THE TRUE STORY

March 24. Inside of both these barracks there were several accomplices of the conspirators, and one of these perjured soldiers was Corporal Barsanti, a young man who in no way corresponded to the idéal picture drawn by his adhérents. He was not blonde, but darkcomplexioned, coarse and ordinary in appearance, and so dull of intellect that he was incapable of passing the examination to become a sergeant. On the night of the attack he kept two sergeants locked in a room to prevent them lending assistance in repulsing the attempt, menacing with a revolver a soldier who wished to release them, and endeavouring in every way to seduce his companions from their duty. He did not, however, kill or wound anyone. The young officer Vegezzi was in command of a detachment in the other barrack when he was wounded by a shot from a traitor soldier,

They were ail tried by court-martial, and Barsanti was shot like the rest ; a pétition, got up chiefly by ladies, on the ground of his youth, being firmly repulsed by the ministry. The republicans imrnediately elected him as a ‘martyr of the idea,’ and endowed him with ail the requisite qualities for a hero — the golden hair included. We confess it is not quite clear to us why a blonde traitor should be dealt with more leniently than a brown one. But as the bella testa Honda has been insisted on by Barsanti’s admirers, so the iconoclastic writer above quoted sweeps away this myth with the other fictitious attractions of the republican martyr.

This was the origin of the Circoli Barsanti to which belonged the assassin Passanante,

The Emperor Napoléon had sacrîficed the Italian alliance by persisting in holding his army in the Roman State. He declared war against Prussia without Consulting or acquainting Victor Emmanuel with his intentions ; the news reached the king when he was chamoishunting in the Alps, and hot upon it came the tidings of French disasters. It then becoming a matter of necessity to France to call ail her available forces into the field, the army was withdrawn from Rome and the Pope left to his own devices. At the same time an appeal was made to the Italian Government for help.

It was Victor Emmanuers generous impulse to aid France, in spite of the coldness that had arisen on the Roman question. France had once befriended Italy, and now she was in distress ; that was enough to cstablish a daim upon his sympathy. But he found his government utterly averse to any interférence in the quarrel. Italy had suffered enough from war ; her hnancial affairs were not in a satisfactory condition, nor was she in any way bound to aid France, seeing that France had not thought it necessary to take counsel with her on the subject The king argued the matter vigorously in the council, listened to the objections and combated them with persévérance but good temper, trying hard to win over his advisers to his opinion. But they stood firm, and of course he had to yield. He is reported to hâve said to the French ambassador — ‘ I am ready to go to the aid of the