IL CAVALLO DELLO STATUTO

of Savoy painted on the panels; it was open at the sides, showing the coffin, on which were laid the crown and sceptre of the defunct monarch, and the garlands sent by the Queen of England and the Emperor of Germany. Fastened on to the back of the car were wreaths of rarest flowers, tied with crape and tricoloured ribbons, while the roof was an enormous mass of verdure and flowers, contributed from the balconies on the line of march. The hearse was drawn by eight black horses covered with crape, with white and black plumes from their heads, each led by a groom. This great car moved on slowly, followed by wistful eyes ; and immediately after came a groom leading an aged warhorse covered with crape. It was thirty years old, and had seen many an eventful day, for it was that horse that the young Duke of Savoy mounted on the joyful occasion when his father gave Piedmont a constitution, and it was consequently called U cavallo dello Statuto.

A cavalier with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on a cushion came next, and was followed by the municipality of Monza, where this precious relie is kept ; then a body of ensigns bearing the colours of the different régiments. At this moment it was a splendid spectacle ; in front the funeral car with its following of officers of the royal household, and behind, as far as the eye could reach along the Corso, one sea of waving banners, the brilliant tricolour ail draped with crape. Next came the scientific bodies ; they were followed by 450 Turinese students, then Roman students, then municipal bodies from the provinces. These last would hâve made a respectable

funcral procession in themselves, and it was a strong testimony to the sentiments of the nation that every remote mountain village, in spite of the poverty of the times, subscribed funds and sent its représentatives with handsome banners and wreaths to the funeral of the great king,

There were not less than 200 civic flags from the provinces, Many magnificent garlands were borne on the tops of the flagstaffs, but the masterpiece of beauty was one carried by the Roman shopkeepers, of enormous dimensions, composed of the rarest white flowers, bordered with green, and tied with gold cord and tassels mingled with crape ; it was attached to a broad banner on which was embroidered in huge letters —