"At Messina our proposals were rejected, on the plea that the Neapolitan government had done great things for the commerce of that city, and that, all things considered, peace at any price, with flourishing trade and the hope of growing rich, was preferable to a patriotic war with confusion and anarchy. At Catania they told us that they could not do anything without the concurrence of Messina, and would not do anything without that of Palermo. In fact they definitely refused to assist us in any way; and, after putting us off from year to year, they informed us that the trade of brigand had gone out of fashion, and that it was very bad taste to persist in it when we could sell out to the government and make our fortunes in its service. They forgot to add, it is true, that, in order to resume his place in society, it would have been necessary for the Prince of Castro-Reale to become the enemy of his country and accept some military or civil post, the duties of which consisted in dispersing insurrections with cannon, and in pursuing, denouncing, and hanging his old comrades. "The _Destatore_, seeing that his mission was at an end, and that, in order to live by his gun, he must thenceforth prey upon his fellow-countrymen, fell into a state of profound depression. Wandering among the wildest ravines on the island, and making bold forays, sometimes to the very gates of the cities, he lived for a time upon foreign travellers who were rash enough to visit the island. That trade was not worthy of him, for those foreigners were, for the most part, entirely free from blame for our ills, and so utterly incapable of defending themselves, that it was a pity to rob them. The brave fellows who followed him were disgusted with such wretched business, and every day brought its quota of desertions. To be sure those scrupulous fellows did worse when they left him; for some, being frowned upon everywhere, relapsed into idleness and poverty; others were forced to join the forces of the government, who considered them good soldiers, and made gendarmes and spies of them. "Thus there remained with the _Destatore_ only the more determined malefactors, who robbed and murdered, without scrutiny, everyone who came in their way. A single one was still honest, and refused to take part in this highwayman's business. It was the poor devil whose story I am telling you. Nor on the other hand would he leave his unfortunate captain; he loved him, and his heart was broken at the idea of abandoning him to traitors who would murder him some fine morning when they had no one to rob, or would force him into useless crimes for their own gratification.