,000 men, had to face 45,000 Germans, as well as 40,000 Russians who were advancing behind them. The French armies in Piedmont, Tuscany, and Naples were at a distance from Lombard}^ and engaged in an inglorious war- fare against the people of these countries. Such was the state of affairs in Italy, when the Turks and Russians, having taken Corfu and the Ionian islands, as well as the islands which had once be- longed to Venice, despatched forty ships of the line containing 82,000 soldiers to the coasts of Italy, and the Italians who hated the Frencli, because they were foreigners and innovators, and for their depredations, supported their enemies, and hoped for greater freedom at the hands of the Turks, and the soldiers of the north. The state of the interior was even worse; for in the provinces beyond Puglia, the Bourbonist party was increasing in numbers and daring. Pronio and Rodio had recovered for the king almost every city and town of the Abruzzi ; and wjiile avoiding encount- ers with the French, and leaving them unmolested and masters of the field, wherever they encamped they persuaded the people to return to their former attachment to their sovereign. Mammone occupied Sora, San Germane, and all the country watered by the Liri ; Sciarpa had gained possession of Cilento, and menaced the gates of Salerno, while Cardinal Ruffo, proceeding along the south of Calabria, attacked the cities of Corigliano and Rossano, and, dividing his chief band, sent Licastro against Cosenza, and Mazza against Paola, the only cities of that province which continued their adherence to the Republic. Paola fell, and the liberals there repaired to Cosenza, while Cassano and Rossano obtained miserable conditions at a high price. Cosenza alone continued to resist. One De Chiaro, who had been chosen leader, because an ardent liberal, commanded the troops there ; he had 3000 Calabrese under him, and though the city was unprovided with walls, it was pro- tected in one place by trenches, in another by houses and fortified mounds, and, in its largest circumference, by the river Crati, by the 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 335 two brandies of which it was almost surrounded. There was an abundance of arms and provisions, and the inhabitants were not wanting- in resolution. But when their hopes were at the highest, the Bourbonists entered without opposition at the place wliore De Chiaro with his largest force was stationed, and after having* by his example and words seduced as many of his own men as ho could, he led the enemy treacherously to the other posts, and thus the city was taken in a few hours. Some of those who continued faithful fled across the river, and by the valour of their arms held out until night ; others by pursuing wild mountain paths reached the shore and embarked ; others trusting to former friends were betrayed, while some by a happy chance effected their escape. The cardinal (his numbers increased by the numerous hordes of De Chiaro) wisely turned to Puglia, where he hoped the news of his arrival would reanimate the spirit of the royalists, which had been discouraged by recent events ; though ignorant of the art of war, he understood that of exciting civil turmoils, and conducted the difficult enterprise with skill. As his army was composed of a set of ruffians, robbers, and desperate characters, he permitted cruelty, rapine, and other crimes, in order to insure success. Many of the bishops and clergy, of high rank from distant parts of the country, secretly concerted revolutionary plans with him, while he stimulated their zeal if lax, and checked it where prema- ture. He always addressed them in the conciliatory but equivocal language of an ecclesiastic, and contrived to spread tidings of the near approach of his troops in Puglia ; the courage of the royalists therefore reviving, the pretended Duke of Saxony again took the field in the southern towns of Taranto and Lecce. The Cardinal advanced slowly in Calabria, so as to allow time to spread the news of the decline of the Republic ; he reduced to obedience the extensive region of the Basilicata, which is washed by the Ionian Sea, and abounds in corn and cattle, men and cities. General Macdonald meantime recalled the French troops from Puglia, but their march Avas conducted wnth so much skill, as rather to appear a military stratagem than a retreat ; but the Corsican De Cesare no sooner heard that the land was cleared of the enemy, than he advanced cautiously to take possession. Just then the envoys of our Republic returned from France, wdiere they 836 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. had been sent to obtain a formal recognition of the Neapolitan Government, and to conclude a league of amity, and they brought back tidings that the Directory had, under various pretexts, re- fused our requests, thus betraying their intention of abandoning the country to its unhappy fate — a country which had suffered from its attachment to France since ] 793, which had by her been changed into a Republic, had paid her tribute, been impoverished for her sake, and which she was now about to deliver into tlie hands of former tyrants — the usual fate of a people who commit their destinies to the keeping of foreigners ! Along with the envoys, came the French Commissioner Abrial to institute a better organization of the Neapolitan Republic ; for, among the excuses put forward by the Directory, was the imperfect form of govern- ment bestowed upon us by Championnet. Abrial was reputed an honest man, a friend of liberty, and thoroughly versed in the subject of the people's rights and modern theories of government, and his residence in Naples only served to increase his already high reputation. He took the Government of France as a model for that of Naples, and confided the legislative power to twenty-five citizens, and the executive to five, assisted by four ministers. He himself selected the persons who were to fill these three offices, and while retaining many of the former government, he added new, and clianged them frequently with others. Among the new was tlie physician Domenico Cirillo, who, on receiving intimation of his appointment, answered, " The danger is great, but the honour still greater; I am willing to dedicate my poor talents, my snjall means and my life, to the Republic.'' The new Government im- mediately entered upon office with constitutional forms either bor- rowed from France or such as those now in power judged best ; the constitution proposed by Mario Pagano, although long discussed, had not yet been agreed upon, and was therefore handed over for examination to the second Legislative Congress, which, being le- lieved from the responsibility of conducting the affairs of State, were now wholly occupied with the important study of new laws, codes, systems of administration, finance, feudalism, the army, public worship, and national education ; after which their atten- tion was directed to the erection of magnificent monuments in I 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. So 7 honour of tlic Republic. For this end they invited architects to compete in a design for the construction of a Pantheon, where the names of Deo, Vitaliano, and Galliani, were to he inscribed in legible characters ; they decreed a monument to Torquato Tasso in his birthplace at Sorrento, and that, where the ashes of Virgil repose, a tomb should be raised in marble on the spot, worthy of his name. Wliilst the representatives of the Republic were planning schemes of future greatness, Cardinal Ruffo was engaged with the siege of Altamura, a large city in Puglia, strong both from its position and fortifications, and still stronger by the valour of its inhabitants. But the Cardinal, joined by the Corsican, and emboldened by his first taste of success, pitched his camp in sight of the walls, and began the attack. The Bourbonists, though more undisciplined than ever, had gained in military experience, and were increased by the number of veteran soldiers and others sent them from Sicily, or who had joined as volunteers ; they were well provided with cannon, material of war, field artillery, and gunners, and were superior in everything to their opponents, except in valour. The attacks continued fruitless for many days, and were attended with much loss, which increased the rage of the assailants, and the courage of the citizens, who witnessed from their walls the religious rites performed by the Cardinal in the camp. He had erected an altar beyond the range of the enemy's fire, and caused mass to be celebrated every morning, while, attired in his purple robes, he pronounced a panegyric on those who had fallen the previous day, prayed for their intercession as if they had been saints, and pro- nounced a blessing, making the sign of the cross over the arms which were that day to be used against a city in rebellion against God and the king. Religious ceremonies were likewise taking place within the city. The people there were adoring the cross in their churches, where they were excited to fight by the words and symbols of liberty. Provisions were scarce, stores of ammunition still more scarce ; and if the liberality of the rich, and the economy of the citizens, relieved them from one kind of privation, the necessity of keeping up a rapid and continuous fire increased their dread of the second. Ignorant of the art of fusing the church bells, the citizens melted VOL. r. 2 F 338 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. down all the metal off their houses for projectiles ; and as they were unable to aim correctly with stones blown from the guns, they made use of copper money, and thus the roar of the artillery did not cease until their powder was exhausted ; the enemy then advanced their batteries close to the wall, and a breach being- opened, proposed to the inhabitants that they should surrender at discretion. This was refused, because (if the nature of the Cardi- nal had not that day suddenly changed) they knew that he only intended to spare the lives of the assailants, and none of those of the citizens ; that tliey would thus be destroyed without risk to their destroyers, and that death would be the harder to bear when deprived of their arms and the means of resistance, The citizens of Altamura, therefore, defended the breach with their swords, and with beams of wood and stones, killing many of the enemy ; but when they perceived the city was taken, all who were able, men and women, left by the gate where the enemy were fewest, and flying and defending themselves to the last, made their escape. The fate of those wlio remained was horrible, for the conquerors showed no mercy ; they killed women, old men, and children, and committed every atrocity. Neither Andria nor Trani, nor perhaps (if history speak true) Alesia nor Saguntum, could compare with the destruction and slaughter which took place at Altamura. This infernal scene lasted three days, and on the fourth, the Cardinal, after absolving the army of their sins, gave them his blessing, and proceeded to Gravina, which he also sacked. The bands of Pronio, Sciarpa, and Mammone, with other ad- venturers, Avho were daily turning with the wheel of fortune, ad- vanced more slowly, but with not less success. Never were the temptations to selfish ambition stronger, nor oaths less respected. The Cardinal gladly welcomed the traitors, commended their treachery, and promised higher rewards for greater achievements, should these even involve a crime, thus still further corrupting the already corrupt morals of the people. The republican cities in the Basilicata, though valiantly defending themselves, finally sur- rendered to Sciarpa, on condition that the lives of the citizens sliould be spared, but consenting to resign their liberty, and sub- mit to the Bourbons. The provinces of Abruzzo, with the ex- ception of Pescara and a few towns garrisoned by the French, 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC 339 Calabria, and Puglia, had now all wholly returned to their alle- giance to tlie king, and the Republic was confined to a few miles round Naples. General Macdonald was petitioned to send his soldiers against the rebels, but he replied that military reasons obliged him to decline. The republicans, though uneasy, were not yet alarmed, when the General pretending that residence in a luxurious city was causing a decline in military discipline, an- nounced his intention of encamping his soldiers at Caserta, con- cealing the fact that he had received news of the disasters in Italy, and that Scherer had been several times defeated by the united Austrians and Russians ; that the battle of Cassano had been lost by Moreau, and Milan taken by the enemy who had crossed the Po, and occupied Modena and Reggie ; and that the Italian people, either from ignorance or because irritated at the French spoliation, had joined the adversaries of France. The activity of the Bour- bonists divulged these disasters, and discovered the deceptions practised by the French general, who, roused by attacks on all sides, proclaimed in an edict: — " That every town or city in rebellion against the Republic shall be burnt and levelled to the ground. " Cardinals, bishops, abbes, curates, and all ministers of Divine worship, shall be held responsible for acts of rebellion in the places where they reside, and shall be liable to the punishment of death. " Every rebel shall be liable to the punishment of death, and every accomplice, whether lay or spiritual, shall be treated as a rebel. " None are permitted to ring a double peal, and, wheresoever heard, the ecclesiastic of that place shall be punished by death. " Whoever shall spread news adverse to the French, or to the Parthenopean Republic, shall be declared a rebel and suffer death. " The loss of life shall be accompanied with loss of property." The army of Macdonald was in camp at Caserta, when 500 soldiers of the King of Sicily, and a considerable body of English, landed from Anglo-Sicilian vessels on the shores of Castellamare. These soldiers, aided by the Bourbonists and the batteries from the ships, took possession of the city and the little castle which protects the port. Having mastered the place, they put many of their opponents to death, and the garrison of the fort, although 340 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. French, suiTendered on terms. When the peasantry of the small villages round Lettere, Gragnano, and the rude population of the neighbouring mountains, learnt what liad occmTed, they hastened to the spot. The beautiful city of Castellamare was given up to pillage and every disorder. At the same time, an English regiment, accompanied by a considerable force of Bourbonists, landed near Salerno, took that city, and roused Vietri, Cava, Citara, Pagani, and Nocera, to revolt in favour of the king ; after putting a num- ber of the inhabitants to death, and collecting much plunder, they formed the rabble (who had hastened thither from all parts in search of booty, rather than from any interest in the war) into bands of soldiers. When this intelligence reached the French camp, though unable to terrify them, it roused their indignation at the insult offered their name and valour. On the 28th April, General Macdonald with a large detachment of troops, and General Vatrin with another not less strong, ad- vanced to the encounter of the enemy. Macdonald came up with them on the banks of the Sarno, fortified by entrenchments and artillery ; but on finding themselves attacked they fled, abandon- ing their cannon and a few of their men, who had been disabled. The conqueror next subdued the towns of Lettere and Gragnano, and descended on Castellamare, where the English and Sicilians, and many of the Bourbonists, were escaping in crowds in the ships. A fleet of the Republic, which had left the port of Naples in the night, attacked them valiantly, and although the wind was unfavourable and drove them beneath the bows of the hostile frigates, they prevented the escape of many, who falling into the hands of the conqueror, were killed or detained prisoners. The fruits of this victory to the French were three royal standards, seventeen cannon, fifty Sicilian soldiers, and as many Bourbonists; besides having satiated their revenge for the insults ofl'ered to the fame of their arms. In the middle of the nisfht, when the Ang-lo- Sicilian vessels were far out at sea, though still within sight of the city, the town of Gragnano and several houses were set on fire. This destruction of j^roperty was disgraceful both to those who gave the order, and to those who executed their command, because it was useless for the war, and proceeded from a savage thirst for veno-eance. 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC, 341 General Vatrln, with still greater inhumanity, put three thousand of the enemy to death, spai'ing none of the prisoners except those who belonged to the regular army, and a few Bour- bonists, whom he reserved only to hand over to the tribunals, in order that they might be made a tremendous example. He sent triumphantly to Naples fifteen cannon taken in battle, with three standards, one of King George of England, and two of King Ferdinand of Sicily, and with a long file of Sicilian, English, and Neapolitan prisoners. The rebel cities, though they had now returned to their allegiance to the Republic, had to pay heavy fines to the conqueror. But the day had arrived Avhen the Parthenopean Republic Avas to be abandoned to her own resources ; General Macdonald came to Naples from Caserta, and addressed the Provisional Government assembled to receive him, to this effect : — a State which is pro- tected by foreign arms cannot be wholly free, and the Neapolitan finances are unable to maintain the French army ; nor does Naples need their assistance, provided the friends of liberty will volun- teer to attack the disorderly bands of the Holy Faith ; he there- fore expressed his determination, after leaving strong garrisons in Sant' Elmo, Capua, and Gaeta, to depart with the rest of his army, to disperse (as he hoped) the enemies of the Republic who had descended into Italy, and who trusted for success less to their own weapons than to discord among the Italian people, and to their long habits of servitude. Wishing the Parthenopean Re- public all prosperity, he would inform liis Government how worthy the Neapolitans had proved themselves of liberty ; and that the people and the populace were not to be confounded, since tliese last alone were fighting for servitude under the banner of their tyrants ; but that even they might be easily induced to change, like all who are only covetous of booty and plunder. After the members of the Government had replied with friendly and con- gratulatory addresses, he took his leave and returned to the camp. Incredible as it may appear, the Republicans rejoiced at the pro- posed departure of the French, for, simple and straightforward themselves, it appeared to them impossible for human nature to have any aversion to freedom ; and they believed that the late rebellions had been caused bv the excesses, exactions, and in- 342 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. science of the conquerors ; they therefore felt assured that on proclaiming their departure, the hordes of whom the army of tlie Holy Faith was composed would disperse of themselves, and that the remnant of that party would fly discomfited to Sicily. This gave rise to a report that the Prince di Leporano, a brigadier in the Royalist army serving under the Cardinal, had deserted tliat banner, and had gone over to the Rejoublic ; that he had taken his chief prisoner, and further, that Sciarpa, Fra Diavolo, and Pronio, were left alone with a few followers ; besides other false rumours. Meantime, on the 7th of May, the camp at Caserta was raised, and the French army set out in two divisions ; one-half led by Macdonald, taking the road of Fondi and Terracina, and carrying with them the great park of artillery and the baggage ; and the other, under Vatrin, marching by Sangermano and Ceperano. At the same time, General Coutard, who was commanding in the Abruzzi, collected his squadrons, and marched by the shortest road througli Tuscany, confiding the fortresses of Civitella and Pescara to Ettore Carafia, who, returning with the French from Puglia, had proceeded with his followers to the Abruzzi. Macdonald and Coutard met with no opposition. Vatrin having taken Sangermano in fight, reached Isola, a small town of the district of Sora, but was there obliged to halt. Isola is situated at tlie junction of two rivers, large tributaries of the Garigliano, by which it is surrounded, and could only be reached by bridges wliich the Bourbonists had broken down ; as the city was thus protected by the rivers, and girt about by an ancient wall, the inhabitants felt secure and were full of courage. Vatrin sent to demand a passage, which, he said, if denied he would use force to effect ; but the defenders, either despising or refusing to acknowledge the rules by which a herald is held sacred, dismissed him by a discharge of musketry. There was no ford in either river, a heavy rain was falling, the French were in want of provisions, and to conquer had therefore become an act of necessit}'. The legion of Vatrin was marching along the left bank of one river, while the legion of Olivier marched along the right of the other in search of a ford ; but not finding one, they constructed a bridge of fascines and gabions, with other timber, which was, however, too weak and narrow, and but ill adapted to 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN" REPUBLIC. 343 bear the weiglit of gun-carriages and tlie rapid marcli of many soldiers across it ; therefore, while half the legion were passing- over the bridge, they with tlieir hands and ropes assisted the other half, who were swimming; and the whole army tlius crossing the stream, reached the walls. The besieged were not however alarmed. By the help of some old ruins, and by demolishing the walls of some of the houses, the French penetrated into that end of the town which is again divided by the river, and at the spot where the bridge had been broken, a fresh obstacle was presented to the conqueror. But fortune was on their side, the besieged had not destro3'ed the piles, and the beams yet remained near the banks ; the bridge was therefore restored in a few hours ; but the Bour- bonists now finding their hopes at an end, as well as their means of defence, made their escape witli only a small loss, proud of their defence and the number of deaths thej had occasioned the enemy. The French vented their rage on the unfortunate townspeople, and finding a large quantity of wine in the cellars, drank until they were intoxicated, when, excited to madness, the massacre, pillage, and license, was prolonged throughout tlie night. The rain fell in torrents, and the town was still burning when the sun rose upon a heap of corpses, ashes, and mire, where there had once been houses and churches. 844 HISTOKY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. CHAPTER III. THE FALL OF THE REPUBLIC AFTER THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH ARMY. Hardly liad the French army crossed the frontier, when the RejDublican Government proclaimed their newl}'' acquired inde- pendence, and abolishing the taxes for the war, diminishing former imposts, and enumerating the political advantages in prospect, thcj enjoined and entreated the people to cease from afflicting the country by internal strife, to return to peaceful labours, and to enjoy the blessings destined for them by Heaven. Fearing, however, that the result of this proclamation might not fully answer their expectations, they prepared with all diligence for the exigencies of war. The troops which had been hitherto divided into several columns were collected in legions ; fresh soldiers were levied by conscription ; General Koccaromana was commanded to raise a regiment of cavalry ; the number of troops under Schipani was increased, and two fresh legions were formed, the command being given to Generals Spano and Wirtz. Spano was a Calabrese, who had long served, though in the lowest ranks of the army ; and Wirtz, a Swiss who had formerly been a colonel in the pay of tlie king ; but upon Ferdinand's dejjarture, absolved from his oaths and obligations, he had enrolled himself among the friends of liberty under the banners of the Republic, The Directory next api^ointed Gabriel Manthone commander-in-chief of the army ; the same who had been first one of the Provisional Government, and afterwards minister of war : he was an experienced officer and skilful duellist, with a warm heart, courageous temjjer, and j)os- sessed of natural eloquence, but was not remarkable for intel- lectual endowments. When proposing in the legislative council a decree, by which all mothers who had lost their sons in the cause 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN EEPUBLIC. 345 of freedom, should be assigned a large pension with other honours, he concluded his speech in these words : " Citizen legislators, I trust that my mother may likewise have to demand of you the fulfilment of this generous decree." He indeed fell a sacrifice in the cause of freedom, but unhappily his mother received only tears of compassion, and none of the rewards assigned her by the laws. Another troop was formed under the name of the Legion Calabra, who, without a uniform or common quarters, or even being organized into a regiment, joined only when called out, and fought under a black banner with the inscription, " To conquer, revenge, and die." Tliey were three thousand men, most of them Calabrese, personally hostile to Cardinal Ruffo, by whom they had been conquered and forced to fly their country ; so that they bore with them the remembrance of past injuries and wounds, to stimulate them to vengeance. As a review of the republican army was proposed, the troops were drawn up several lines deep, along the magnificent Strada di Toledo, and around the tree of liberty in the Piazza Nazionale, where, amidst a vast concourse of spectators, the members of the Government, the generals, and the commander-in-chief, Manthone arrived, followed by the artillery and the royal standards which had been captured in the engage- ments at Castellamare and Salerno ; a number of portraits of the royal fomily were also borne along, which the unsparing police had seized in the city and provinces, as proofs of guilt. The proces- sion was closed by a convoy of two files of prisoners, soldiers and royalists, who believing they were in that day and in that place to suffer death as a punishment and example, walked in fear and trembling. Beside the tree a pile was burning intended to con- sume the standards and eflSgies. The commander-in-chief addressed the army, while a member of the Government addressed the people ; the royal effigies were then ordered to the flames ; but the republicans snatching them from the hands of the executioner, dragged them in the mire, and tearing them to rags, scattered them to the winds. The minister of finance next exhibited a large bundle of bank paper, to the value of 1,600,000 ducats, which, amidst the great poverty of the State, had been redeemed in a few short months by the economy 3 4-6 HISTORY OF THE KIXGDOil OF NAPLES. 1799. of the republican government, and Lad by as much diminished the national debt ; as the best means of getting rid of them, these papers were likewise thrown upon that pile, prepared to revenge the wrongs of the country, and were there consumed. Lastly, the prisoners were called before the tree, and the minister of justice read the decree of the Directory, in which they were said to have been misled rather than guilty, and therefore those who had been soldiers were offered permission to enter the service of the Repub- lic, while the Bourbonists were pardoned and set at liberty. Their chains were then struck off, and sudden joy succeeding despair, they ran almost frantic with delight among the people, shouting the i^raises of the Republic, and their wishes for its prosperity ; while, to increase their happiness, the bystanders relieved their poverty, and exhorted them to undeceive their misguided fellow- citizens respecting the power and magnanimity of the Government. Thus ended the ceremonv ; but the feastings continued the greater part of the day, the people dancing round the tree, singing hymns in praise of liberty, and concluding marriages and other contracts, as in a consecrated temple. These demonstrations of joy were but short-lived ; for the fol- lowing day a large fleet of the enemy entered the bay, and as they were suspected of an intention to attack the city by exciting tumults among the populace, the Government issued orders to arm the few vessels belonging to the Republic, repair the port batteries, and construct new as speedily as possible. No sooner was the danger and these orders known than the citizens volunteered their assistance ; and even ladies, distinguished for noble birth and re- fined manners, were seen labouring with hands unaccustomed to such hard work, carrying stones and earth for many days : the port being thus secured, the enemy turned in the direction of the islands of Procida and Ischia, where they landed their soldiers, killed or captured the oflficials or adherents of the Republic, and re-established the royal government, appointing magistrates to punish the rebels. Cruel condemnations followed, and it was then that the name of the judge Speciale was first mentioned, which afterwards acquired a terrific notoriety. The inhabitants of the islands arrived as fugitives in the metro- polis, begging for aid ; and the republican government, with more 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 347 generosity than prudence, determined with a few ships and a small body of soldiers, to attack an enemy of much greater numerical force. Admiral Caracciolo was then in Naples, having returned thither with the permission of the King of Sicily : distinguished for his success in naval engagements, and for his patriotism, he held the supreme command of the Neapolitan navy, and was now ordered to recover Procida and Ischia. The republicans, though only three against ten, left the port of Naples in full spirit for the enterprise; and fighting valiantly throughout the whole day, caused much loss and damage to the enemy, and suffered no less them- selves. They might have effected more, but as they were on the point of landing at Procida, the wind, which had been all along adverse, blew a storm towards evening, and obliged the little ves- sels of the Republic to return into port, neither as conquerors nor conquered ; though highly commended for the courage and skill they had displayed. Meantime the royalist party had been secretly at work in Naples, and little disheartened by the rejoicings and manifestations in favour of their opponents, were concerting alarming plots against the Republic. A vender of crystal had enlisted a numerous body of Lazzaroni on the royalist side, who, indifferent to the success of either party, swore to support the throne, bribed by a promise of rewards and booty. Another leader called Tanfano, headed a numerous band of conspirators, and laid a scheme with the king and queen of Sicily, with Cardinal Ruffo, and with other chiefs of the royalist bands, to carry on a civil war within the country ; money was given him to distribute among his followers, and ho collected arms to raise a disturbance ; he then prepared his plan of action, and assigned each conspirator the part he was to play. The queen when writing of this man called him a faithful servant and subject, a friend dear to her and to the throne. The reader must be here reminded that the men on whom tlie sovereigns of Sicily lavished words of friendship and affection, were of the lowest description, who had sprung from the very dregs of the populace, and who were sullied by crimes or their consequent punishment: Era Diavolo, Mammone, Pronio, Sciarpa, and Guarriglia. But the most formidable of all the conspiracies was that of Baker. He was a Swiss who had long been resident in Naples, and was related to S48 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. families devoted to the Bourbon cause, to Avhich lie was also attached bj motives of private ambition. He contrived to com- municate by secret messages with the enemy's ships, and it was agreed that on a feast-day, when the people were plunged in care- less amusement, the Sicilian and English fleet was to throw shells into Naples, and thus induce the soldiers to hurry back to the castles and port batteries, and leave the city defenceless ; when it would be easy to excite a tumult, everything being already pre- pared, and thus the success of the undertaking would be secured. In the midst of the turmoil they prepared to put to death all who were rebels to the king, to burn their houses, and thus, w^ith the power in their hands, obtain the means of gratifying their revenge. Everything being so far arranged, the conspirators went about the city marking the doors and walls of the houses in various ways, to signify who were to be spared and who destroyed, according as had been iniquitously determined in their meeting ; but as persons belonging to either party frequently resided under the same roof, or were of the same family, papers were secretly distributed, the owner of which was to be secure from attack. One of these papers was presented by Captain Baker, the brother of the chief conspira- tor, to one Luigia Sanfelice, a young woman to whom he was attached, and when giving her the paper, he explained its purpose, and thus betrayed the impending danger. This act was the more generous on his part, as the woman he loved did not return his affection ; she accepted the paper with thanks, though not for her- self, but to bestow it on another, an officer in the army, an ardent partisan of the Republic, and who she could have no doubt w^ould be one of the victims on the conspirators' list. This young man, of the name of Ferri, revealed all he had learnt from her of the plot to the Government, showed the paper, and gave the names of those concerned in the discovery, proud that he and the woman he loved should thus be the means of saving their country. Luigia Sanfelice was called up for examination, and questioned respect- ing the facts ; ashamed of the discovery of the feelings which had prompted her to this act, and of having denounced the plot, as w^ell as of the information she had given, and dreading the punishment which might possibly ensue, she, however, hoped by an ingenuous confession to plead for pity with her judges ; she, therefore, re- 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN EEPUBLIC. S49 vealecl all she knew, except the name of liira who had given her the paper, protesting with masculine determination rather to die than prove herself so ungrateful as to injure the kind friend who had wished to save her life. What she had already told, however, with the handwriting and marks on the paper, was sufficient to lead to the discovery of the leaders, who were thrown into prison, their arms and the rest of their papers seized, and thus the clue to the whole conspiracy was obtained, and the plot crushed : Luigia San- felice was dreading public condemnation, when she heard herself called the saviour of the Republic, and the mother of her country. When the danger the city had incurred was known, the alarm was increased by discovering marks or signs upon the doors of houses and on walls, which, whether real or accidental, were all supposed to signify the massacre of those within. Numbers were found on the public buildings, on the National Bank, and on tlie Episcopal Palace. The archbishop of that time, Cardinal Zurlo, was an old rival of Cardinal Ruffo, and envious of the success, while afraid of the power of his enemy, he pointed to him as the chief cause of the misfortunes of the State, declaring, that instead of being a pillar of religion and of the Church, as he vaunted him- self in his Pastoral Letters, he was rather a calamity and a dis- grace to both ; he therefore passed an anathema upon him ; while Cardinal RufFo in his turn excommunicated Cardinal Zurlo, call- ing him an enemy of God, the Church, the pope, and the king. The clergy were divided in opinions and sentiments ; but while the religious and virtuous adhered to Zurlo, all the evil-disposed were on tlie side of RufFo. But by the abuse of temporal weapons, jjublic opinion had already lost its power, and all the provinces submitted to the king; the metropolis, and a small circuit around, alone obeyed the exist- ing government. Ettore Caraffa, with a little band of republicans, after several conflicts outside of Pescara, having amply jirovisioned that fortress, retired within its walls ; tlie French remained passive in Sant' Elmo, Capua, and Gaeta ; the troops of the Republic were few ; the bands of the Holy Faith countless ; for besides loyalty to the king, they were influenced by motives of ambition, the ad- vantages to be gained on the winning side, the impunity granted to past crimes, and the pardon to all deserters from the republican 350 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. party. About a thousand Turks and Russians landed at Taranto, led by Marshal Count Micheroux, and having joined Cardinal RuiFo, placed themselves under his orders. Tliey seized and im- posed a fine on the city of Foggia, and afterwards on Ariano and Avellino, and showed themselves before the little town of Cardi- nale, and at Nola. Meantime Pronio, Avho on the confines of the Abruzzi had enrolled some of the fugitives from Rome and Arezzo, scoured the country until within sight of Capua ; Salerno, Cava, and the cities lately conquered by the French, were restored by Sciarpa to their allegiance to the king, and he then, with his main force, took up his quarters at Nocera. Fra Diavolo and Mammone united their bands in the districts of Sessa and Teano, and waited the word of command to proceed. The Republic, re- duced to a weak condition, was at once therefore attacked by Neapolitans, Sicilians, English, Romans, Tuscans, Russians, Por- tuguese, Dalmatians, and Turks, while hostile and powerful fleets were cruising in the Mediterranean. The French fleet consisted of twenty-five men of war, the Spanish seventy, tlie English forty- seven in three divisions, the Russian four, the Portuguese five, the Turks three, tlie Sicilians two ; besides frigates, cutters, and brigs innumerable, sailing under the above-mentioned flags. Thus the French and Spaniards togetlier only formed a combined fleet of seventy vessels, their adversaries upwards of ninety ; while in Naples they were still expecting the arrival of the fleet of France and Spain, wliich had been promised by the French Directory. In order to enable the friendly fleet to enter the port securely, and be of use to the Republic, it was necessary to make a diversion, or repulse the Bourbonist troops which were arriving in numbers to press the siege of the city. A council of war was held ; General Ma- tera, a Neapolitan who had fled to France in 1795, had returned to his country a chef-de-bataillon, and had since been appointed a ge- neral of the Republic, a brave officer, but somewhat lax in his morals, and easy in his conscience, proposed to collect our soldiers, who had been sent out in detachments, into one army, and to increase their numbers by the thousand French, who had been left to garrison the fortresses, and who had been promised to him by their leader Megean, on condition of paying as their price the sum of half a million of ducats. Tlie squadrons of tlie Republic being thus strong J79;). THE FARTHENOPEAN EEPUBLIC. 351 ill numbers and skill, he oiiered to lead them to attack and destroy the largest band of Cardinal Ruffo ; if fortune should prove propi- tious to throw the Cardinal into prison, and then turn to the attack of the bands of Pronio, Sciarpa, and Manimone, whom he expected would lay down their arms at the first rumour of his achievements, before coming to blows. He further proposed that the partisans of the Republic should shut themselves up in the castles, and guard them, while the city should be abandoned to the strife of factions, until the republican army, having conquered the country round, should return in triumph to punish the rebels. The poverty of the treasurywas no obstacle to his scheme, " For," the General declared, " if the government will make me master of the lives and property of twelve wealthy persons, whom I shall point out by name, 1 promise within two days to place in the treasury the half million rapaciously demanded by Megean, besides another three hundred thousand ducats for the expenses of the war. Citizens of the Directory," he concluded, " citizen ministers and generals, tlie deaths of some few individuals, considerable loss in property, and many acts of political necessity, which weak minds call injustice, will accompany or be the consequence of my scheme, but the Republic will conquer ; whereas, should the Republic fall, all will alike suffer from a series of acts of injustice, and from the losses and numberless deaths which must ensue." This speech shocked his humane audience ; to abandon the city, families, and citizens to the violence and rapine of the Bourbonists, purposely to excite crimes in order afterwards to punish them, and without regard to law or justice to exact money by torture from innocent persons, were crimes of such enormity, that they were as revolting to the feelings as to the upright judgment of the men who now ruled the State, and pointed to a line of conduct opposed to all their previous professions. They were therefore unanimous in supporting the motion of the minister Manthon^, who, inexperienced in revolutions, and measuring the courage of his party by his own generous and noble spirit, declared that ten republicans were able to cope with a thousand of the enemy, and that they did not want the assistance of the French, since Schi- pani could be opposed to Sciarpa, Bassetti to Mammone and Fra Diavolo, Spano to De Cesare, and he himself to Ruffo ; while 352 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. General Wirtz could remain in the city, with part of the regular troops, the whole of the militia, and the Calabrese legion might be lield in reserve. It Avas therefore resolved that Spano and Schipani should start the following day. Schipani reached La Cava, and encamped there, while Spano, after having been routed in the woods and defiles of Monteforte and Cardinale, returned to the city with diminished numbers and in disordered flight, a sight and example fatal to the cause. A few days later Schipani was attacked on the flanks of his little army, which was feebly supported, and being Avithout a rear- guard, and having no hope of succour, he encamped on the bank of the Sarno. General Bassetti, who about that time left the city, kept the road clear of enemies as far as Capua. Along with the troops of General Manthone in Naples, were others raised irregu- larly by conscription, all of whom looked forward to the arrival of the legion of cavalry which General Roccaromana was levying in the name, and at the expense of the Republic. But these hopes vanished and were converted into bitter disapjiointment, when the duke, perceiving the approaching fall of the Republic, ofiered him- self with his troops to Cardinal Ruffo, and fought on the side of the Bourbonists until the termination of the war. The city was in a deplorable condition ; provisions were scarce, the treasury empty, and even the wounded were without necessary assistance. But two ladies, formerly known as the Duchesses of Cassano and Popoli, but now bearing the more honourable title of mothers of their country, went from houseto house collecting clothes, food, and money for the soldiers and the poor languishing in the hospitals; their words and example had the desired effect, they were joined by other benevolent ladies, and the destitution was relieved. But the State was declining. Cardinal Ruffo took up his quarters at Nola, and his myrmidons were encamped as far as Sebeto, while the followers of Fra Diavolo and Sciarpa made their appearance at Capodichina. It was impossible to count them, for, composed of vag- rants and volunteers, they passed from one troop to another, roaming over the country in a disorderly manner. The numbers besieging the city appeared not less than forty thousand, Schipani was attacked and conquered on the Sarno, and proceeded to Granatello, a little fort near Portici. Bassetti returned defeated and wounded 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. o5S to Nai:)les ; Mantlione, with tliree tliousanJ soldiers, Lad hardly reached Barra, when, after a sliort conflict, overcome by superior numbers who fired at him from the roofs of tlie houses, he liad to retreat with the loss of many of his men. The people were begin- ning to mutiny within the city, when messengers from Castella- mare brought news that the arsenal had been treacherously set on fire, but it was afterwards proved that although the crime had been attempted, the flames had instantly been extinguished by the zeal of the guards, assisted by tlie wind, which blew from a favour- able quarter. During the night seditious cries were heard in the city, and alarming reports were circulated of preparations for massacre and destruction. The Government issued a proclamation, ordering that at the first discharge of cannon from Castel-Nuovo, the soldiers were to retire to their quarters, the militia to hasten to their posts, the patriotic leaders to enter the castles, and the citizens their houses ; that at the second discharge, numerous patrols were to go the rounds of the city, to enforce obedience to these orders, and, at the third, the patrols were to fire at the contumacious ; their having being- met with in the street was to furnish sufficient proof of their guilt, and the safety of the Republic was considered reason enough to jus- tify the act. Three more discharges from the cannon were to follow, but instead of being fired at long intervals as the first, they were to succeed one another rapidly as an announcement that all were at liberty to return to their several employments. The next day these orders were executed, and the effect answered the expecta- tion of the Government. The alarm was great, the streets were de- serted ; while gloom spread over the face of the city, which looked like a vast empty tomb. That same day, the 11th June, an attack was made by Russian and Sicilian troops of the line, on the fort of Granatello, which was guarded by Schipani's soldiers ; who were little less than a thousand men, supported by gunboats, the fire from which was directed by Admiral Caracciolo with surprising boldness and skill. Though the general was wounded, and his numbers diminished, he yet main- tained his position, and the hostile army encamped before the fort. Matters remained thus during the night, in wdiich both parties were preparing for attack and defence. General Schipani having deter- VOL. I. 2 G 354 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799 rained to retire within tlie city, sent at daybreak a numerous detachment of Dalmatians to the rear of the Bourbonists, who, if surprised and routed, he hoped would afford him an opportunity to leave his encampment, attack and drive them back as far as the parish of Portici, and secure for liimself a safe retreat upon Naples. But suddenly the Dalmatians, either seized with a panic, or seduced by the enemy during the melee, deserted their standard, joined the Russians, and surrounded the little band of Republicans who had been thus betrayed ; many were killed or wounded on both sides, and the remainder of Schipani's troops taken prisoners. But tlie Cardinal was slowly advancing, in order by the siglit of so wealthy a city, still further to excite the appetite for j)lunder in his troops, to whom he had promised license and pillage ; and also to await the feast-day of St. Anthony, which was near, as the miracles of the blood, whicli had been practised in favour of Cham- pionnet, Macdonald, and the Neapolitan Directorj^ had somewhat weakened the faitli of the populace in St. Januarius, and the Car- dinal therefore found it necessary to appeal to their superstition through another saint. On the first dawn of the loth June, an altar was raised in the camp, and mass was celebrated. After invoking St. Anthony, the patron saint of the day, all the hordes forming the army of the Holy Faith were ordered to advance against the city ; and the Cardinal himself, on horseback, decorated with his purple, and sword in hand, in the centre of the largest detachment of his troops, prepared to cross the little stream of the Sebeto, over the bridge of the Maddalena. The Republicans, per- ceiving his intention, advanced to the encounter ; three discharges of cannon from Castel-Nuovo having first given the signal to clear the streets of the city, as a precaution against internal foes. General Bassetti, with a handful of soldiers, hastened to the height of Capodichina, more as a menace to the right wing of the immense multitudes who were approaching through the fertile gardens of the Barra, than with any intention of attacking them. General Wirtz, with as many as he could collect, advanced to the bridge, planted a large battery of cannon there, and lined the right bank of the river with soldiers and artillery ; the castles of the city remained closed, with their bridges raised. The Legion Cala- bra, formed in two divisions, held the lesser coast batteries of 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 355 Vig'liena close to tlie Granili ; and parties patrolled the city to prevent plots within, and to be employed, if needed, as a last and desperate resource of falling liberty. The old invalided partisans of the Republic guarded the castles, the young and robust accom- panied the soldiers, or formed in irregular companies, fought as volunteers, or single-handed, wherever their zeal called them, or as they were thrown by chance. The Russians attacked Vigliena, but from the stout resistance they encountered, were obliged to re- treat, and batter the walls by a continuous discharge of cannon; this attempt having succeeded, the Russians, Turks, and Bourbonists rushed into the fort, and fought hand to hand ; but, impeded and pressed on by their own numbers, they suffered from the blows of friends as well as foes. Many of the Calabrese legionaries were slain, the rest who were wounded, appeared indifferent to life ; among them was the priest Toscani of Cosenza, the head of the garrison, who dragging himself along with difficulty, as he had been stabbed in several places, approached the powder magazine, and invoking God and liberty, set fire to the powder, which instantane- ously blew up with a terrible explosion and noise, and as many as were within the walls perished, buried under the ruins, or thrown into the air, or struck by falling stones, foes and friends thus hor- ribly mingled in one common death. The Cardinal quailed before this proof of desperate courage, while it emboldened the republi- cans, who swore to imitate so great an example. Under such auspices Wirtz reached the bridge, Bassetti the hill, and Admiral Caracciolo came out of the port with armed launches : the Cardinal advanced with his followers, and the fight recom- mencing, many fell on both sides ; the victory appeared doubtful, immense numbers crowding one bank, while the other Avas defended by indefatigable courage and greater skill. Among the volunteers and irregular troops, was the advocate Luigi Serio, a learned and eloquent man, who had once (as I have mentioned in a preceding book) been the guide and friend of the Emperor Joseph ii. ; but opposed to the Bourbon king after his tyrannical conduct, was now resolved rather to die than submit to servitude. He had three nephews residing with him, timid and effeminate youths, to whom he said, when they heard the firing of the troops in retreat, " Let us go out and fight the enemy:" they reminded him of his 356 HISTORY OF TKE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 17fl9. age, that ho was nearly blind, that they were all unaccustomed to fight, besides being unprovided with arms, and they entreated him not to expose himself and his family, to certain and useless destruc- tion ; but their uncle replied : " The minister of war has sent me four muskets, and two hundred charges of powder. It will be easy to take aim, when close to the enemy ; do you follow me ; if wo do not fear death, we shall at least taste the sweets of vengeance before we die." They all obeyed, and the old man prevented by his dauntless nature and his misfortune from perceiving the dan- ger, advanced against the enemy, using both his weapon and his voice ; he fell upon the banks of the Sebeto, leaving a name which he had rendered honourable in life by the effusions of his muse, and in his death by his blood. Sufficient search Avas not made for his body, which was never found, and therefore remained without a tomb. The day was declining, but victory on the bank of the little stream was yet undecided, when General Wirtz was struck to the ground by a shell, leaving his men without a leader, an incident which damped the courage of the whole army. On seeing him carried off the field, mortally wounded, the troops first wavered then, seized with panic, tied in confusion into the city. The Bourbonists followed, joined by the Lazzaroni, who, regardless of the prohibitions of an expiring authority, left their houses, and attacked the troops of Bassetti ; but Bassetti learning the death of Wirtz, the loss of the bridge, and that the army had fled, opened a way for himself amidst the pressure of the people, and retired into Castel-Nuovo. Hither the five composing the Directory, the ministers, and several of the legislative senate had repaired, and were carrying on tlie government, while the rest of the officials or partisans of the Re- public had dispersed wherever they thought themselves safest, to the castles, to the houses, or to places of concealment ; while some remained in the streets, formed into armed bands. Many m-Iio sought refuge in Sant' Elmo were harshly repulsed by Megean, and ranged themselves beneath the walls, or in the large monastery of San Martino. Caracciolo continued the fight from the sea during many nights until the enemy retreated from the shore, when he returned into port. Whilst the battle was still raging, the two brothers Baker, and three other prisoners, who had already been 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 357 condemned bj the revoliitionaiy tribunals, were privately shot under an arcade of the staircase of Castel-Nuovo ; this execution was an act of cruelty, as the last hour of the government had struck, and as it was neither required for the purpose of security nor for example. Fortunately there was no time to prosecute the trials of the other conspirators who had joined Baker. In the city, meantime, unprotected as it was by walls or fortifications, the republicans fled, and being already full of tlieir enemies, cries of long live the king resounded ; the soldiers, however, and as many of the army of the Holy Faitli as could bo restrained, were not permitted to enter, and were detained by the Cardinal, not from any feeling of compassion toward his native place, but lest tlie darkness should favour plots which they supposed possible the enemy might have prepared against them. Joyful shouts and illuminations, intended to flatter the rising power, and prudent rather than sincere, celebrated the king's restoration ; but mean- time a discharge of cannon from the castles, and a desperate sally of the republicans, interrupted the festivities, and many who were participating in them were slain. The night of the IGtli June 1799 was dark indeed for both parties. On the following morning, the fort of the Carmine was attacked and taken by the Russians ; botli the republicans and their soldiers were killed, and, as the Bourbon standard was hoisted on the tower, the guns of the fort were now turned against Castel-Nuovo and the trenches of the mole, while, at the same time, volleys were fired as a sign of triumph. The Cardinal took up liis quarters at Granili, and encamped the troops of the line belonging to the Holy Faith on an elevation commanding the city, and the multi- tude claimed the promised spoil of Naples ; but I shall postpone to another chapter the description of tlie pillage, atrocities, and murders which followed. On their side, the republicans laboured that first day to fortif}^ those fronts of Castel-Nuovo which were exposed to attack, and to barricade some of the streets of the city, and thus formed a little republic among themselves, composed of the castles Nuovo, dell' Uovo, and Sant' Elmo, the palace, the strongliold of Pizzofalcone, and the last inhabited end of the Chiaja. The batteries continued to play during the subsequent days ; but some of the republican party deserting to the king, the commander of 358 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. tlio castle of Baia invited tlie Sicilians to take possession of it, and two officers who had escaped from Castel-Nuovo, were seen assisting to throw up trenches against the very fort they had sworn to defend. Delinquents of this class were, however, few and obscure, and I refrain from mentioning their names, because they were more their own enemies than the Republic's, and because amidst the changes of government which have since occurred, great and successful treason has so entirely thrown lesser offences into the shade. Faith, oaths, the duties of the citizen, are now used as a game of skill, and encouraged as such by despots who turn to their advantage all the perfidy produced by a corrupt state of society ; and thus, were we to examine the growth of political vice or political virtue since 1799 to this day, the result would prove disgraceful to tlie Neapolitan people, so rapidly have public morals degenerated from month to month. The little fort of Castellamare, though attacked by batteries on land, and by Sicilian and English ships from the sea, refused to yield, until conditions were granted, by which the garrison were permitted to go free to France, carrying with them as much of their moveable property as they pleased, and leaving their posses- sions and families within the kingdom secure from molestation. The English Vice- Admiral Foote signed this treaty for the king, upon which the garrison were conveyed, in ships which were in readiness, to Marseilles. Serious risks were incurred during the siege of the city, by the blunders of the Bourbonists as well as of their enemies, for one of the red-hot balls fired from the castle of the Carmine against Castel-Nuovo, fell on a small chamber in the curtain, and ignited some wood, which being dry, and covered with oil, burnt rapidly. This occurred close to the bastion of the shore, in the middle of which was a magazine full of powder and rockets. As long as the flames ascended directly upwards, the fire could not be communicated below by sparks or heat, but such was the alarm and excitement, that the garrison threatened to force open the gates of the castle and escape, and all who tried to soothe their excited imaginations were either supposed to be indifferent to their own lives, or so inhuman as to be willing to sacrifice those of their men. The act of Toscana at Vigliena, which up to that time had been cited as an example of heroism, was now talked of as an instance of 1799. THE rARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 359 savage ferocitj. All therefore, whether ready to hear reason or the reverse, put their hand to the work, eager to prevent the fire reaching the powder magazine ; and although at some distance from the well, they contrived, by a chain of men to keep up a continuous jet of water, until the flames were extinguished. But in the midst of the confusion, the enemy seeing the smoke from the castle, and observ- ing the fire from the cannon slackened, approached by the Via del Porto, and throwing grenades at the gate of the rocks set it on fire ; having eflfected an opening into the castle, they would have entered had their courage or skill been greater ; but the besieged hastened to remed}^ the disaster and barricaded the ingress. That night the republicans resolved to take advantage of the darkness, to make a sally from the castles of the Uovo and Nuovo by San Martino, and destroy the battery of cannon raised on the Cliiaja. The French no longer afforded them assistance, for Megean had already begun to negotiate with the Cardinal for the price of his treacherj^ and the re2)ublicans, suspecting his conduct, concealed from him their intended movements and hopes. As midnight struck (the hour fixed for the sally) they started in three divisions, and unsparingl}^ put to death all the soldiers of the Holy Faith they fell in with ; for had they made any prisoners they would have endangered their secret, and risked the lives of their little band. They proceeded with so much caution, that they were mis- taken by their own watches for the enemy, and attacked by them ; but the mistake was soon discovered, and all joined in lamenting the loss of one of their comrades, swearing to revenge his death upon the enemy. Continuing on their way, they surprised and killed those set to guard the battery, and after spiking their can- non and burning the carriages, returned uninjured to the fortress planning other sallies, and resolved only to die sword in hand. The noise of their feet, and the cries and shouts announcing tlie slaughter of the Bourbonists, reached the Russian camp, the camps of the Holy Faith, and the quarters of the Cardinal ; uncertain whence the sound proceeded, they beat to arms, and kept the troops prepared until daybreak, when the pusillanimous Cardinal pro- posed to withdraw them to a distance of several miles. He was troubled by reflections of a still more serious nature. Ko one else was aware that the French and Spanish fleet were 3G0 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. upon tlie Mediterranean sea ; and althougli their enemy had still lai'g-er fleets cruising there, it was doubtful whether they would fall in with one another, and if they met who would be the victor. Many of the cities still sighed after the Republic, and even several of the royalist cities had been irritated by the cruelties perpetrated by the followers of the Holy Faith. The promise of rewards had not yet been all fulfilled, and the myrmidons of the Cardinal were fast diminishing in numbers, for many now satiated with plunder were desirous of enjoying their lives in idleness and security. He had besides a brave and desperate foe facing him, and the Cardinal feared for his own personal safety and that of his hostages (one of whom was his own brother) detained in Castel-Nuovo. In the anxious watches of that night he decided to send envoys to the Directory to treat for peace, and when daylight returned, after making a more exact computation of those killed, and the loss occasioned by the late sally, with the flight and the panic in his camp, he listened to the advice of the leaders of the troops and the royalist magistrates, who were all inclined for peace ; he therefore sent a message to Megean with proposals for an accommodation, on such terms as might be expected under the circumstances, befitting the royal dignity, and a conquered people. The envoys of Ruffo, accom- panied by a messenger from Megean, referred the proposals to the Republican Directory. There the uneasiness was still greater, and with more reason, but the ofler of peace allayed their fears ; some attributing it to desertions or mutiny in the camps of the Holy Faith, others to the French victories in Italy, and the greater number to the ap- proach of the conquering fleet of France and Spain. The Direc- tory accordingly replied, that it was contrary to the rules of a free government to consent to, or reject propositions without a previous consultation, and that they would therefore take the matter into consideration. Meantime an armistice of three days was granted at the request of Megean's deputy ; but before the departure of the envoys, the minister Manthone informed the Bourbonists, that if the Cardinal could not keep his followers under restraint during the truce, he would put a stop to their cruelty, rapine, and the iniquitous proposal of sacking the city, by attacking them from the fort. Left to themselves, the Directory consulted how to act, and i 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 861 beginning' to doubt the supposed weakness of the enemy, inclined to accept terms ; Manthone alone among them all, advocated ex- treme though generous measures, more consonant with his own fearless nature than suited to the actual condition of the Re- public. Oronzo Massa, a general of artillery, was summoned to at- tend the council, and being asked his opinion as to the state of the castle, he answered honestly, " We only continue masters of these walls because our enemies are composed of raw soldiers, and an undisciplined mob, with a priest at tlieir head. The sea, the port, the docks are in the hands of the enemy ; the gate near the port has been burnt, and the entrance there impossible to prevent ; tlie palace cannot be defended by artillery ; the curtain on the side of the enemy is in ruins ; in short, if matters were reversed, and I were ordered to attack the castle, I could take it in two hours." The president then asked him, if he would accept peace ? to which he replied, " I would accept it, on conditions honourable to the Government, and which would guarantee the security of the State." The time allowed for the truce was drawing near its close, and the French and Spanish fleet was not yet in sight ; the republican forces were diminishing by desertions, and the resolution of the Government wavered. On the second niglit the battery on the Chiaja which had been destroyed, was reconstructed, and a new one erected on the Via del Porto ; but upon complaints and menaces from the Directory the works were suspended, and the Cardinal assured them, that should the hoped-for peace not be concluded the following day, he would give orders for the demo- lition of the embankments recently tlirown up, which were not by his command, but were to be attributed to the zeal of his soldiers. The republicans met again in council, and examined the grounds of their hope to prolong the siege until the arrival of foreign aid, to conquer in the open field, or to force a way through the enemy and join the French in Capua ; finding all these propositions unten- able, perceiving death near, and victory impossible, and anxious to preserve tlieir own lives and those of thousands more, for a time more propitious for the Republic, they drew up conditions of peace, and selected for their negotiator General Massa, who had advocated pacific views in the Congress. Oronzo Massa was of a noble family, and had in his youth entered the ai'my as an artillery VOL. I. 2 H 362 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. officer, but had retired from the service in the year 1795, when the Government became tyrannical ; he had since offered himself as a soldier under the Republic, and had been promoted to the rank of general. He was eloquent, magnanimous, and brave. It was with some unwillingness he accepted the charge now imposed on him, and happening to meet me in tlie courtyard of the fort as he was leaving the house occupied by the Directory, and informing me on what mission he was sent, he added, " The conditions pro- posed by the Directory are moderate, but the enemy, proud of the ease with which he has been able to obtain them, will not concede life or liberty to the chiefs of the Republic ; I am convinced that at least twenty of the citizens will be required to sacrifice them- selves for the safety of the rest, but it will be an honour to the Directory, and to their representative, if we sign a treaty by which we shall preserve many lives at the price of our own." The negotiators met in the house occupied by the Cardinal, and as the Directory refused to trust King Ferdinand and his Lieu- tenant alone, it became necessary to add the leaders of the Muscovite and Turkish forces, the admiral of the English fleet, and the French Commander Megean. The demands of the re- publicans appeared too bold to the Cardinal, but the pride of the purple gave way before the arguments of General Massa, who spoke confidently though without insolence, while declaring his resolu- tion, *' to treat the hostages according to ancient usage, demolish and burn the houses in the city, and repeat the heroic act committed at Vigliena in every castle and building." The Car- dinal, whispering to those around him that he would incur the reproaches of the king if his Majesty should find the city of Naples in ruins, jDroposed to Massa to efface from the treaty all sugges- tions or words derogatory to the royal dignity, in which case he would condescend to acquiesce in the terms offered. General Massa insisting everything should continue in the present form, peace was finally concluded on the following conditions : — 1. The castles Nuovo and Dell' Uovo, with their arms and am- munition, shall be delivered to the commissaries of liis Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies, and of his allies, England, Russia,, and the Ottoman Porte. 2. The republican garrisons in both castles shall march out 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 363 with the honours of war, and shall be respected and guaranteed in their persons and property, moveable and immoveable. 3. They may choose whether to embark upon neutral vessels for Toulon, or to remain in the kingxlom, secure from all molesta- tion for themselves or their families. The representatives of the king shall provide the means of transport. 4. These conditions and these terms shall include the persons of both sexes in the fortress, and the republican prisoners captured by the royalist or allied troops in the course of the war, as well as all in the camp at San Martino. 5. The republican garrisons shall not quit the castles until the vessels by which they choose to depart are ready to sail. 6. Tlie archbishop of Salerno, Count Micheroux, Count Dillon, and the Bishop of A-vellino, shall remain as hostages in the fort of Sant' Elmo until certain tidings shall reach Naples of the arrival of the vessels at Toulon which shall have conveyed the republican garrisons. The royalist prisoners and the hostages at present detained in the fort shall be set at liberty after the signature of the present capitulation. The names of Ruifo and Micheroux for the King of Naples, of Foote for England, of Baillie for Russia, and of ^ for the Porte followed, as well as those of Massa and Megean on the part of the Republic. During the succeeding days the ships were made ready. Ettore Caraffa, Count di Ruvo, was invited by a letter from the Cardinal to yield the fortresses of Civitella and Pescara on the same condi- tions as those accepted for the castles of Naples ; and in an edict issued in his capacity of regent for the king, Ruffo proclaimed the war at an end, that factions or parties had ceased to exist, and that all the citizens alike were the subjects of the same prince, and friends and brothers ; that the king was ready to pardon the crime of rebellion, and even in his paternal goodness to bid his enemies welcome ; and further, ordering that persecutions, robberies, fight- ing, slaughter, and armaments were to cease within the kingdom. In spite of this proclamation, however, many who disliked or sus- pected the sincerity of the Bourbon government, asked and obtained ^ The name is wanting in tlie original Russia, and Bonieu for tlie Porte. (Note bj document. Carlo Botta gives Kerandy for the Editorofthe Italian edition of Colletta.) 364 HISTOEY OF THE KIEUDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. permission to embark likewise on board the ships which were now ready to sail. Of those who had belonged to the camp of San Martino not many remained in the city, the rest went to France, and the two garrisons, marching out of the castles with the stipu- lated honours, were divided between the few who preferred remain- ing and those who determined to depart. They now only waited for the wind, which it was hoped would in the course of tlie night prove propitious. As day broke the sea was seen studded with white sails, and it was supposed that the French and Spanish fleet had arrived. The republicans who had already embarked broke forth in general lamentation and mutual reproaches, while the reputation of Man- thon^ rose, who had all along blamed the surrender of the castles, and had declared, however low their fortunes might be sunk, that it was an act of cowardice to yield themselves slaves to the enemy, and thus almost resign the liberty to die. But these ships proved to be the fleet of Nelson, which had arrived in the bay before sun- rise. A wind had sprung up in the night favourable for France, but though the vessels were ready they did not set sail: on the following morning it was perceived that their position in the port was changed, and that they were steered beneath the cannon of the Castel dcir Uovo, their sails taken down, and their anchors drop- ped ; guards were next placed over the passengers, and the ships converted into prisons ; those who had just embarked were lost in wonder and alarm, and demanded an explanation from Admiral Nelson ; but the conqueror of Aboukir was not ashamed to break the terms of the capitulation, while publishing an edict of King Ferdinand to the eff"ect, tliat " kings do not treat with subjects ; that the acts of the royal lieutenant had been an abuse of his powers, and were therefore null and void, and that it was the in- tention of Ferdinand to exercise his full and I'oyal authority in dealing with the rebels.'' After this proclamation, royal commis- saries went on board the ships to remove those who were marked as victims (eighty-four in number), and chaining them two and two, led them in broad day-light through the most populous parts of the city (a mournful and disgraceful sjiectacle), to the prisons of those very castles which they had just before garrisoned, and which were now occupied by the English. Tlie rest of those who I 1799. THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 365 had embarked, and who happened from the obscurity of their names and deeds, to escape exciting- the desire of vengeance in the haughty conquerors, or because this desire was satisfied by their exile, con- tinued their voyage to Marseilles. The Count di Ruvo, who had yielded the fortresses of Pescara and Civitella, and who, with several belonging to these garrisons, had arrived in Naples, with the intention of embarking, according to the conditions of sur- render, was seized and barbarously conveyed to the dungeons. After these examples of inhumanity and injustice, the Bourbonists, the Lazzaroni, and the followers of the Holy Faith, already impatient for plunder, and indignant at the Cardinal's treaties and edicts of peace, were let loose, and returned to their former deeds of atrocity, which had only been suspended ; while Ruflb, afraid of these ruffians, and of incurring the anger of the king, either sup- ported them or remained passive. Sant' Elmo, Capua, and Gaeta, surrendered one after the other on pretence of siege. The leader of the French legion, Megean, commanding in Sant' Ehiio, had some days previous bargained for the surrender of the castle, and a story is told, which has not been contradicted, that the niggardly offers of RufFo not satisfying his rapacity, he turned for better terms to the English, but, rejected by them, he concluded with the first, and agreed — To surrender the castle to his Sicilian Majesty and his allies ; that the garrison should yield themselves prisoners, but be permit- ted to return to France on condition not to serve until the exchange of prisoners ; that they were to leave the fort with the honours of war; and that the Neapolitan subjects were to be consigned to the allies, and not to the representatives of the king. The following day the castle was yielded, and the garrison marched out, when the commissaries of the Bourbon police were permitted to inspect the French lines and select all who were Neapolitan subjects, whom they threw into chains, Megean himself pointing out any who happened to escape the vigilance of these miscreants. Matera and Belpulsi, who, although natives of Sicily, were French officers, and wearing the uniform of France, Avere lianded over to the police of Naples. The representatives of foreign potentates who were present, did not interfere, though the terms of the surrender by which these unfortunate men were placed 366 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. under the protection of the allies were thus broken. The affair Avas disgraceful to all concerned in it. The fortresses of Capua and Gaeta soon afterwards surrendered on the same conditions as those granted at Sant' Elmo, but without a repetition of the infamous transaction just related, as either there were none of the ill-fated subjects of the King of the Two Sicilies among the French in these fortresses, or they were con- cealed. The French embarked, and the Bourbon standard now floated from all the castles. Cardinal Ruffo, as lieutenant of the king, governed the kingdom, and was obeyed by the cities, towns, and magistrates. Nothing remained of the Republic, but the memory of what it had been, to increase the sufferings of the friends of liberty, and the terror inspired by their tyrant. I BOOK V. REIGN OF FERDINAND IV. 1799-1806. CHAPTER I. KING FERDINAND OF BOURBON RESUMES THE THRONE. The Republic was now fallen and the war of armies at an end, but a more barbarous and licentious war was carried on within the city. The conquerors eagerly pursued the conquered, and all who were not soldiers of the Holy Faith, or who did not belong to the low populace, Avherever met, were murdered. The respectable citizens fled or concealed themselves ; brawls produced by revenge or the thirst for gain, cries and lamentations were heard in the streets, which were either wholly deserted or filled with a turbulent rabble ; the tribunals were closed, and the city was sunk in gloom and consternation, as if just taken by storm. After the fiercer passions had been satiated with blood, the pillage began, and on pretence that Jacobins lay concealed within the houses, the mob refused to quit an}^ closed door ; but hardly was it opened to them, than they sacked the place. Lazzaroni, servants, enemies, or treacherous friends, pointed out to the people those houses which, they said, belonged to rebels, and immediately there followed a scene of violence, robbery, or murder, as chance directed. Drag- ging their prisoners naked and bound through the streets, they stabbed them Avith their weapons, and insulted them by cowardly blows, and by throwing mire in their faces ; persons of every age, and of both sexes, venerable magistrates, and noble-minded women who had lately been called the mothers of their country, were thus tortured ; all the perils of the war, the insolence of the royalist gangs, the last hours of despair for the Republic, with the terror 368 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. suffered during the past days, appeared tolerable, compared with the present calamities. Cardinal RufFo and other chiefs of the army of the Holy Faith, and even those who had influence with the populace, although they had been able to kindle their fury, had no power to enforce moderation after victory. If, while describing these terrible disasters in Naples, I may be detected using the words or expressions of Cornelius Tacitus, as he represented the state and aspect of Rome after the murder of Vitellius, I confess that I have purposely invited this comparison ; because it is a proof that however times or places or political con- stitutions may differ, the nature of the populace never varies ; but, when unchained, it is ever an indomitable monster : and because I am desirous to remind my reader of the criminal conduct of all persons who remove the restraints of law and fear. More criminal than any were Cardinal Ruffo, and the English admiral. Lord Nelson. When the hero of Aboukir arrived from Egypt, he was captivated by the charms of Lady Hamilton. Her name was originally Emma Lyon, the daughter of a poor woman, and her father unknown, while slie herself was in so low a condition of life, that whether born in "Wales or England, is uncertain. She grew up extremely beautiful, but without friends, poor, and a vagrant ; her morals had been corrupted before she attained her sixteenth year, when her beauty attracted the notice of several artists, and Romney the painter represented her in various mythological and liistorical characters. Charles Greville, of the noble family of Warwick, fas- cinated with the beauty of the woman under these celestial or fabulous characters, fell in love with her ; and when sunk from a high position and fortune, sent Emma to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton in Naples, to ask for assistance in money, and for his leave to marry her : the uncle paid his nephew's debts, but refused his last request ; and, in 179 1 , married her himself under the name of Miss Harte ; when Emma Lyon, now the ambassadress, forgetting her origin and early career, assumed a new deportment, and sustained her present position, as if she had been accustomed to it from her birth. When Lord Nelson became madly fascinated by her charms, the artful Queen of Naples (who until then had treated Lady Hamilton with the disdain of a queen towards an adventuress) changed her haughty tone, and seeing the use she might make of her at some I 1799. FERDINAND IV. 369 future time, attached her to herself by the strong fetters of vanity ; in the palace, in the theatre, and in public promenades, Emma was always beside the queen ; and often in the privacy of the palace, they dined and slept together. At the flight of the Bourbons from Naples, Lady Hamilton embarked on the same ship, and watched with anxious solicitude over the little Prince Albert who was ill, and who breathed his last in her arms. Their flight, their misfor- tunes, and a common asylum in Sicily, increased the attachment between these two women. When Queen Caroline read in Palermo of the capitulation of the castles, and saw her hopes of vengeance vanishing, she entreated Emma, not as a queen, but as a friend, to go in pursuit of the admiral, who was sailing towards Naples : to be the bearer of letters to him from herself and the king, and to persuade him to revoke the infamous treaty, which was an insult to all the princes of the earth, by making them stoop before rebellious subjects. After inspiring her with her own feelings, she added : " To you, my lady, we shall owe the dignity of tlie crown ; use all despatch, and may the winds and fortune befriend you \" she then dismissed her with embraces. Lady Hamilton set sail in a corvette, and reached Nelson just as he was entering the Bay of Naples. The royal letters contained entreaties, as M-ell as arguments proving the offence which had been offered the dignity of thrones ; and expressed the happiness of the king and queen, that the fate of the monarchy now lay in the admiral's hands : after which the queen added, "I have time for no more; Lady Hamilton, our deputy and friend, will explain our wishes, and convey to you the thanks sent by your Caroline." In this letter was enclosed a decree of the king, which ran thus : — "We do not capitulate with rebellious subjects ; thei'efore the terms of the capitulation of the castles are annulled ; all the ad- herents of the so-called Republic are, though in different degrees, guilty of high treason. They are to be tried by a Junta of State, who are to punish the principal offenders with death, the lesser with imprisonment or exile, and all with confiscation. The king reserves the full explanation of his intentions, as well as the man- ner in which they are to be executed, to another decree." The fatal beauty reached Nelson's vessel, who was delighted at 370 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. her unexpected visit ; but when she presented him with the papers, a sense of justice and good faith made him shrink with horror from the office imposed upon him, and -which he refused to accept ; van- quished, however, by the allurements of Lady Hamilton, tliat man of untarnished honour, so distinguished in war, was not ashamed to yield himself a base instrument to perjury and tyranny. The ship which had brought Lady Hamilton returned, bearing the glad tidings to the queen, wdiile Emma, the recompense of his shame, remained with Nelson ; they were together when he arrived in the port, and when, by publishing the king's decree, lie accomplished that act of perfidy recorded in tlie preceding book. The murder and pillage within tlie city meantime continued and even increased. In order to justify these deeds, a report was cir- culated that the republican party had determined to put thirty thousand of the populace to death, and had for this end prej^ared snares in which they were to be strangled : ruffians accordingly went from house to house pretending to seek for the instruments of a massacre, in the reality of which they did not believe ; but wherever by evil chance they found a hempen cord or rope, they rifled and burned the house, and murdered the inhabitants. As it was impossible for the dungeons and cells of the fortresses to con- tain all the prisoners, they were distributed among the vast and unhealthy chambers of the Granili, and in the Island of Procida, to be tried by the tribunals which had been established there for cases of high treason ; first of many, perished Generals Schipani and Spano, next Pasquale Battistessa, a gentleman, the father of a numerous family, and a sincere but moderate liberal. He was hung on the gallows, and when hanging by the rope was thought dead, but when they were in the act of burying him, was dis- covered to be still alive ; the hangman accordingly, by the orders of the wretch Speciale, cut his throat in the church, and he was then thrown into the grave. Admiral Caracciolo, betrayed by a servant, and arrested where he lay concealed in a remote asylum, was demanded from Cardintil Ruffo by Admiral Nelson ; it was supposed with the intention of saving a brave officer, who had so often been his comrade in the perils of war and by sea. Remembering the jealousy which the seamanship of Caracciolo had at times excited in Nelson, all 1799. FEKDINAND IV. ' 371 praised the magnanimity of the conqueror. But he, who was destined to more shame by his ill fortune or blind passion, only desired to have his rival in his hands in order to satiate his ven- geance upon him ; and that very day he called a court-martial of Neaj)olitan officers in his own vessel, over whom he appointed Count Thurn to preside, as highest in rank. This court having first listened to the accusations, and then heard the accused, thought it just to grant his request, that the documents and proofs of his innocence should be examined ; but when Lord Nelson was informed of the fact, he wrote the words : " Further delays are unnecessary ;" upon which that subservient tribunal condemned the unhappy Caracciolo to perpetual imprisonment ; but when Nelson learnt the sentence from the President Thurn, he replied " Death," and the word death was substituted for imprisonment. This iniquitous court-martial broke up at two in the afternoon, and that same hour, Francesco Caracciolo, a Neapolitan noble, the admiral of the fleet, an able officer, successful in war, distinguished for the honours he had gained, and deserving the gratitude of his country and his king by thirty-five years' service, a respected and simple- minded citizen, after having been betrayed by a servant, betrayed by his companion in arms. Lord Nelson, and betrayed by the officers, his judges, whom he had so often honoured in war, was bound in chains, conducted upon the Neapolitan frigate Minerva, a ship also renowned for the battles he had won in her, and hung at the yard-arm, thus ending his days like a common malefactor. The body was left exposed to the scorn of some and the pity of others until night, when, after having a weight suspended to the feet, it was thrown into the sea. The evil passions of the populace were increased to ferocity after witnessing this cruel example, and more deaths and destruction followed ; nothing was safe or sacred ; old age, childhood, the weakness of women, the sanctity of temples and altars could not afford protection from men thirsting for blood and booty. The only hope lay in the arrival of the king, promised by his delegates, and at last, on the 30th June, the longed-for sails appeared, and spread joy throughout the city. As Ferdinand proposed remain- ing on board, the royal ship was soon surrounded by boats convey- ing those ambitious of notice, or eager for rewards or office ; but 872 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1793. amidst so many glad and deliglited faces, were here and there seen an innocent but unhappy family, coming to petition for the pardon of a prisoner condemned for treason. But the king soon grew wearied of this concourse of people, forbade the approach of any boat, and occupied himself with the re-organization of the State, taking as his advisers General Acton, whom he had brought with him from Sicily, and Admiral Nelson ; and guided by the suggestions sent him by the queen, and by the dictates of his own passions. The first decree related to his repudiation of the terms of capi- tulation ; the second to the appointment of a Junta to punish the rebels, reserving for future ordinances, the declaration what was to be considered treason, the mode of punishment, and form of trial. From the time of the surrender of the castles, a Junta of State had been instituted by Cardinal RufFo, and had already, in a short time, condemned to death several of the republicans. But the ferocity of the king was increased by victory, and while con- firming the appointments of the judges, Antonio la Rossa, a man who was notorious for his dealings with the police, and Angelo Fiore, already mentioned among the followers of the Cardinal, he substituted several new judges for the old, men of the most malig- nant characters, among whom were Giuseppe Guidobaldi, already known in the Junta of 1796, who had fled the country, but had returned home with swarms of scrivani and spies ; and three Sicilian magistrates, Felice Damiani, Gaetano Sambuti, and Vin- cenzo Speciale, who had been appointed judges in the trials at Procida. A third decree pardoned the oifences of the Lazzaroni in sacking the royal palace, and added, that it was expected the king's subjects would follow this example, and forget their own injuries during the spoil of the city. By another decree, seven very wealthy monasteries of the order of St. Benedict, and of the Carthusians were suppressed, and their property confiscated to the exchequer. These monks had not incurred the royal displeasure by taking any part in the revolution, but owed their fall to their great wealth and tlie rapacity of the king, who put no restraint upon his inclinations or actions. By a fifth and last decree of that day, the Sedili were annulled, and the ancient rights or privileges attached to these institutions abolished. In order to appreciate the importance of this measure, 1799. FERDINAND IV. 873 I will here add a brief sketch of the origin and growth of these bodies. When Naj^les was a Greek city, it was usual for those in easy circumstances, the rich, nobles, and warriors, to meet for recreation under certain porches, afterwards called Scggi, Sedili (seats), or Piazze, and which were open to all ; but though there was no rule prohibiting any one entering them, the reserve of manners belonging to that age, diifering widely from the presump- tion of the present, and there being no third estate, which caused an immense separation between the highest and the lowest, none of the populace aspired to admission. There were four, as many as there were quarters in the city, and afterwards six ; as the city increased in size, other and inferior Seggi arose, dependent on the first six ; so that they at length numbered twenty-nine ; but these were afterwards amalgamated, and reduced to five, called by the names of the districts to which they belonged ; the Capuan, Mon- tagna, Nido, Porto, and Portanuova. The other cities of Greek origin within the kingdom had likewise porches or Seggi ; but when political power and privileges were accorded to those of Naples alone, the remainder continued to retain theirs only as a title of nobility and honour ; Charles i. of Anjou granted leave to five Seggi to represent the capital together with the whole king- dom ; to elect among themselves the olKcers of the Neapolitan municipality, to administer the revenues of the city, to confer the right of citizenship on such strangers as were worthy of tlie honour, and to pronounce judgment in certain cases. Thus these social meetings for pleasure and idle amusement were converted into meetings of corporate bodies belonging to the State, who met with closed doors, and who had the power of adding dignity to wealth and rank. Noble families of a late creation, or old families whose greatness had been forgotten, asked admission into one of tlie five Seggi, as a register and proof of their nobility. The people, jealous of the overweening power of the nobles, asked and obtained for themselves one Seggio called Del Popolo, which had equal privi- leges, except in titles of nobility, with the other five. From that time forth, a Syndic and six Eletti, one for each Seggio, com]-)osed the municipality of Naples, with a council of twenty-nine, chosen from these same bodies, and commemorating by their number, the first twenty-nine Seggi of the city. 874 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. Ferdinand iv., therefore, by tLe decree of 1799, ignoring the oaths taken by the kings his predecessors, by his father and him- self, abolished the municipal corporation of the metropolis ; that body which represented the kingdom and the nobles, and by which the influence of old families had been sustained. From that time forward there was no political authority in the State, except that emanating from the tlirone ; all the subjects were reduced to a ser- vile condition, and the system of government simplified, by being placed under one despotic head. The pretext used for this act of violence was the right of conquest, — the king maintaining that he had reconquered his kingdom ; but this pretext also gave a title of legality to the French conquest, and conferred an equal right on the conqueror to organize the State into a Republic, making it the duty of the conquered to yield obedience, and therefore exonerating them from all blame : yet while thus proving the injustice and ille- gality of punishing an innocent people, the king himself, in the preamble to a law on treason, declared that he had never lost his kingdom, that although residing in Sicily, he had always been on the throne of Naples, and that he therefore considered every act of his subjects, if contrary to their duties towards him, treasonable, and if an attack against his royal authority, rebellious. As the two decrees bore the same date, he thus on the same day proclaimed himself a conqueror, yet conquered ; a fugitive, yet always present; and a private individual, yet the possessor of the kingdom. The rules for the guidance of the Junta of State were drawn up in harmony with these principles, and all were declared guilty of high treason, who, armed against the people, had assisted the French to enter the city or the kingdom ; those who took the castle of Sant' Elmo out of the hands of the Lazzaroni, and those who had held secret communications with the enemy after the armistice of Lieutenant-General Pignatelli ; and the punishment of death was awarded to all who had first accepted the office of magistrates under the Republic, the members of tke government, the delegates of the people, ministers, generals, judges of the high court of military commission, or judges of the revolutionary tribunal : the punish- ment of death was likewise awarded to those who had fought against the king's troops, led by Cardinal Ruffo, and those who had assisted at the elevation of the Tree of Liberty in the Piazza dello Spirito 1799. FERDINAND IV. 375 Sauto, where tlie statue of Charles iii. had been demolished ; and who, in the square before the palace, had destroyed or been present at the destruction of the ro^'al effigies, and of the Bonrbonist and English standards ; and to whosoever had written or spoken words in disparagement of the sacred persons of the king, the queen, or the Yojcii family, as well as all who had shown themselves disloyal in order to promote the Republic, or injure tlie monarchy. Forty thousand Neapolitans (taking the lowest computation) were thus threatened with death, and a still greater number with exile — a punishment reserved for all who had inscribed their names in clubs, the members of the municipal bodies, and those who had enlisted in the army, but who had not been engaged in the war ; even the city guard, which had been raised by conscription, with- out their own consent, but who had been compelled to serve by the magistrates and the laws, were included among the guilty ; the king declaring their imprisonment just, and his pardon neces- sary for their liberation. The Junta of State in the city, and the royal commissaries, under the name of visitors in the provinces, were ordered to punish the guilty, it being tJie intention of the king to purge the kingdom of the enemies of the throne and of the altar. The visitors were the Chevalier Ferrante, the Marquis Valva, the Bishop Lodovici, and the magistrates Crescenzo de Marco, Vincenzo Marrano, and Vincenzo lorio. Every visitor was given an assistant judge in the trials, and each separate tribunal was thus presided over by two judges, and pronounced on the life, liberty, and pro- perty of numbers. The scale of crimes and punishments was fixed by a decree, called in lo^w Retroattiva (retrograde), because the acts were inno- cent until declared an offence ; and the magistrates having been selected at the king's pleasure, it only remained to prescribe the forms of procedure ; as the existing codes did not provide such as would secure sufficient secrecy and brevity, the ancient laws of the rebellious barons of Sicily^ were adopted, which ran as follows: — an inquisitorial proces, to be instituted upon accusations or denun- ciations ; informers and spies to be considered valid as witnesses ; Avitnesses to be lieard privately, and put to the torture, at the pleasure of the inquisitors ; the accused only to reply to the ques- ' Laws enacted at diffei-ent periods against the rebellious barons of Sicily. 876 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. tions of the judge ; all his attempts at justification to be stopped, and torture to be applied if necessary ; no defence allowed ; a magis- trate appointed by the king to go through the forms rather than plead, as advocate for the prisoner ; any wish expressed by the accused to be confronted with the witnesses ; his rejection of proofs, documents, or witnesses brought forward in his justification, with all guarantees of his innocence to be refused. The decision to be left to the consciences of the judges ; the sentence to be brief without comments, without the delay of explanations, and at the discretion of the judges ; their sentence without appeal, to be composed, read, and executed the same day. Brief as were these forms, the king desired still further to accelerate the punishments ; he therefore instituted another Junta, composed of generals ; besides, as the occasion demanded, temporary tribunals in the cities, or in the provinces, and military commissions, which at beat of drum, and ad horas et ad modum belli, were to expedite the proces and con- demnation. Such were the harsh laws dictated by the king. On the third day after his arrival off Naples, he saw from afar a figure which the waves were driving towards his vessel ; looking at it fixedly, he perceived it was a human corpse more than half out of the water, with tlie face raised, and the hair dishevelled and dripping, approaching him rapidly, and with a menacing aspect ; when he could see it better, the king recognised the miserable remains, and exclaimed, " Caracciolo !" Turning away in horror, he asked with confusion, " What does this dead man want f and amidst the general consternation and silence, the chaplain replied, " He would ask Christian burial." "Let him have it,'' answered the king, Avho then retired to his apartment for solitary reflection. The corpse was picked up, and buried in the little church of Santa Maria la Catena, in Santa Lucia. On inquiring the reason for this extraor- dinary phenomenon, it was found that the body, swelled by the water, could not be kept at the bottom even by fifty-two English pounds' weight, w^eighed out by Captain Thomas Hardy, commander of the vessel on which the king had embarked with Nelson, and who himself was a witness of these facts, and related them to me. It had risen in the water, and lifted half above the waves by its ■jquilibrium, a wind off shore had sent it out to sea. It seemed 1799. FERDINAND lY. . 3/ / as if intended by destiny to awaken terror and remorse in the king ; but though credulous and superstitious, he did not alter liis ways. His tyrannical laws, and the atrocious acts which followed, roused once again the passions of the lower orders, and on the 8th July, in the square in front of the palace, they set fire to a pile, threw five living men into the flames, and after roasting them, devoured their flesh. The king was at that time in the harbour, and Acton with him ; there were two fleets in the bay, the Cardinal in the city, where the Russian troops were quartered, and the captains of the Holy Faith were parading the streets, or perhaps present at the scene. This enormity struck all with horror, and was the last act perpetrated by the populace ; but worse was in store, though under the guise of law. For just at that time, the list of pro- scriptions arrived from Palermo, which had been there compiled by the queen, after consulting old registers, and upon information received from spies employed during and since the Republic ; influenced also by her private hatred and that of her adviser, the Prince di Castelcicala ; the king accordingly ordered the tribunals to commence the trials. Thirty thousand Neapolitans were undergoing imprisonment in the city alone ; and as the old prisons were not sufiiciently spacious to contain so many persons, the subterranean vaults of the castles, and other unhealthy cells were used for this cruel purpose ; to add to their suflerings, they were denied the usual conveniences of life, a bed, chair, light, and eating or drinking utensils ; for the prisoners were reported to be desperate and fearless men, ready to resort to any extremity ; therefore all articles in iron, glass, metal, and ropes, were forbidden them ; their food was inspected, and their persons searched. Men of harsh dispositions were appointed their jailors, of whom the most savage was one Duecce, an ofiieer in the army, an old man, and the father of a numerous family ; happily for Italy, he was a foreigner, and native of Switzerland. He, more than any, augmented the severity of the torments caused by their chains, by hunger, thirst, and blows, reviving the prac- tices, and vying with the cruelties which had been exercised during the baronial and monastic period. Next in ferocity, after Duecce, came Colonel de Gambs, governor of the prisons of Capua, VOL. I. 2 I , 378 HISTORY OP THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. and Scipione Lamarra, a general of the armv, besides many- other obscure persons, whose names deserve to be effaced from history. But the uncertain state of affairs in Italy afforded a faint gleam of hope to the prisoners, while they kept the king and his minis- ters in constant alarm ; for French troops were still in Rome and Tuscany, Genoa was occupied by a strong garrison composed of numerous legions, and stronger still in their leader. General Mas- sena ; Piedmont was overrun by Lecourbe ; Macdonald, with a numerous army, was on the eve of joining General Moreau ; and, judging from the condition of the armies in the field, fortune, though inclining towards the side of kings, Avas yet undecided, and ready, wlien she pleased, to change. Two lists of names were therefore presented to the Tribunals of State ; one containing those to be condemned to deatli, and the other, those whose sentence was not to be completed until tlie royal pleasure had been signified ; this last was the list of those who had capitulated. Only in two cases, vengeance outweighed prudential motives, and this order was set aside. The first was that of General Massa, the author of the capitulation, who was hung on the gallows, and with him Eleonora PimenteV a noble-minded woman, who as a poetess ranks among the finest geniuses of Italy, but who held liberal opinions, and was the authoress of the Monitore Napoletano, and an eloquent speaker in the tribune of the clubs and of the people. The Juntas liaving been informed of tlic will of the queen and of the king, commenced their iniquitous office ; first and most eager for the work was the Junta of State, which met in the mo- nastery of Monte Oliveto, where this flagitious tribunal held their sittings by night, either to prove their indefatigable zeal, or to add to the horror and terrors of the scene. In order to prevent any stagnation in their acts of tyranny, they resolved to record the sentences every Tliursday, publish them the following day, and e.xecute them on the Saturday. Tliose who had capitulated alone ^ Donna Eleonore Fonseca Pimentd. — sur im projet de Lanque nationale, ou il y Une dame Napolitaine, qui s'est d'abord a des viies tres profondes, qui pourroit in- distinguc'e par des poesies agreaLles et in- teresser les liommes les plus instruits dans genieuses, et qui s'est ensuite livrce a des ces matieres, a.d. 1793. — llemoires Secrets etudes arides, mais importantes pour le des Cours de Vltalie, vol. i. p. 77. bien public. Elle a composce une livre 1799. FERDINAND IV. 879 obtained from the Icing a commutation of punishment, and in phace of death, were condemned to perpetual imprisonment in the sub- terranean dungeons of Santa Caterina, in the island of Favignana. This ishxnd, in the seas of Sicily, the J^gusa of the Latins, and at that time a prison notorious through the decrees of the Roman tyrants, rises from the sea to a great height in the form of a cone. on whose summit a castle has been built. Within the castle there is a descent by steps cut the whole depth of the rock, until they reach an artificial grotto, which well deserves its name of the Fossa, or Pit. Here the sun's rays never penetrate, and the cold is piercing, while only a dim light pervades the dense moisture which hangs in the atmosphere ; it is inhabited by noxious ani- mals, while man, however young and robust, soon dies there. This was the apartment assigned to nine of the prisoners, among whom the most noted were the Prince of Torella, who was an invalid and in advanced life, the Marquis Corleto, of the house of Riari, the advocate Poerio,^ and the cavaliere Abbamonti. I must now enter upon the most tragical part of my history ; for after the French had been defeated in the battles of the Trebbia and of Novi, the Sicilian Government foreseeing the complete triumph of the old over the new, overstepped the barriers which had been prescribed by policy (for they had none in conscience), and resolved not to mitigate any of the punishments. From that moment all the sentences of death were confirmed, and those who liad capitulated had nothing left them but the prolongation of their lives during the few days in which they were confined in the ter- rible cell for the condemned. Oronzo Massa and Eleonora Pimentel having been executed, Gabriel Manthone was the next to follow. On being questioned by Speciale what he had done to serve the Republic, he answered, " Great things, but not sufficient, since we ended by capitulating." . . . . " What do you plead in your defence?" asked the judge; "That I was among those who capitulated.'' " That is not enough." . ..." I have no other for one who despises the faith of treaties." He went calmly to his death. Manthonb was followed by Nicola Fiano, who, happening to be fortunate in his proces, was not found guilty of death ; for savage as were the laws, they failed in discovering matter for his condem- ^ The Advocate Poerio. The father of the ex-minister Carlo Poerio. 380 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. nation, but his death had been ordered by commands sent from Sicily, and in this dilemma the Junta resorted to perfidy. The judge sent for the prisoner from his dungeon, and, as he entered, exclaimed, "Is it thou?" then ordering his chains to be struck oiF, they were left alone. " Ah ! Fiano," he continued, " in what a condition do I behold thee once again ? We who shared together the pleasures of youth, little thought the time would arrive when I should be the judge and thou the delinquent. But the fates have ordered, that, happily for me, the life of my friend is placed in my hands. Let me for a moment forget my office and thou thy misery ; let us be as friend to friend, and concert the means by which to save thee. I will prompt thee when to assent and when to be silent, so that thou mayest gain credit and confidence for sincerity." Fiano was astonished and moved to tears at this proof of friend- ship ; Speciale, who was the judge, embraced him, and the prisoner repeated whatever he dictated, while the scrivano noted down his words, which had a directly contrary eifect to that promised, for the traitor made him deny what he had previously affirmed in his proces, and confess an acquaintance with matters of which he really had no knowledge. The unhappy man was thus condemned to death upon his own words. In his youth he had been the boon companion of the villain by whom he was now betrayed. Francesco Conforti, a learned man, a bold writer against the pretensions of Rome, and a legislator under the Hepublic, was menaced with death. His works had been lost, but he was requested by Speciale to rewrite them, and was told that his past and present services would stand him in great stead. He was given a better prison and left in solitude, when he toiled day and night on a work in vindication of the secular government against the sacerdotal ; having completed his labour he presented it to his judge, who then opened his trial, and a few days afterwards rewarded him with death. Instances such as these, and despair of life, urged the prisoners to extremities ; one of them, a man named Velasco, of gigantic strength and stature, was replying by evasive answers to the ques- tions of the Judge Speciale, when that inhuman wretch threatened him, that to punish his lies, he would liave him strangled tlie next day on the gallows. Velasco answered, " You will not ;" and be- fore the words were out of his mouth, seized his enemy, and dragged i 1-99. FERDINAND IV. 381 him to the window, hoping, that while grasping him in a close embrace, thej would both fall together. The scrivano attempted to interfere, and the creatures of the police who were in attend- ance, hastening thither at the cries for help, Velasco threw Jiimself out alone. The Count di Ruvo, when reviled by the Judge Sambuti, inter- mitted his insults, by saying, " If we were both free, you would be more cautious in your language ; these chains make you bold ;" and he shook his fist in his face ; the coward turned pale, and commanded that the prisoner should be removed ; but hardly had he left the room before Sambuti wrote down his sentence, by which that strong man was the following day conducted to execution. As a noble, he was permitted to die by the axe, and he requested to be allowed to lie on his back, that he might watch with scorn the descent of that instrument which cowards fear. Some of the prisoners in the deep dungeons of Castel-Nuovo attempted to escape, aided by a noble woman who was herself at liberty within the city ; for in those times of affliction, when danger and fear prevented men going abroad, women undertook the charge of bringing aid to the persecuted. Treated with contumely in the chambers of the ministers, driven from the gates of the prisons, insulted in their misfortunes by the scrivani and judges, they bore all patiently, and modestly but without quailing, returned the following day to the same chambers and the same gates. If any of the prisoners escaped the death which had been already resolved on, or if any had their punishments mitigated, they owed all to the perseverance and charity of these women. One of them, after much labour and many attempts, succeeded in introducing files, iron, and ropes, with other instruments into the dungeon. The mathematician Annibale Giordano,^ who has been already men- tioned in the Third Book of this history, contrived the means of escape. The rest were employed to saw through the bars of the window, and to arrange the machinery for their descent to the sea below, near the harbour, where a boat was ready to receive them. The work was just completed, and the prisoners were rejoicing in the hope of liberty ; they were nineteen in number and men of extraordinary merit, as among them were Cirillo, 1 Annihah Giordano who betrayed the Minister Medici. See ante, p 217. .382 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. Pagano, Baffi,^ and others ; wlien, in tlie middle of the night, the gates were unlocked, and Duecce entered the dungeon with a judge of the police, bailiffs, constables, and others ; the two first went straight to tlie sjjot wliere the instruments were buried in a hole, and to tlie bars of the window, the way by which the in- tended escape was to liave been made. They did not appear like men in doubt, but went straight to their object without hesita- tion ; for two of the prisoners, Annibale Giordano, grown old in treachery, and Francesco Bassetti, a general of the Republic, had betrayed what was prepared to the commander of the fort, on a promise of tlieir own lives being spared. Seventeen persons in consequence perished by an ignominious death, while these two prolonged their infamous lives ; Bassetti's was short, that of Gior- dano long and prosperous. The trials proceeded. The Judge Guidobaldi had to examine his friend Niccolo Fiorentino, a learned mathematician, jurist, and man of science; an ardent, but at the same time cautious advocate for liberty, who had avoided public office, and had only endeavoured to instruct the people by his words and virtuous example. Guido- baldi addressed liim thus : — " Let there be few words between us ; what were you during the Republic ?" " Nothing," answered Fio- rentino ; " I was guided by tlie laws, or by necessity, the supreme law." Guidobaldi replied that the tribunals, not the accused, were appointed to judge of the guilt or innocence of their actions, and then addressed him in a speech composed of a smattering of law, mingled with insults and protestations of old friendship, while always repeating the words, justice, faith, and the goodness of the king. The prisoner, who was a man of warm and hasty temper, lost patience, and burst forth: " The king, not we, occasioned the war with the French ; the king and his general, Mack, caused our defeat ; the king fled, leaving the kingdom in poverty and dis- order ; it was by his means the enemy conquered and imposed their will on the vanquished people ; we obe^^ed them, as our fathers obeyed the will of King Charles of Bourbon, for the obe- 1 Pasqiiale Baffi, a celebrated Greek Library. In 1787, Member of the Hercu- scbolar, born 1749, in Calabria. In 1773 lancan Academy, and employed to decipher appointed to the chair of Latin and Greek Greek papyri. in Naples, and made Librarian of the Eoyal I 1799. FERDINAND IV. 383 dience of the conquered is lawful, because an act of necessity ; and now you, the delegate of that same King, you speak to us of laivs, justice, and faith. What are your laws ? laws delivered after the act ; what is j^our justice ? a secret proces, no defence, and arbi- trary sentences ; and what your faith ? the terms of the capitulation for the castles, which have all been broken. Shame on you for profaning words revered by the whole civilized world, and using them to serve the purpose of the most infamous of tyrannies! Say rather that the princes want blood ; do not give yourselves the trouble of trials and condemnations, but read the lists of those proscribed, and put them to death at once ; this vengeance would be more rapid, and more conformable with the tyrant's dignity. Finally, since you protest a friendship for me, I exhort you to relinquish your present office of executioner rather than judge ; and remember, that if the universal justice, which despite deeds such as yours still revolves around this earth, does not punish your crimes in your lifetime, your detested name will disgrace your children, and your memory will be cursed for ages to come." The vehemence of the orator prevented the possibility of interruption, and when he had ended, he was handed over to the police, who savagely drawing the ropes and chains tighter, produced as many wounds in his flesh as there were knots ; but, on his return to the dungeon, he related to us what had passed, and added (a sad but true foreboding), " that he would soon repeat his words to our dead comrades."' Mario Pagano only said that he believed every attempt at de- fence useless, that life had become burdensome to him from the unceasing wickedness of man, and the tyranny of governments, and that he hoped for peace after death. When Domenico Cirillo was asked his age, he replied, " Sixty ;" his profession ? " A physician during the king's reign ; a delegate of the people during the Republic." Irritated by this boast, the Judge Speciale then asked in mockery; " And what are you in my presence?" . ..." In thy presence, coward, I am a hero." He was condemned to die. His high reputation, and having frequently attended the royal family in a medical capacity, caused his execu- tion to be postponed ; and during this interval, Hamilton and Nelson sent to inform him in his prison, that if he would ask the king's pardon it would be granted ; but he answered with dignity 384 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. that lie had lost the fruit of all the labours of his mind in the sack of his house, and the charms of domestic life with the hope of con- tinuing his name, b}'' the loss of his niece ; that he had no further attractions to life, and that hoping for peace after death, he would do nothing to escape it. He suffered upon the gallows, together with Mario Pagano, Ignazio Ciaja, and Vincenzo Russo. So much wisdom, so much learning, and so much honour were thus lost to Italy in one day. The populace looked on in awe-struck silence ; it was rumoured that if the death of Cirillo had not been hastened, the king would have pardoned him, but this false report soon died away, and obtained no credit. It would be a tedious and melancholy task to describe instance after instance of the proceedings of the tyrants, and of the misery of their victims. I shall therefore only mention those which were most cruel and notorious. About three hundred of the first men in the kingdom perished, without reckoning those who had been killed in fight or during the riots ; of this unhappy number, w^ere Caraffa, Riario, Colonna, Caracciolo, five of the Pignatellis (of Vaglio, Strongoli and Marsico), and at least twenty more members of illustrious families; beside whom were seen men distinguished in letters or science, such as Cirillo, Pagano, Conforti, Russo, Ciaja, Fiorentino, Baffi, Falconieri, Logoteta, De Filippis, Albanese, Bagni, Neri, and many more ; as well as men renowned for other reasons, such as Generals Federici, Massa, Manthone, Bishop Sarno, Bishop Natale, and the Prelate Troise ; besides Eleonora Piraentel, a woman of unblemished character, and the unhappy girl Luigia Sanfelice. No other city or kingdom in the world, as rich with men of genius, has been equally impoverished by the loss of so many and of so high an order. The cases of the noble j^ouths Serra and Riario, who were beheaded, were still more pitied by gentle hearts, neither of them having completed his twentieth year, while one of the name of Genzano had hardly attained his sixteenth. An almost incredible fact is recorded of this last : an only son of a wealthy and patrician family, and the future hope of their house, he died by the executioner ; and his father, the Marquis Genzano, either from a base nature, servility, or ambition, was so unnatural a monster, that a few weeks after the death of his son, he invited the Judges of the Junta to a sumptuous banquet. md. FERDINAND IV. 885 Another miserable spectacle was, the destitution of whole fami- lies, whose property had been sequestrated or confiscated by the Exchequer, or whose houses were empty, from having been rifled when the town was sacked; the credit of others had been exhausted by their inability to pay, and the aid received from relations and friends had been consumed in prison, or by the rapacity of the scrivani and judges, during the trials. It was forbidden by law to speak to the prisoners, or inquire into the accusations, or to have access to the magistrates ; but all were venal, and even mercy and justice had their price. Therefore to this day, families who were originally in easy circumstances, can with difliculty procure the necessaries of life, and often have to beg for food. The pro- perty of the rebels was administered by men of cruel and obdurate characters, who, in the embarrassed state of the treasury, confis- cated whole revenues, sold the land, and neglected to support the families of the prisoners. The nged Princess della (I have been requested for the present to conceal her name), lived in poverty, on the charity of a servant. The trial of Sanfelice, who had been the cause of the discovery of Baker's conspiracy, commenced. Ferri had been killed in the war, or had fled to France, and the relatives of the murdered Baker called for vengeance both in the tribunals of State and in the palace ; for all the blood which had been shed for the monarchy could not satisfy their fury, and they demanded more for the family. The unhappy woman was thrown into a horrible dungeon, and by the laws which condemned all to death who had committed any act to favour the Republic, she was sentenced to die, and would have been immediately executed, had she not confessed her- self with child. The execution was therefore suspended, but the king wrote from Palermo, reproaching the Junta with this delay, and ordering the woman to be sent to Sicily. On her arrival in Palermo she was shut up in a dungeon to wait the day of her child's birth, which was to be the last for the mother. Another trial which caused much excitement, was that of the naval officers. Admiral Caracciolo was dead, but one death was not enough to appease the rage which had been excited by the fatal engagements oft' Procida and Castellamare, and the aftair at the bridge of the Maddalena. The queen accordingly Avrote from VOL. I. 2 k 386 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. Palermo, ordering the Junta to select four of those most implicated, and have them executed ; to condemn the rest to minor punish- ments, and to complete their proces, which liad been too long- de- layed, causing much injury as a precedent, and greatly lamented by all the loyal servants of the king. This iniquitous Junta, after due deliberation, selected their victims, among whom was Captain Sancapre, detained in the prisons of San Stefano, an island oiF Gaeta. The day of trial had been fixed, but the winds delayed the arrival of the shijD at the island, and its return with the prisoner ; but the queen's orders were not therefore to be disobeyed, nor the sentence deferred ; the judges, therefore, substituted for the fortu- nate Sancapre, Captain Luigi Lagranalais, who had, by a former sentence, been condemned to banishment. Kor was this the only instance of slavish subserviency. Flavio Pirelli, a worthy magis- trate, who was in prison, after having been acquitted and liberated by the Junta, was condemned, by letters of the hing, to perpetual imprisonment at Ariano. Michel Angelo Novi, condemned to banishment by the Junta, was, by a command, sent from Palermo, shut up in prison for life ; Gregorio Mancini, sentenced to fifteen years' banishment, had taken leave of his wife and children, and was on board the ship ready to sail, when he was detained by fresh orders from the king, and the next day perished on the gallows. Hardly had the " case of the navy," as it was called, been concluded, before that of the city commenced. Serious charges were brought against the nobles ; disobedience to the king's lieu- tenant ; usurpation of authority ; the creation of a new govern- ment upon the fall of the monarchy and of the House of Bourbon ; the people prevented defending the city ; assistance rendered to the enemy ; all which crimes were concentrated in one. The Junta of State was again the tribunal employed for this trial, with the addition of some extra judges chosen by the king from magistrates of high rank and from his ministers; the mode of procedure was to be identical with the last, though the punisliments Avere to be different. The whole order of nobles trembled for their lives ; for though the accused were not above twenty j)ersons, numbers wlio were connected with tliem by blood, took alarm. They could pro- duce in their defence the ancient jirivileges of their order ; but these had been shaken by the events of the period. The trial I 1^99. FERDINAND lY. 387 only occupied a few clays ; some were set at liberty, many were punished with imprisonment, or confinement in the islands near Sicily ; and one alone Avas condemned to death — the Duke di Montcleone, well known in Europe and America, who possessed riches beyond the limits of a private fortune, a husband and father, and respected for the qualities of his heart and head. He would have perished by the hands of the executioner, had not letters from Pope Pius vi., addressed to the king, begged and obtained as a favour, that the sentence of death should be commuted to perpe- tual imprisonment in the island of Favignana. The condemned went to their several places of punishment, and among them the young Prince of Canosa, declared guilty, because he had proposed to change the monarchy into an oligarchy ; three of the eight judges had sentenced him to death, but the others, more lenient, pardoned his having ventured to move the measure, and con- demned him to only five years' imprisonment. The Junta of generals, presided over by Lieutenant-General de Gambs, the Council of the Subitanei (the improvised), and the Visitors to the provinces, rivalled the Junta of State in the rigour of their sentences, but could not equal it ; not because their ideas of justice were less stern, but because the principal delinquents had been handed over to the first Junta, of well-tried perfidy. Along with the trials for capital oifences, trials of less importance were hurried through, condemning to imprisonment, confinement within certain limits, and in many cases to exile; among the exiles were seen the old, the sick, the infirm, boys or children, who had not passed their twelfth year, matrons and maidens ; all which innocent persons were punished on various pretexts ; some for having altered tlie fashion of their hair, or allowed their beards to grow ; some for having been present at a Republican ceremony, and the women for having begged alms for the wounded and sick. Amidst this unrestrained license in punishment, there was not wanting the incentive of private hatred or rapacity, which, under pretence of reasons of State, sent an enemy, creditor, or rival into exile ; many were betrayed or watched by servants, tutors, friends, relations, a brother, or a wife. The morals of the people, already lax, owing to the political con- dition of the kingdom in past ages, and to recent events, sunk to 388 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. the lowest ebb of degradation in the year 1799, bj so many examples of virtue punished and vice rewarded. Whilst the good were persecuted by the tyrant, the bad were pro- moted and loaded with gifts and decorations, called honours, though (•onverted to a shameful use. The king gave Cardinal Ruffo the Abbey of Santa Sofia in benefice, Avith an income of nine thousand ducats in perpetuity for his family, besides other lands which yielded a not revenue of fifty thousand ducats and the office of lieu- tenant of the kingdom, with an annual salary of twenty- four thou- sand ducats ; a new kind of largesse, and only possible M'here the wishes of the king are laws to the State. The gifts were accom- panied by letters expressive of the royal attachment, and gratitude for the recovery of the kingdom. Other letters from the Emperor of all the Russias, Paul i., assured the Cardinal tliat he was the admiration of all good men, for his brilliant campaign in Calabria, and creating him a Knight of the Orders of St. Andrew and St. Alexander. The rank of colonel was bestowed on a retired captain, a brother of the Cardinal, with an annual pen- sion of three thousand ducats ; while ecclesiastical benefits and gifts, lands, and public offices were bestowed on the bishops of Capaceio and Policastro. The Chevalier Micheroux obtained the rank of marshal and a splendid diplomatic appointment, besides rich stipends ; De Cesare, the livery servant in Corsica, and the pretended Duke of Saxony in Puglia, was made a general ; Pronio, Fra Diavolo, Mammone, and Sciarpa, witli all tlie leaders of the royalist bands, were named colonels, and most of them made barons, and decorated with the order of Constantino, besides being enriched with lands and pensions. The royal gratitude extended to the officers of the Turkish and Russian forces, where it was expressed by doubling their pay and by large gifts. The greatest rewards were reserved for Sir Wil- liam Hamilton, while the queen bestowed all pains to prove the gratitude of the Bourbons towards Emma. A magnificent ban- quet in honour of Lord Xelson was ordered in an apartment of the palace in Palermo, wliich was fitted up as a temple of glory, where, as the Admiral entered, he was met by the royal family, and crowned with laurel by the hand of the Prince of Salerno. At tl\e same moment, the king presented him with a rich sword, 1799. FERDINAND IV. .*iS9 and a diploma creating him Duke of Bronte, with an annual pen- sion of six thousand ounces.^ Bronte is a little village at tlie foot of Etna near Catania, and was selected for the fiible connected with its name.^ The sculptors in Rome offered, at their own ex- pense, to erect a column with rostrums for the Duke of Bronte. These rewards and honours were all deserved by the conqueror of Aboukir, and, perhaps, scarcely equalled his merits ; but the Nelson of Naples was unworthy of them ; the royal family and people who had only lavished encomiums on the hero of Egypt, now dedicated immortal monuments to the murderer of Caracciolo, to the degraded lover of Lady Hamilton, to him who had violated the public faith, and whose arm had been all-powerful in the sup- port of tyranny. It is to such baseness that Italy may trace the chief cause of her miseries. Still greater recompenses were conferred upon the formation of a new army. The old army had been dissolved, the Republicans were proscribed or held in detestation, and the royalist bands were disorderly, composed of many officers and few or no soldiers. The Cardinal, in the beginning of tlie war wishing to avoid incurring the displeasure of his followers, allowed each to assume the mili- tary rank or position he fancied. The leaders therefore took the rank of colonel, not choosing higher, because there was neither time nor workmen in the provinces of sufficient skill to embroider the uniform of a general ; nevertheless some, such as Pronio. Mammone, and Rodio, assumed the title ; whilst one of the name of Carbone, who had only been a private in the old army, and a quarter-master, Nunziante, took the rank of colonels. Another soldier, of the name of Pastore, with more modesty called himself a major. All the brothers of Fra Diavolo, men who had only been common labourers, appeared as captains ; and there were innumer- able colonels, majors, and officers of all grades, as each assumed tlie rank he pleased, or accepted that given him by chance. To the mere wearino- a uniform succeeded the ambition for command. Fools, unfitted for the noble profession of arms by their low birth and habits, now aimed at serving in the new army in their self-created rank. Amidst this conflict of interest and claims, it required skil- ' A Sicilian ounce, twelve francs, eighty centimes, or ten shillings and eightpence. ' Bronte, thunder, one of the Cyclopes. 390 HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. fill management to re-fonn the army, and a council was held on the subject, where, though Cardinal RufFo gave a true picture of the ruffians who had composed his band of followers, the king dictated ordinances and despatches to this effect : — " As the campaign of 1798 was lost by the treachery of many officers in the army, we will, that all rebels, both those who failed in their duty, and those who accepted military or civil employment under the Republic, shall be excluded from the army. f. " Whoever served under that unlawful government shall be reputed guilty of high treason, more guilty if taken in arms, worse still if fighting against our standard, and guilty of death, if urged on by perfidy and obstinacy, they liave been wounded. " But willing to indulge our natural clemency, and to allow something for the inadvertencies of youth, besides offering some inducement to repentance, we will that tliose officers shall be recom- mended to our royal favour, who, tempted by poverty, served the rebels from necessity, yet refused to fight against our standard, or who at its sight deserted, or who, evincing still greater fidelity or repentance, joined the royalist troops, and turned against our enemies ; and we will that those who held the supreme command of any fort under the Republic, yet surrendered it into the hands of our soldiers or our allies, be readmitted into the royal service. " And after having thus provided for tlie officers of the old army, we command that in the new, those who fought for the cause of the throne sliall stand first ; pardoning the ofiences of their pre- vious lives and actions, whicli in themselves may perhaps be deserving of censure, but which were committed in the re-conquest of the kingdom ; for we shall onl}^ esteem and regard in them the services rendered to our cause. The leaders of the royalist bands shall therefore be colonels, and all sliall be officers (down to en- signs) who fought with distinction in these bands ; that rewards may be apportioned to merit, we declare those deserving who were the first to take up arms in a community, who roused the citizens to fight, and who led forth numerous bands, or performed any remarkable feat in arms ; and we declare those still more deserv- ing who conspired against the enemy, and caused him greater injury by open or secret means." To these ordinances succeeded regulations for the \q\j of sol- 1799. FERDINAND IV. S91 diers ; when it was found necessaiy to form many battalions of free companies, or volunteers, because the warriors of the Holv Faith refused to return to tlie hard labour of the pickaxe, or con- descend to the discipline of regular troops. By the above-mentioned royal ordinances, some of the Bourbon- ist juntas were commissioned to scrutinize the actions of the offi- cers of tlie former army, and as to the rigour of this measure was added the harsli character of the judges, few escaped death, impri- sonment, or exile. After one court-martial had cruellj^ condemned General Federici to death, for having served under the Republic, another court-martial ordered the execution of Major Eleutrio Rug- geri, because two recent wounds were discovered upon his body ; many and shameful falsehoods followed, in the endeavour to preserve life. Some asserted they had fled from battle ; others purchased a false certificate from the leaders of the Holy Faith, for having deserted the banners of the Republic ; some got their names in- scribed in the lists of conspirators with Baker, Tanfani, or Cristal- loro, paying a high price to stigmatize their own names with a treachery of whieli they were innocent ; while others concealed the scars of honourable wounds. Forged letters and documents, lying and suborned witnesses, and perversions of truth, were con- stant ; all ideas of honour were reversed, and thus the strongest bond which unites an army was severed. The Juntas were chiefly guided in their sentences by the single fact, whether the officer under examination had or had not served the Republic ; including all as traitors who had been employed by that government, and those it had neglected, faithful ; and as the former government had only enlisted the services of brave men, and had passed over cowards, virtue was tlius punished, and pusillanimity rewarded. Soon afterwards an inquiry was instituted into the conduct of the generals who had served in the army of Mack, as well as into that of the commanders of tlie fortresses which had surrendered : Gaeta, Pescara, and Civitella. General Micheroux, who had been defeated at Fermo, and had rcti'eated, leaving the frontier exposed, was acquitted and commended ; Generals Mech and Sassonia left Sicily laden with gifts ; Bourcard, De Gambs, and Naselli w'ere re- stored to their former rank ; Lieutenant-Colonel Lacombe, the pusil- lanimous governor of Civitella, was pardoned, and soon afterwards 392 HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1799. promoted to a colonelcy ; Colonel Prichard had the same good fortune, and was ad^^anced to a brigadier, and Marshal Tschiudy continued to enjoy his salary in idleness, as well as the authority belonging to his rank. Yet these men had been the first and sole cause of the success of the French invasion, and had not only failed in military skill and courage, but had broken their oaths to guard those fortresses from the enemy ; and their fears, how- ever justified, did not excuse their guilt. Had tliey been Neapo- litans, and brave and upright men, Avith years of meritorious ser- vice, tliey would have been at once executed ; but they were foreigners, bending under years of servitude, degraded by a court life, and were not therefore sus])ected of treason, a word believed or invented, to excuse all the mistakes and violence of despotism. The rest of the state was reorganized as well as the army, and all the acts of the Government breathed a malignant spirit of vengeance. Veteran officers were afraid to serve, new aspirants were audacious in their demands, while those who had fought under the Cardinal were not all desirous of a place in the army ; many wishing rather for appointments in the civil service, where they could live at their ease. De Chiaro, formerly a leader in the republican army, who had yielded himself with his troops and the city of Cosenza, into the arms of Ruffo, was sent as governor of the province to the very city which had witnessed his treachery ; and numbers of the old officials were turned out to be replaced by those who had conspired with Baker, Tanfano, and Cristalloro. The State was remodelled, and although based on acts of injustice, it was better adapted than formerly to the condition of the people, and their rulers ; thus enabling the Government to rise stronger than ever from its ruins ; it owed its strength, however, to the sub- version of ancient statutes, and to the elevation of men and things belonging to the modern school ; in consequence of Avhich a state of excitement and suspense continued, as in a time of conquest, which could not cease until the new era had been established, which required time, or much prudence and moderation on the part of the Government. 1799. FERDINAND IV. o93 CHAPTER II. WARLIKE ENTERPRISES OF THE NEAPOLITAN GOVERNMENT. The king, upon his restoration, exceeded all his former tyranny ; an assertion which I make with some reluctance, lest my readers and posterity, rather than my cotemporaries (who have themselves witnessed what I describe), may suspect that I write in a spirit of rancour, influenced by my own unhappy exile and my present misfortunes. All the events related in the preceding chapter, occurred under the eyes of Ferdinand himself, who w^as on board an English vessel in the bay of Naples, whence he sailed on the 4th August for Palermo. Before his departure he issued a pro- clamation to the effect, that by the aid of God, of his allies and his people, he had vanquished a strong and treacherous enemy ; that he had come to Naples for the purpose of rewarding the deserving, and punishing rebels from whom he never intended to accept terms of capitulation ; but while justice forbade any interference with the course of punishment, his royal inclinations prompted him to continue the rewards of merit ; he had therefore ordered the State trials to proceed, and that the fullest inquiry should be made into services rendered by communities or individuals. Dur- ing his temporary absence from his faithful city of Naples, he confided the safety and tranquillity of the kingdom to the rein- stated authorities, to the magistrates, army, but, above all, to the tried fidelity of his subjects, which he bade them maintain un- changed, and add to the honours they had already won ; as he, on his side, would constantly keep their interests in mind, and dispense rewards and emoluments among them with a generous hand. The English vessel under the command of Nelson, set sail with S94< HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 1793. a favourable wind, and conveyed Ferdinand back to Palermo, where he was welcomed amidst rejoicings greater than had ever been before witnessed, and almost as if he had been a victorious king who had just escaped the perils of war, and was bringing peace along with him. But time only was wanting to convert the fulsome rejoicings of tliat people into lamentations, produced by tlie same man and the same inhuman conduct, in wliich they were now so madly rejoicing. Where resistance is weak or impossible, the general dissatisfaction may be manifested by the universal gloom and the desertion of the place where the despot is expected to arrive. Tliis silent expression of disapprobation would prove the sincerity of the people, and be consistent with their dignity ; but, though easy and safe, so much virtue is not to be found in this effeminate and corrupt age. Ferdinand was therefore applauded by the Sicilians in the year 1799, for tyranny exercised over the Neapolitans, and by the Neapolitans in 1816, for restoring servi- tude in Sicily ; he thus learnt with how much ease he could sub- jugate tliese two infatuated races.^ But neither tlie rewards nor promises of the king, nor the tardy attempt at restraint by the Cardinal, could stop the violence of the Bourbonists in the city ; the state of license fluctuated with the pas- sions of the populace, and when these were satiated, sometimes relaxed for a while to be resumed with greater violence than ever upon the slightest occasion, or when the evil passions of the multi- tude were excited. Tiie necessity of a foreign war came opportunely to remove the rabble to a distance from the kingdom, and to send them off to Rome, wliere the king proposed to expel the French, while Jiis Christian warriors hoped to plunder the city and return with fresh booty. They set out led by Rodio, who called himself in Ills edicts, " General of the m-my of the Holy Faith, and Doctor of Laws ;" he was accompanied by a few troops of the line, and by several squadrons of cavalry, under the command of General Roccaromana ; Sciarpa, Pronio, Nunziante, Salomone, and Fra Dia- volo, conducted their followers, an undisciplined multitude, aver- aging twelve thousand men, though their numbers Vciried, some- ^ For an account of tlie causes of the an- and Neapolitans, see Gualterio — Bivolgi- tagonism oxistin^■^AJ-^,^ .;, A7=Mi - ' ; _ - A * B '^'^m,»mm''^':u&