The Life of General Garibaldi
TextGARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATION IN PALERMO, AS DICTATOR, JUNE 2
"Italy and Victor Emanuel!
"Joseph Garibaldi,
"Commander-in-Chief of the national forces in Italy,
"In virtue of the power conferred on him, decrees:
"Art. 1. – Whoever shall have fought for the country shall have a certain quota of land from the communal national domain, to be divided by law among the citizens of the commune. In case of the death of a soldier, this right shall belong to his heirs.
"Art. 2. – The said quota shall be equal to that which shall be established for all heads of poor families not proprietors, and said quotas shall be drawn by lot. If, however, the lands of the commune are more than sufficient for the wants of the population, the soldiers and their heirs shall receive a quota double that of other participants.
"Art. 3. – Where the communes shall not have a domain of their own, they shall be supplied with lands belonging to the domain of the state or the crown.
"Art. 4. – The Secretary of State shall be charged with the execution of this decree.
"The Dictator, Giuseppe Garibaldi."Secretary of State – (Signed) – Francesco Crispi.
"Palermo, June 2, 1860."
This is a characteristic act of Garibaldi, in whom sympathy and compassion for the poor, weak, and defenceless, form the basis of his character, and have ever given the impulse to his great enterprises, his perseverance, dauntless heroism, splendid successes, and disinterested rejection of honors and rewards. (See these traits, as displayed in childhood, on pages 14 and 15 of this volume, and recorded by his own pen.) Oh, when shall we see such principles ruling our legislators and our citizens? When will they rule in the early education of our families? When all our mothers and fathers are more like Garibaldi's!
CHAPTER X
"There are some good priests in Italy, but so few, that we call them Mosche Bianche (White Flies)." —Adventures of Rinaldo.
GARIBALDI SOLICITED BY THE SICILIANS TO ACCEPT THE DICTATORSHIP – DEMAND FOR ARMS – GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATIONS ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT, ETC. – HIS DIFFERENT WAYS OF TREATING GOOD PRIESTS AND JESUITS – REASONS – THE KING OF NAPLES' LIBERAL DECREE – REJECTED
As soon as Garibaldi landed and went a little way into the interior, all the most influential members of the aristocracy, as well as the free communities, asked him to assume the dictatorship in the name of Victor Emanuel, king of Italy, and the command in chief of the national army.
The first thing, of course, was to organize the military forces. Until then it was an affair of volunteers, who collected round one or another influential man of their town or district, all independent of each other, and remaining together or going home, as they pleased. A decree of the 19th May, from Salemi, instituted a militia, to which all belong from 17 to 50; those from 17 to 30 for active service in the field all over the country; those from 30 to 40 in their provinces, and those from 40 to 50 in their communes. The officers for the active army are named by the commander-in-chief, on the proposal of the commanders of the battalions; those of the second and third categories, only liable to local service, are chosen by the men themselves. But it is rather difficult to act up to this decree under the circumstances. Still, the thing in and about Palermo made progress. The squadre were now regularly paid, and probably they could not be kept together if they were not. They are called "Cacciatori del Etna" (Hunters of Etna).
The Sicilian patriots received pay, while the enthusiastic North Italians, who came to help, had not received a farthing, and did not expect to receive anything.
The native militia wore their brown fustian suit, which is generally worn all over the country, and is so alike that it made a very good uniform.
Not two months after the last disarmament took place, it was astonishing what a quantity of guns seemed to be still in the country. They were, for the most part, short guns, looking rather like old-fashioned single-barrelled fowling pieces than muskets. Most of them were percussion, however, and only a few with the old flint-lock. The longing for arms was extraordinary.
It might be said of Sicily, at that time, as was said of Piedmont in central Italy about the same time, by a writer in Turin:
"There is no pen able to describe, nor imagination strong enough to conceive, the nature of the present Italian movement. It is a nation in the struggles of its second birth. Half the youth of the towns are under arms; young boys of 12 or 13 break their parents' hearts by declaring themselves, every one of them, irrevocably bent on becoming soldiers. There are fourteen universities, and at least four times as many lyceums in the North Italy kingdom, and all of them are virtually closed, for nearly all the students, and many of the professors, are under arms. Those scholars whom mature age unfits for warlike purposes, either sit in parliament, or go out to Palermo to lend a hand to the provisional Italian government. They are everywhere organizing themselves into committees, instituting clubs, or 'circoli,' and other political associations, inundating the country with an evanescent but not inefficient press. There is a universal migration and transmigration. Venetia and the Marches pour into the Emilia and Lombardy. The freed provinces muster up volunteers for Sicily. From Sicily ghost-like or corpse-like state prisoners – the victims of Bourbon tyranny, the remnants of the wholesale batches of 1844 and 1848, the old, long-forgotten companions of the Bandiera, the friends of Poerio, the adventurers of the ill-fated Pisacane's expedition – creep forth from the battered doors of their prison, stretch their long-numbed limbs in the sun, gasp in their first inhalations of free air; then they embark for Genoa, where the warm sympathy of an applauding multitude awaiting them at their landing greets their ears, still stunned with the yells and curses of the fellow galley-slaves they have left behind. Such a sudden and universal swarming and blending together of the long-severed tribes of the same race the world never witnessed. Under the Turin porticoes you hear the pure, sharp Tuscan, the rich, drawling Roman, the lisping Venetian, the close ringing Neapolitan, as often as the harsh, guttural, vernacular Piedmontese."
GARIBALDI'S PROCLAMATIONS ESTABLISHING
A PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT, ETC
"Italy and Victor Emanuel!
"Joseph Garibaldi, Commander-in-Chief of the National forces in Sicily, etc., considering the decree of May 14, on the Dictatorship, decrees:
"Art. 1. – A governor is instituted for each of the 24 districts of Sicily.
"Art. 2. – The governor will reside in the chief place of the district, and wherever circumstances may require his presence in the commune that shall be deemed by him best adapted for serving as a centre of his operations.
"Art. 3. – The governor will reëstablish in every commune the Council and all the functionaries, such as they were before the Bourbonic occupation. He will replace by other individuals such as are deceased, or who from other causes may not appear.
"Art. 4. – The following will be excluded from the civic council, and cannot be members of the corporation, or communal judges, or agents of the public administration:
"(a.) All such as shall favor, directly or indirectly, the restoration of the Bourbons.
"(b.) All such as have filled or do fill public situations in the name of the Power now tormenting Sicily.
"(c.) All such as are notoriously opposed to the emancipation of the country.
"Art. 5. – The governor will have to decide on the grounds of incapacity as stated in the foregoing article, and in case of need will exercise the powers conferred on the district committees by the decrees of July 22, 1848, and Feb. 22, 1849.
"Art. 6. – The governor will appoint in each chief place of the district a quæstor, and in each commune a delegate for the public safety; in the cities of Palermo, Messina, and Catania, an assessor for each quarter.
"The delegates and assessors will be, in the exercise of their functions, dependent on the quæstor, and the quæstor on the governor.
"Art. 7. – The governor will preside over all the public branches of the administration, and direct their proceedings.
"Art. 8. – The sentences, decisions and public acts will be headed with the phrase, 'In the name of Victor Emanuel, King of Italy.'
"Art. 9. – The laws, decrees and regulations, as they existed down to the 15th of May, 1859, will continue in force.
"Art. 10. – All regulations contrary to the present one are cancelled.
"G. Garibaldi,"F. Crispi, Secretary of State.
"Alcamo, May 17, 1860."
"Italy and Victor Emanuel!
"Joseph Garibaldi, Commander-in-Chief, etc., decrees:
"1. In every free commune of Sicily the municipality will have to ascertain the state of the local treasuries, and what small sums are there. A report of the same, signed by the Municipal Chief, the Treasurer, and Municipal Chancellor, will have to be drawn up.
"2. The tax on the articles of food, and every kind of tax imposed by Bourbonic authority since May 15, 1849, are abolished.
"6. In the communes occupied by the enemy's forces, every citizen is bound to refuse to the Bourbonic government payment of the taxes, which taxes from this day henceforth belong to the nation.
"G. Garibaldi."Francesco Crispi, Secretary of State.
"Alcamo, May 19, 1860."
To account for the different ways in which Garibaldi treated some of the ecclesiastics in Sicily, two or three facts should be borne in mind. Innumerable instances have proved, in our day, as well as in various past ages, that some of the orders of monks and nuns are naturally predisposed to be liberal, humane and inoffensive, by the doctrines which they are taught, their inert state of life, the manner in which they are brought into partial contact with the world, or the oppression which they endure from their superiors, while other classes are inclined in opposite directions by influences of a contrary nature. Luther probably owed some of his freedom of thought, and his attachment to the doctrine of justification by faith, to the system to which he was trained in his convent, and became acquainted with some of the good traits of common people, by receiving their daily charity when a poor boy. The mendicant monks in Palermo, because they daily mingled with the people and received their bounty, took a leading part in the insurrection, and were forward and faithful aids of Garibaldi. The Italian patriots know how to discriminate between good and bad priests, many of whom are their enemies, either open or secret, but some of whom have always been their staunch friends. Several of the Sicilian exiles in America have acknowledged their obligations to priests for assistance or for life.
But the Jesuits! Of them there is never any doubt. They are always regarded as deadly foes, and are generally treated very summarily. Exile – immediate expulsion – is the rule toward them; and this short method, like the suppression of their society, has been forced upon those whom they operate against by the necessities of the Jesuits' own creating. While, therefore, Garibaldi treated some of the clergy with friendliness and confidence, he turned the Jesuits out of Sicily almost the first day.
The King of Naples, as his father did in the previous revolution, issued a decree on the 28th of June, promising privileges to his subjects, and concord with Victor Emanuel: but his word was utterly despised by the people.
NAPLES
The following is the text of the royal decree:
"1. General amnesty.
"2. The formation of a new ministry which shall, in the briefest possible time, draw up a statute on the basis of the Italian and national representative constitutions. The formation of this ministry is confided to Commendatore Spinelli.
"3. Concord shall be established with the king of Sardinia, for the interest of both crowns and of Italy.
"4. The flag of the kingdom shall be the Italian tricolor with the royal arms of Naples in the middle.
"5. Sicily shall receive analogous institutions, capable of satisfying the wants of the populations, and shall have a prince of the royal house for Viceroy.
"The Commendatore Spinelli is reported to have laid down the following conditions for his acceptance of the Presidentship of the ministry: The immediate banishment of the Queen Mother; impeachment of the displaced ministry; an immediate publication of the electoral law, in order to the prompt convocation of parliament; lastly, an alliance offensive and defensive with Piedmont, with reciprocal guarantees.
"On receiving the dispatches announcing that the king had proclaimed a constitution at Naples, Garibaldi decided that the Sicilian committee should assemble on the 18th inst. to vote on a plebiscitum (universal suffrage,) proposing immediate annexation to Piedmont.
"The fundamental point of the programme of the commander Spinelli, was the formation of an Italian Confederation, as recommended by the emperor of the French. This confederation to be essentially of a defensive character, and the independence of every State to be maintained, although national unity may be favored."
CHAPTER XI
"All unfurl the same bright banner,
All one army rush to form,
Pious lips shout one hozanna,
With one fire all hearts are warm."
The Banks of Dora.
MEDICI'S EXPEDITIONS FROM PIEDMONT TO AID GARIBALDI – PREPARATIONS, DEPARTURE, VOYAGE, ARRIVAL, ETC. – CAPITULATION OF MESSINA, ETC. – GARIBALDI AT MESSINA – HIS RECEPTION, MANNERS, AND SIMPLE HABITS – DIFFICULTIES IN ARRANGING HIS GOVERNMENT – LETTER FROM VICTOR EMANUEL FORBIDDING HIM TO INVADE NAPLES – GARIBALDI'S REPLY
Colonel Medici, who had been an officer of Garibaldi in South America, and afterward in Rome and Lombardy, raised and directed several corps of volunteers, who in June enthusiastically enlisted under the country's standard in Piedmont, and hastened to Sicily at different times. The following account of the expedition of the 8th of that month, is abridged from a private letter, written in the form of a journal, by one of the volunteers. It begins on "Thursday, the 14th of June, on board the ship Washington, lying off Cagliari," a small port of Piedmont a little east from Genoa:
"I little thought on Friday night, as I went to Cornigliano to witness the departure of the 1,200 volunteers, in the clipper Charles and Jane, that on the following night we ourselves should be en route to Sicily. Yet so it was. Our intention had been to wait for the third expedition. On the 8th of June came dispatches from Garibaldi, quite different from any previous ones, asking for men; so at 3, P.M., on the 9th, A – went to Medici, and was at once accepted. I followed, and with the same success. Our rendezvous was for 9, P.M., at Cornigliano. Toward evening we learned from fresh dispatches that the Neapolitan troops had evacuated Palermo; this made us hesitate, as for a thousand and one reasons we should prefer the third expedition: but calculating that if there should be nothing to do in Sicily, we could return, we took a carriage at midnight and drove off to Cornigliano. The gardens of the Villa della Ponsona, where was the rendezvous for the volunteers, were deserted, and we could see the two steamers lying at anchor off Sestri. A little fishing-boat was lying on the shore, so we coaxed the men to push off, and entered; we found it ankle deep in water, and in about ten minutes were climbing up the vessel's side. Medici had furnished us with a letter to the commander, who gave us a first-rate cabin, and told us that we were the first on board. Some delay had been occasioned by the little steamer Oregon jostling against the Washington in coming out of the port of Genoa; but with the exception of smashing the woodwork near the paddle-box, and breaking away a portion of the rails of the upper deck, no great damage was done. For a while we sat on deck, watching the volunteers coming up. Genoa looked more beautiful than ever, the moonlight flooding her marble palaces and spires; and almost the only constellation visible between the fleecy clouds was Cassiopeia, Garibaldi's star, by whose light he wended his way at night-time across the mountains that divide Genoa from Nice, when condemned to death by Charles Albert, in 1834.
"The expedition was composed of – ship Charles and Jane, of Bath (U.S.), left Genoa at midnight, 8th June, in tow of steamer L'Utile, with 1,200 men, under command of Major Corti.
"Steamship Franklin, left Genoa at 10, P.M., 9th June, for Leghorn, to receive on board 800 men, under command of Colonel Malenchini.
"Steamer Oregon, left Genoa 10th June, 4, P.M., with 200 men, under command of Major Caldesi.
"Steamship Washington, of New York, flag ship, Captain Wm. De Rohan, of Philadelphia, with 1,400 men, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Baldisseratto, an officer of the Sardinian navy, left Genoa at half-past three, A.M., 10th June.
"Total effective force of 3,600 men, well equipped and armed, the whole under the command of Colonel Medici, accompanied by a full staff.
"There was plenty of food on board, but no getting at it. No one murmured; indeed the patience and cheerfulness of the volunteers are beyond all praise. Some of them, many of them, are from the first Italian families, who have never known a hardship in their lives; here they cannot even lie down to sleep, but huddle together, rolled up like balls; many have to stand all night. We had a long chat with twenty of the famous Carabinieri of Genoa, who are going out to reinforce their company, of whom, out of thirty-five in one attack, six were killed and fifteen wounded. These twenty seem to dream of naught save a like fate.
"'Chi per la patria muoja vissuto ha assai,'
("He who dies for his country has lived long enough,")
they sing. One's faith in humanity increases wonderfully here.
"On the morning of the 11th, we passed Caprera, Garibaldi's Island, coasted along Sardinia all the day, and at 6, A.M., on the 12th, anchored off Cagliari. Medici hired two brigs, and dividing the volunteers into three portions, gave them breathing room. They looked extremely well in their simple uniform, white trousers and grey or blue blouse, faced with red. It is a pity, considering the heat of Sicily, they have not retained the regular Garibaldi hat, which would have sheltered the face somewhat. By the way, we have the famous Englishman, Captain Peard, on board; he missed Garibaldi's expedition, and is now going to join him; he is captain of the 2d Pavia brigade – a handsome man, with long hair, beard tinged with grey; blue, English eyes, and an honest English heart, much amused at the absurd stories that have been told about him – a true military man, and a worshipper of Garibaldi, intent on doing his utmost for Italian independence.
"Captain De Rohan, too, is a character. I am not at liberty to tell you how much we owe to him for his exertions and pecuniary sacrifices in this expedition. If the Neapolitans respect these 3,600 Sicilian exiles going home, we may thank the stars and stripes under which we sail.
"Medici would be in trouble, as he has positive orders from Cavour not to go; and this is natural. Cavour could not act otherwise since his advice was asked. Medici, had he wanted to do it, should. Medici is a splendid soldier and a good patriot.
"Before quitting Milazzo, I must tell you that I visited the citadel, the field of battle, and other places of interest, besides making the personal acquaintance of Garibaldi, and all the persons of note and interest staying here. Among others, none possess a larger share of the latter, for our countrymen at least, than Captain Peard, 'Garibaldi's Englishman,' a fine English gentleman, and not the melo-dramatic hero that people at home are fondly led to believe. I saw him for the first time under circumstances highly contributing to enhance the interest with which reputation and curiosity have invested him. He had left the café where he had taken up his quarters, and was walking quietly toward the shore, accompanied by his friends, and a few other persons."
Captain Peard was frequently mentioned, as a volunteer in the corps of Garibaldi, or at least in his company, during his daring and perilous, but successful career in Lombardy in 1859. The public have never been informed whether he was actually an officer and soldier of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, or only accompanied that incomparable band.
Garibaldi's Englishman, Captain J. W. Peard, wrote as follows to a friend at Florence, from Palermo, June 22d:
"Here we are, all safe, although I hear the papers say the contrary. We left Genoa with three steamers, one of which ran on to Leghorn, to embark laborers for the Isthmus of Suez, and after a good passage, got into Cagliari. Not so the American clipper, wit a battalion on board, that sailed 24 hours before us. The Neapolitans fell in with her off Cape Corso, and captured her. She is now, with all her cargo, both alive and dead, at Naples. Yesterday the American man-of-war on the station sailed for that port to demand her peremptorily. She was taken on the high seas, not in Neapolitan waters – therefore her capture is an act of piracy by the law of nations. Notwithstanding that loss, we landed 2,500 men and large supplies of Enfield rifles and ammunition.
"Palermo is in a frightful state from the bombardment. Accounts vary as to the number of shells thrown into the city; but the best report I can get gives them at about 800. The Toledo is in places quite blocked up with ruins. Near the palace nearly an entire street is burned. In other parts ruins meet you at every step. At present the people are hard at work removing the barricades and levelling the Castellamare, from which the shells were thrown. All the works toward the city are to be razed to the ground. The people are wild with joy at their deliverance. A friend of mine asked a man yesterday if it was a festa. 'Yes, signore, every day is a festa now,' he said, with tears rising to his eyes. Those who were present tell me never was anything like Garibaldi's entry into the city. He had not above 600 available men, besides the Sicilian levies, and the enemy was 20,000 strong. Extraordinary are the ravages of the royal troops – villas sacked and burned. I was in one yesterday that belonged to the Neapolitan minister, Cavona. They had destroyed everything they could not carry away. The floor was strewed with broken mirrors, chandeliers, marbles, busts, vases, etc. His own room they had piled up with furniture, and tried to set the building on fire. In another villa a valuable library was totally destroyed, the torn books being as high as a man's waist. I saw some Spanish MSS., royal decrees, etc., which would be invaluable to Sicilian historians, torn to pieces. After the armistice the royalists sacked upward of a thousand houses, and committed numberless murders."
Messina, the second city in Sicily, capitulated to General Medici, on the 28th of June. The commander, Field Marshal De Clary, stated that he was animated by sentiments of humanity, and wished to avoid the bloodshed which would have been caused on the one hand by the occupation of Messina, and on the other by the defence of the town and forts. The terms were:
"1. That the royal troops shall abandon the town of Messina, without being disturbed, and the town shall be occupied by the Sicilian troops, without the latter, on their part, being disturbed by the royal troops.
"2. The royal troops shall evacuate Gonzaga and Castellaccio after a delay of two days, to commence from the date of the signature of the present convention. Each of the two contracting parties shall appoint two officers and a commissioner to make an inventory of the cannon, stores and provisions; in short, of everything in the above-named forts at the time of their evacuation.
"3. The embarkation of the royal troops shall take place without disturbance from the Sicilians.
"4. The royal troops shall remain in possession of the citadel, and the forts of Don Blasco, Santerna, and San Salvadore, but shalt have no power to do damage to the town, except in the event of those works being attacked, or of works of attack being constructed in the town itself.
"5. A strip of ground parallel and contiguous to the military zone shall be neutralized.
"6. Communication by sea remains completely free to both sides, etc.
"In the last place, the signers of the present convention shall have the liberty of agreeing on the subject of the inherent necessities of civil life which will have to be satisfied and provided for in the town of Messina, in respect of the royal troops.
"Done, read, and concluded at the house of Signor Francesco Fiorentino, banker, at the Quattro Fontaine.
"Tommaso de Clary.
"G. Medici."
Messina and other cities of Italy were all captured or otherwise secured by the patriots, under various and highly interesting circumstances; but the particulars cannot be here recounted for want of space. The following account of Garibaldi's reception in Messina is from the pen of an eye-witness, and contains a just description of the simple manners and habits which he retains under all circumstances:
"At the appointed hour we went to the palace, where about forty or fifty persons were assembled. The banquet passed off very quietly and happily. Garibaldi, as I had noticed before, is very temperate at his meals, drinks water only, and very quickly rises immediately after he has finished, and returning to his office, resumes his business, which he dispatches with remarkable promptitude and ease – no hurry, no confusion, no excitement, even in the most pressing emergencies. On the present occasion he spent a little more time over his dinner, and after dessert he wrote, and chatted with those present. While at dinner a public band of music, improvised for the occasion, playing in the street in front, where a large number of people had assembled, who kept up a round of cheering when anything occurred, such as an arrival of a detachment of volunteers or some public favorite, to excite their curiosity and interest.
"The great event of the evening, however, came off some time later, when the palace having been illuminated, Garibaldi went on the balcony leading out of the banqueting room, for the purpose of showing himself to the people and addressing them. On making his appearance, a tremendous ovation was offered to the liberator by the Messinians. The applause, the cheering – genuine cheering – the clapping of hands, and the manifestations of joy and approbation, were of the most hearty and enthusiastic character. When this demonstration had quite subsided, which required great perseverance and some time to effect, Garibaldi proceeded to address the people. The thousands of upturned faces were all directed toward him, and amid a silence as still as the grave he spoke. The substance of his speech was to this effect: He said that he presented himself to them because they wished it, but that he himself objected to such exhibitions. He did not play the comedian; he was for deeds, not words. They had achieved a great triumph, but the time was come when they must achieve still greater. He thanked the Sicilians for the courage and enthusiasm they displayed in effecting their own deliverance, and said if they were true to themselves, not Sicily only, but with the blessing of Providence, the whole of Italy, would be liberated. He therefore urged upon them the necessity of still following up the good work, and invited them to come forward and enroll themselves in the ranks of their liberators. I need not dwell on the enthusiasm which this address excited; it was of the most vehement character I ever witnessed. After acknowledging its cordial reception for a few moments, Garibaldi withdrew."
Garibaldi had various difficulties in arranging his government, the causes of which may, perhaps, not yet have been fully explained. We will, therefore, only mention some of the leading facts. Farina, Grasselli, and Toti, whom Garibaldi had found very troublesome to him in Palermo, were sent out of the island, because, according to the official journal, they were "affiliated to the police of the continent," and had "conspired against order." The ministry resigned in consequence, and a new one was formed, including Messrs. Amari, the historian, Emeranti, and the following members of the old: Logothe, Laporta, and Orsini. Reports were published, from time to time, in Sicily, as afterward in Naples, accusing Republicans of efforts to counteract Garibaldi: but as the enemies of Italy have long showed their malice chiefly against the Republicans, of whom Garibaldi has been one, and as Mazzini himself had declared his ardent adhesion to the cause of united Italy under Victor Emanuel, such accusations are generally suspicious.
The following letter from Victor Emanuel to Garibaldi, and the reply, brief as they are, are two of the most important documents connected with the war, and, indeed, with the lives of their two distinguished writers. It is a most impressive truth, and must ever be regarded as a proof of Garibaldi's sound judgment, independence, resolution and impregnable firmness, in a great and glorious cause, at an epoch of his career when nothing else gave the right turn to the results then pending. On which side the "statesmanship" then lay, when the king wrote such a veto, with Cavour sitting at his right hand, and Garibaldi disobeyed it, standing alone, the world can determine, both now and hereafter.
LETTER FROM VICTOR EMANUEL TO GARIBALDI
"Dear General: You know that when you started for Sicily you did not have my approbation. To-day, considering the gravity of existing circumstances, I decide upon giving you a warning, being aware of the sincerity of your sentiments for me.
"In order to put an end to a war between Italians and Italians, I counsel you to renounce the idea of passing with your valorous troops to the Neapolitan mainland, provided that the King of Naples consents to evacuate the whole of the island, and to leave the Sicilians free to deliberate upon and to settle their destinies.