"The Italian must obey laws imposed upon him by a foreigner,--laws which had been framed without his voice, for the benefit of a master who dwelt at Vienna. Were a law good, he hated it because it was a cog in the great wheel of tyranny; were it bad, he hated it because it threatened directly his property, his freedom, or his life. Napoleon's rule had been despotic, but it had been despotic on a grand scale; he had conquered by force; he had opened avenues to glory; he had awakened a virile spirit, and shed round him large and stirring ideas: but these Austrians had sneaked into their supremacy; they were arrogant and conceited; their emperor was bigoted, petty, and unyielding; a man who depended on eavesdroppers and tricksters for his information; a man who had not a single heroic attribute, nor uttered, during the course of a long life, a single thought whereby mankind was made stronger or wiser; a martinet, only fitted to be the superintendent of a small reformatory school for juvenile criminals. So to the Italians the contrast between the recent French rule and the present Austrian was typified by the contrast between Napoleon and Francis; but the incompatibility between the two peoples had the deepest source,--it sprang from racial antipathy." When, in 1848, Metternich was driven from Vienna, and the Austrians from Milan, the Venetians also were ready to demand and to conquer their liberty. Manin, who had been imprisoned a few weeks before, was released, {295} upon an order from the governor, who dared not refuse it. A few days later he agreed to withdraw with all foreign soldiers, leaving the munitions and public treasure behind. The Venetian Republic, with Manin as President, was at once declared in the Piazza; the Italian tricolor again streamed from the three masts before the cathedral, and without fighting or bloodshed Venice was free. Her oppressors departed; her flag waved over her borders on the south and west. Her independence was recognized by the Consul of the United States; and all the people, with one accord, assembled in San Marco to thank God and their glorious saint that again Venice was a Republic. The Republic was declared on the 22d of March, 1848, and on the 18th of June the Austrians began to draw trenches round Mestre, thus cutting off communication between the mainland and Venice. The National Assembly did not meet until July 3, when, after attending Mass in the cathedral, one hundred and thirty-three deputies ascended the Giants' Staircase, and entered the Hall of the Great Council. It was a remarkable gathering, and momentous consequences hung upon its decisions. Thayer says:--