Out with Garibaldi: A story of the liberation of Italy

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER VII.

  THE EXPEDITION SAILS.

  Frank spent a pleasant three weeks in Genoa. The three young men did allin their power to make the time pass agreeably to him: they introducedhim to their families and friends; one or the other of them alwaysaccompanied him to the theatre or opera, or, as much more frequentlyhappened, to gatherings at their own houses or at those ofacquaintances. Many of these were, like themselves, members of theGenoese corps; and both as a relative of two men who had sacrificedtheir lives in the cause of freedom, and especially for the aid that hismother had sent to Garibaldi to enable him to carry out his plans, hewas everywhere most warmly received. He himself had not told, even histhree friends, the amount that his mother had contributed; butGaribaldi's companions had mentioned it to others, and it soon becameknown to all interested in the expedition.

  Twice a week Frank drove out to Quarto. Matters had been steadilyprogressing. A thousand rifles, but of a very inferior kind, had beenobtained from Farini, and a few hundred of a better class had beenbought. These latter were for the use of Garibaldi's own band, while theothers would be distributed among such Sicilians as might join him onhis landing. These would for the most part come armed, as large numbersof guns and stores of ammunition had been accumulated in the island foruse in the futile insurrection a few months previously.

  On May 5th all was ready. Frank paid his hotel bill, left his trunk tobe placed in the store-room until he should send or return for it, andwith a bundle, in which his sword was wrapped up in his blanket, cloak,and a light waterproof sheet, and with a bag containing his red shirtsand other small belongings, together with his pistols and a good supplyof ammunition, drove to the Villa Spinola. On the previous day he hadsent on there a saddle and bridle, valise and holsters. The horses wereto be bought in Sicily. Outside all seemed as quiet as usual, but oncewithin the gates there was a great change. A score of gentlemen werestrolling in little groups in the garden, talking excitedly; these werealmost all new arrivals, and consequently unknown to Frank, who passedon into the house where Garibaldi, the officers of his staff, and otherprincipal officers were engaged in discussing the final arrangements.Most of the staff were known to him, as they had been there for somedays. He joined three or four of the younger men, who were sittingsmoking in a room on the ground floor while the council was being held.

  "So at last the day has arrived, lieutenant," one of them said. "I thinkeverything augurs well for us. I am convinced that the government do notmean to interfere with us, but are adopting the policy of shutting theireyes. Of course, they will disavow us, but they will not dare to stopus. They must know what is going on; there are too many people in thesecret for it not to have leaked out. I don't know whether you noticedit, but I could see, when I was in the city this morning, that there wasa general excitement; people met and talked earnestly; every stranger,and there are a good many there to-day, is watched eagerly. You see,there is no ship of war in the port, which there certainly would havebeen, had they intended to stop us."

  "I shall be very glad when we are well at sea," Frank said, "though Iagree with you that it is not likely we shall be interfered with."

  They chatted for upwards of an hour, and the council broke up. A listwas handed round, appointing the boats to which the various officerswere told off; and Frank found that he was to go in the third that leftthe shore, together with Orsini, commander of the second company, andTurr, the first _aide-de-camp_ of the general. The hours passed slowly.No regular meals were served, but food was placed on a long table, andeach could go in and take refreshments as he pleased. The new-comers,and indeed all the officers, with the exception of two or three ofGaribaldi's most trusted friends, were still in ignorance as to how theywere to obtain vessels to take them to Messina, and Frank, who wasbehind the scenes, listened with some amusement to the wild conjecturesthat they hazarded. He knew that the matter had been privately arrangedwith the owners of the Rubattino line of steamers that the _Lombardo_and _Piemonte_, both of which were in the harbour, should be seized bythe Garibaldians. They were warm adherents of the national cause, butcould not, of course, appear openly in the matter. They had already beenpaid the sum agreed on for any damage or injury that might happen to thevessels; while openly they would be able to protest loudly against theseizure of their ships, and, like the government, profess entireignorance of what was going on. Only a few hands would be left on board.These were to offer a feigned resistance, but were to make no noise.

  Among Garibaldi's followers were several engineers, who were to takecommand of and assist in the engine-rooms. In order to save time, the_Lombardo_, which was much the larger of the two vessels, was to takethe _Piemonte_ in tow. There was still, however, some anxiety on thepart of the leaders lest, at the last moment, the government shouldintervene, seize the arms, and take possession of the steamers. Theseizure of the great magazine of arms at Milan showed that Cavour was inearnest in his endeavour to put a stop to an expedition of whose successhe had not the slightest hope; but whether he would risk the fermentthat would be excited, were Garibaldi and his followers to be seized atthe moment of starting, was doubtful.

  This was a question that had been discussed time after time by Garibaldiand his friends. That the minister was well informed as to all thepreparations, the purchase of fresh arms, and the arrival of so many menat Genoa, was certain; but he could not know the exact hour at which theexpedition was to start, nor even be sure that it might not march downthe coast, and take ship at some other port than Genoa.

  Ignorant as were the great bulk of those gathered at the Villa Spinolaof Garibaldi's plans, they knew that the movement was to begin thatnight, and there was a general feeling of restlessness and excitement asevening approached. From time to time messengers brought news from thecity. All was well; there was no unusual stir among the troops. Thepolice went about their usual duties unconcernedly, and apparentlywithout noticing the suppressed excitement of the population. Atnightfall the word was passed round that all were to lie down as theycould, as there would be no movement until one o'clock. The order wasobeyed, but there was little sleep. It was known that Bixio and someother officers had already left the villa; and a whisper had run roundthat they were going to seize some ships, and that the embarkation wouldtake place before morning.

  At one o'clock all were in motion again. The servants of the villabrought round bowls of coffee and milk, and as soon as these were drunkand some bread hastily eaten, all made ready for a start. Frank had thatevening donned his uniform for the first time, and had been at work,with two other members of the staff, serving out rifles and ammunition,from an outhouse which had been converted into a magazine; the mencoming in a steady stream through a back entrance into the garden, andpassing again with their arms through another door. Another party wereat work carrying down boxes of ammunition and barrels of flour and otherprovisions to the shore. At one o'clock the whole force were gatheredthere. It was an impressive sight, and Frank for the first time fullyrealised the singularity and danger of the expedition in which he was toshare.

  Here were a thousand men, all of whom had fought again and again underGaribaldi in the cause of Italian liberty. They were about to start,against the wishes of the government of their country, to invade akingdom possessed of strong fortresses and an army of one hundred andtwenty-eight thousand regular troops. Success seemed altogetherimpossible. But Frank had deeply imbibed the conviction of his motherand Signora Forli that the people at large would flock to the standard.He had been carried away with the enthusiasm of the general and thoseabout him, and even the darkness of the night, the mystery of the quietarmed figures and of the boats hauled up in readiness for theembarkation, did not damp the suppressed excitement that made everynerve tingle, and rendered it difficult to remain outwardly impassive.

  The men talked together in low tones. Here were many who had not metsince they had parted after the events that had laid another stone tothe edifice of Italian Unity, by the addition of Tuscany, Parma, andMod
ena to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The greater part of them wereLombards and Genoese, but there were many from Turin and other cities ofPiedmont. Some were exiles, who had received a summons similar to thatsent by Garibaldi to Captain Percival. The greetings of all these men,who had been comrades in many dashing adventures, were warm and earnest,though expressed in but few low words.

  Hour after hour passed, and expectation grew into anxiety. All knew nowthat Bixio had gone to seize two steamers, and that they should havebeen in the roadstead at two o'clock; but at four there were still nosigns of them, and the fear that he had failed, that the government hadat the last moment intervened, grew stronger. It was not until dawn wasbeginning to break that the two steamers were made out approaching, andanxiety gave place to delight.

  Steadily and in good order the men took their places, under thedirection of the officers assigned to each boat, and by the time thesteamers arrived as near as they could venture to the shore, the boatswere alongside with their crews. The embarkation was quickly effected.It was found that there had been no dangerous hitch in the arrangements,the delay having been caused by the difficulty Bixio had had in findingthe two steamers, which were anchored in the extensive roadstead ofGenoa among many other ships. The stores were hastily transferred fromthe boats to the steamers, and these at once started for the spot wheretwo boats, laden with ammunition, percussion caps, and rifles, shouldhave been lying off the coast. Either through misunderstanding of ordersor the interference of the authorities, the two boats were not at therendezvous; and after cruising about for some hours in every direction,Garibaldi decided that no further time could be lost, for at any momentgovernment vessels might start in pursuit. Accordingly the steamers'heads were turned to the south, and the expedition fairly began.

  Delighted as all on board the _Lombardo_ and _Piemonte_ were to haveescaped without government interference, the loss of the ammunition wasa very serious blow. They had brought with them from the Villa Spinolascarcely sufficient for a couple of hours' fighting for those on board.They had neither a reserve for themselves, nor any to hand over with theguns to those they expected to join them on landing. It was, therefore,absolutely necessary to touch at some port to obtain ammunition, andGaribaldi chose Talamone, at the southern extremity of Tuscany, within afew miles of the boundary of the Papal States. They arrived there earlythe next morning, and Garibaldi at once went ashore and desired thegovernor of the fort, in the name of the king, to hand over to himsupplies of ammunition and some guns.

  Whatever doubts the governor may have had as to Garibaldi's authority,he and the governor of the much larger neighbouring town of Orbetellorendered him all the assistance in their power, and gave him aconsiderable amount of ammunition and several guns. The vessels filledup with coal, and the inhabitants welcomed the expedition withenthusiasm. For this conduct the governor of Talamone afterwardsreceived a severe reprimand from the government, who were obliged toclear themselves of any participation whatever in the expedition, andhad, a few hours after Garibaldi left Genoa, despatched a fast screwfrigate, the _Maria_, under the orders of Admiral Persano in pursuit.His official orders were to capture and bring back the steamers and allon board; but there can be little doubt that he received secretinstructions in a contrary sense. At any rate, the frigate, after aprolonged cruise, returned to Genoa without having come within sight ofthe expedition.

  Before leaving Talamone, Garibaldi accepted an offer of one of hisfollowers to undertake, with sixty men, to effect a diversion by raisingthe population in the north of the Papal States. The expedition seemed ahopeless one with so small a force; and it would seem that Garibaldiassented to it in order to rid himself from some whose impetuosity andviolent disposition might have led to trouble later. As was to beexpected, the little party failed entirely in their object, and weredefeated and captured very shortly after crossing the frontier.

  All were glad on board the two ships, when they were again under steam,and heading for their goal. As by this time it was certain that the newsof their departure from Genoa would have been telegraphed to Naples, andthat the ships of war of that country would be on the look-out tointercept them, it was decided, at a council of war held by Garibaldi,that instead of landing near Messina, they should make for the littleisland of Maregigimo, lying off the north-west corner of Sicily, as bythis route they would be likely to escape the vigilance of theNeapolitan ships-of-war, which would be watching for them along thecoast from the Straits of Messina to Palermo.

  Arriving at Maregigimo late on the evening of the 10th, and learningfrom the islanders that the coast of Sicily was everywhere patrolled,they decided to take the bold step of sailing into the harbour ofMarsala. As a large mercantile port, this offered several advantages.The true character of the vessels would not be suspected until theyarrived there, and hostile ships cruising near might take them forordinary merchantmen. There was also the advantage that, being only someseventy miles from Cape Bona, in Africa, it afforded a better chance ofescape, should they meet with misfortune after landing, and be obligedto re-embark. As they neared the coast they made out several sailingvessels and steamers near it, and in the roadstead of Marsala twoships-of-war were anchored. To their joy, they were able to make outthrough a telescope, while still at a considerable distance, that thesevessels were flying the British ensign, and so headed straight for theport, which they found full of merchantmen.

  They had indeed been attended by good fortune, for three Neapolitanships-of-war had left the port that morning and were still in sight.Being evidently suspicious, however, of the two steamers entering theport together, they turned and made for Marsala again. Not a moment waslost by the Garibaldians, and the disembarkation at once began. Ithappened that the British vessels-of-war were in the line of fire, andconsequently the whole of the men were landed before the Neapolitanscould bring their guns to bear. Two-thirds of them were still on thequay, getting the ammunition and stores into the carts, when the enemyopened fire upon them with shell and grape; fortunately the dischargeswere ill directed, and the Garibaldians marched off into the townwithout loss. They were welcomed with lively acclamation by the workingclasses of the town; but the authorities, while throwing no oppositionin their way, received them under protest, as indeed was natural enough,for they could hardly suppose that this handful of men could succeedagainst the power of Naples, and dreaded the anger of the governmentshould they bestow any warm hospitality upon these adventurers.

  Two days were spent at Marsala in gaining information as to the state ofthe country, making arrangements for the march inland, and for thetransport of ammunition and spare rifles, and in obtaining stores ofprovisions sufficient for two or three days. It was fortunate indeedthat no Neapolitan troops were stationed in the town, and that they weretherefore able to pursue their work without interruption. During thevoyage the force had been divided into eight companies, and a ninth wasnow formed from the Sicilians who joined them. The enthusiasm, that hadbeen necessarily shown rather in action than in shouts by the people ofMarsala, who, with Neapolitan ships in the bay, feared that anydemonstration might draw upon themselves a terrible retribution, nowshowed itself openly. The force was accompanied by great numbers of menand women,--even monks joined in the procession,--while from everyvillage parties of fighting men, many of whom had taken part in the lateinsurrection, joined the party; and when on the day after leavingMarsala they reached Salemi, the force had been augmented by twelvehundred men.

  Here Garibaldi, at the request not only of his own men, but of theauthorities of the little town and deputies from villages round, assumedthe title of dictator, in the name of Victor Emmanuel, King ofItaly--thus proclaiming to the world that he had broken altogether withthe republican faction.

  Except when on duty, there was a thorough comradeship among theGaribaldians. Fully half of the thousand men who had left Genoa with himbelonged to the upper and professional classes, and were of the samerank of life as the officers; consequently, when the march was done orthe men dismissed from para
de, all stiffness was thrown aside, andofficers and men mingled in the utmost harmony. All were in the highestspirits. The first well-nigh insuperable difficulties had been overcome;the hindrances thrown in their way by the Italian government had failedto prevent their embarkation; the danger of falling into the hands ofthe Neapolitan navy had been avoided, and the reception which they metwith showed that they had not overestimated the deep feeling ofhostility with which the Sicilians regarded their oppressors.

  Frank, while on capital terms with all the officers, who were aware howmuch the expedition owed to his family, and who saw the almostaffectionate manner in which Garibaldi treated him, kept principallywith his special friends, Maffio, Rubini, and Sarto.

  During the voyage, as an occasional change from the one absorbing topic,they asked him many questions about his school-days, and were intenselyinterested in his description of the life, so wholly different from thatat Italian schools and academies.

  "We don't have such good times as you have," Rubini said; "you seem tohave done just what you liked, and your masters do not appear to haveinterfered with you at all."

  "No, except when in school, they had nothing to do with us."

  "And you went where you liked and did what you liked, just as if youwere grown-up men? It is astonishing," Maffio said; "why, with us we arenever out of sight of our masters!"

  "We might not quite go where we liked: there were certain limits beyondwhich we were supposed not to pass; but really, as long as we did notget into any rows, we could pretty well go anywhere within walkingdistance. You see, the big fellows to a certain extent keep order; butreally they only do this in the houses where we live--outside there isno occasion to look after us. Though we are but boys, we are gentlemen,and are expected to act as such. I can't see why boys want lookingafter, as if they were criminals, who would break into a house ormaltreat an old woman, if they had the chance. It is because we are, asit were, put on our honour and allowed to act and think for ourselves,instead of being marched about and herded like a flock of sheep, thatour public school boys, as a rule, do so well afterwards. Our greatgeneral, Wellington--at least I think it was he--said, that the battleof Waterloo was fought in the playing fields of Eton. Of course, thoughhe said Eton, he meant of all our public schools. Certainly we are muchless likely to come to grief when we leave school and become our ownmasters, than we should be, if we had been treated as children up tothat time."

  "That must be so," Rubini said thoughtfully. "I wish we had such schoolsin Italy; perhaps we shall have some day. We have many universities, butno schools at all like yours. Of course, your masters are not priests?"

  "Well, they are almost all clergymen, but that makes no difference. Theyare generally good fellows, and take a lot of interest in our sports,which is natural enough, for many of them have been great cricketers orgreat oarsmen--that is, they have rowed in their university boat. Amaster who has done that sort of thing is more looked up to by the boys,and is thought more of, than fellows who have never done anything inparticular. The sort of fellows who have always been working andreading, and have come out high at the universities, are of course verygood teachers, but they don't understand boys half as well as the othersdo."

  "But why should you respect a master who has been, as you say, good atsports, more than one who has studied hard?"

  "Well, I don't know exactly. Of course it is very creditable to a man tohave taken a high degree; but somehow or other one does have a lot ofrespect for a fellow who you know could thrash any blackguard who had arow with him in a couple of minutes--just the same as one feels arespect for an officer who has done all sorts of brave actions. I heard,some time ago, that one of our masters had been appointed to a church insome beastly neighbourhood in Birmingham or one of those manufacturingtowns, and the people were such a rough lot that he could do nothingwith them at first. But one day, when he was going along the street, hesaw a notorious bully thrashing a woman, and he interfered. The fellowthreatened him; and he quietly turned in, and gave him the mosttremendous thrashing he had ever had, in about three minutes. After thathe got to be greatly liked, and did no end of good in his parish. Isuppose there was just the same feeling among those fellows as there iswith us at school."

  "It seems impossible," Rubini said, in a tone almost of awe, "that aminister should fight with his hands against a ruffian of that kind."

  "Well, I don't know," Frank replied: "if you saw a big ruffian thrashinga woman or insulting a lady, or if even he insulted yourself, what wouldyou do? I am supposing, of course, that you were not in uniform, and didnot wear a sword."

  "I do not know what I should do," Rubini said gravely. "I hope I shouldfly at him."

  "Yes; but if he were bigger and stronger, and you could not box, whatwould be the good of that? He would knock you down, and perhaps kick youalmost to death, and then finish thrashing the woman."

  The three friends looked gravely at each other.

  "Yes; but you say that this man was a priest, a clergyman?" Maffiourged.

  "Yes; but you must remember that he was also a man, and there is such athing as righteous anger. Why should a man look on and see a womanill-treated without lifting his hand to save her, simply because he is aclergyman? No, no, Maffio. You may say what you like, but it is a goodthing for a man to have exercised all his muscles as a boy, and to begood at sports, and have learned to use his fists. It is good for him,whether he is going to be a soldier, or a colonist in a wild country, ora traveller, or a clergyman. I am saying nothing against learning;learning is a very good thing, but certainly among English boys weadmire strength and skill more than learning, and I am quite sure thatas a nation we have benefited more by the one than the other. If therewas not one among us who had ever opened a Latin or Greek book, weshould still have extended our empire as we have done, colonisedcontinents, conquered India, and held our own, and more, against everyother nation by land and sea, and become a tremendous manufacturing andcommercial country."

  The others laughed. "Well crowed, Percival! No doubt there is a greatdeal in what you say, still I suppose that even you will hardly claimthat you are braver than other people."

  "Not braver," Frank said; "but bravery is no good without backbone. Iftwo men equally brave meet, it is the one with most 'last'--that is whatwe call stamina--most endurance, most strength, and most skill, who mustin the long-run win."

  "But the fault of you English is--I don't mean it offensively--that youbelieve too much in yourselves."

  "At any rate," Frank replied, "we don't boast about ourselves, as somepeople do, and it is because we believe in ourselves that we aresuccessful. For example, you all here believe that, small as is yournumber, you are going to defeat the Neapolitans, and I think that youwill do it, because I also believe in you. It is that feeling among oursoldiers and sailors--their conviction that, as a matter of course, theywill in the long-run win--that has carried them through battles and warsagainst the biggest odds. That was the way that your Roman ancestorscarried their arms over Europe. They were no braver than the men theyfought, but they believed thoroughly in themselves, and never admittedto themselves the possibility of defeat. What a mad expedition ourswould be if we had not the same feeling!"

  "I won't argue any more against you, Percival," Rubini laughed; "and ifI ever marry and have sons, I will send them over to be educated at oneof your great schools--that is, if we have not, as I hope we may have bythat time, schools of the same kind here. Can you fence? Do you learnthat at your schools?"

  "Not as a part of the school course. A fencing master does come downfrom London once a week, and some of the fellows take lessons from him.I did among others; but once a week is of very little use, and wheneverI was in London during the holidays, I went pretty nearly every day toAngelo's, which is considered the best school for fencing we have. Ofcourse my father, being a soldier, liked me to learn the use of thesword and rapier, though I might never have occasion to use them, for,as I was his only son, he did not want me to go into the a
rmy. It isjust as well now that I did go in for it."

  "I don't expect it will be of much use," Rubini said. "If theNeapolitans do not show themselves to be braver soldiers than we takethem for, there will be no hand-to-hand fighting. If, on the other hand,they do stand their ground well, I do not expect we shall ever get toclose quarters, for they ought to annihilate us before we could do so.Well, I long for the first trial."

  "So do I. I should think that a good deal would depend upon that. If webeat them as easily as I have heard my father say they were beaten nearRome in 1848, it is hardly likely that they will make much standafterwards. It is not only the effect it will have on the Neapolitantroops, but on the people. We cannot expect that the Sicilians will joinus in considerable number until we have won a battle, and we want themto make a good show. Even the most cowardly troops can hardly helpfighting when they are twenty to one; but if we are able to make a fairshow of force, the enemy may lose heart, even if the greater part of ourmen are only poorly armed peasants."

  To most of those who started from Genoa, fully prepared to sacrificetheir lives in the cause they regarded as sacred, the success that hadattended their passage, and enabled them to disembark without the lossof a man, seemed a presage of further good fortune, and they now marchedforward with the buoyant confidence, that in itself goes a long way toensure success; the thought that there were fifty thousand Neapolitantroops in the island, and that General Lanza had at Palermo twenty-eightthousand, in no way overawed them, and the news that a strong body ofthe enemy had advanced through Calatafimi to meet them was regarded withsatisfaction.

  Calatafimi stood in the heart of the mountains, where the roads fromPalermo, Marsala and Trapani met; and on such ground the disproportionof numbers would be of less importance than it would be in the plain,for the cavalry of the enemy would not be able to act with effect. Theground, too, as they learned from peasants, was covered with ruins ofbuildings erected by Saracens, Spaniards, and Normans, and was thereforeadmirably suited for irregular warfare. Garibaldi, with a few of hisstaff, went forward to reconnoitre the position. He decided that his ownfollowers should make a direct attack, while the new levies, workingamong the hills, should open fire on the Neapolitan flanks and chargedown upon them as opportunity offered.

  At Marsala the staff had all bought horses, choosing hardy animalsaccustomed to work among the mountains. It was not the general'sintention to hurl his little force directly on the Neapolitan centre,situated in the valley, but, while making a feint there, to attack oneflank or the other, the rapidity with which his men manoeuvred givingthem a great advantage. While, therefore, the six little guns he hadobtained at Talamonte were to open fire on the enemy's centre, coveredby a couple of hundred men, the rest were to act as a mobile force underhis own direction; their movements would be screened by the ruins andbroken ground, and he would be able to pass in comparative shelter fromone flank to the other, and so surprise the enemy by falling upon themwhere least expected.

  As they approached the scene of action, the Garibaldians left the road,scattering themselves in skirmishing order on either side, and workingtheir way along through the ruins, which so covered their advance, thatit was only occasionally that a glimpse of a red shirt or the gleam ofthe sun on a musket-barrel showed the enemy that their assailants wereapproaching. On ground like this horses were of little use, andGaribaldi ordered all the junior members of his staff to dismount,fasten their horses in places of shelter, and advance on foot with thetroops, as he should not require their services during the fight.