But here and there were still a few who remained loyal to the reigning family and were anxious as to their fate. Francis, in his haste, had neglected to remove his private fortune of eleven million ducats—the dowry Queen Maria Christina had brought with her from Sardinia—from the Bank of Naples where it was kept. When Garibaldi learned this he sent for the man to whom the receipt had been entrusted, an officer of the royal household named Rispoli, and forced him to give up the document, which, afterward, he handed over to the new government. Poor Rispoli, who was devoted to his master, was so overcome at being deprived of his trust that he was stricken with apoplexy and died the following day. Chapter XI Siege of Gaeta It is probable that Francis at the time of his departure from Naples had no definite ideas as to how far he should offer resistance to the course of events. His friends urged him to wait quietly till the first wave of enthusiasm had passed, hoping he might then return to the throne as a member of an Italian confederation. From Gaeta he went with his brothers to Capua, where their presence did much to restore unity among the royal troops and revive their sinking courage, and where he was speedily joined by all who had anything to gain by adhering to the Bourbon cause or were too deeply compromised to venture to remain in Naples under the new regime. A much more valuable addition to the King’s forces, however, was a large number of volunteers from southern Germany, who had hastened to the aid of their fair countrywoman, and to whose valor it was largely owing that they were able to hold out so long. The arsenal and other stores in Naples had fallen into the hands of the enemy; but after Francis had collected and organized his troops beyond the Volturno, he found himself with fifty thousand well provisioned and equipped men at his command. Fired now for the first time with true martial spirit, he determined to cut his way through Garibaldi’s forces to Naples, where, he was assured by secret agents, the fickle populace would welcome him back with open arms. On the first of October, at daybreak, accordingly, the attack was begun; but the royal troops were defeated and driven back across the Volturno, the gates of Capua being thrown open at five o’clock that afternoon to admit the fugitives.