The Life of General Garibaldi: Translated from his private papers; with the history of his splendid exploits in Rome, Lombardy, Sicily and Naples, to the present time.Garibaldi, Giuseppe
History
The Life of General Garibaldi: Translated from his private papers; with the history of his splendid exploits in Rome, Lombardy, Sicily and Naples, to the present time.
Garibaldi, Giuseppe
Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 1807-1882
JOURNAL OF AN EYE-WITNESS CONTINUED—PALERMO AFTER THE
CAPTURE—GARIBALDI IN A DANGEROUS CRISIS—THE ARCHBISHOP
OF PALERMO AND MANY OF THE HEADS OF CONVENTS WITH
GARIBALDI—ADDRESS OF THE CORPORATION—INCIDENTS IN
PALERMO—GARIBALDI'S DECREE FOR POOR SOLDIERS AND THEIR
FAMILIES.
"THE taking of Palermo has had decidedly its effect on
the country around. There is no end of the _squadre_
which are approaching in all directions and hovering
about the Regii. As soon as these latter had left
Monreale, the insurgents in the neighborhood descended
to occupy it as well as San Martino. All about Piana and
Corleone they are swarming and skirmishing, so that the
column of 1,500 or 1,600 men which has been sent in that
direction is rather compromised. They hoped to destroy
Garibaldi and his partisans, and the fate they prepared
for them may await themselves.
"But while thus the general march of events is decidedly
favorable, I must say the Palermitans are scarcely up to
the mark. They are all well-intentioned, but they
are distressingly indolent, and want that general
coöperation which is most calculated to insure success.
There is no initiative or activity on their part, and
their sole occupation seems to be to invent and spread
rumors. Not a quarter of an hour passes without some
fellow or other coming in out of breath and announcing
the advance of the royal troops; now they are from one,
now from the other side. Above all, horses and cavalry
seem to be the nightmare of the Palermitans. They see
the solitary regiment of Neapolitan cavalry everywhere.
It is in vain that their noses are thrust against the
barricades with which the whole town is blocked up, they
_will_ see the cavalry. But, although they are thus
haunted by the royal troops, few seem to think that
they ought to do some thing for themselves—making
preparations for the defence of their houses and
streets, and being always ready to meet an attack. It
never occurs to them, as it did to the Lombards last
year, that it is their duty to think day and night how
to alleviate the sufferings of those who bleed in their
cause. It is not the want of will, but a deficiency in
acting otherwise than by order. The only thing which
they do spontaneously, is to cry "Evviva," and promenade
the streets, eager for news and gossip.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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