cession was an attempt to pull the Italians
together and rouse them to a supreme effort to resist the enemy and
save Italy. The crowd was so enthusiastic about the presence of
representatives of the British Army, that they finally caught us by
our legs and carried us on their shoulders through the streets. It was
a most amusing incident. I could not help thinking that the crowd were
the descendants of the men who had burnt Savonarola at the stake. My
friend, whose sense of humour had failed him, shouted over to me, "I
hate being made a fool of like this." I told him not to be rude as we
were helping on the cause of the Allies. Finally, overcome by our
struggles, the men let us down, and we were pushed along in the crowd
to the square in front of the Hotel Minerva. Here the leaders of the
procession invited us into the hotel and we were taken upstairs to (p. 225)
the front room, out of which opened a balcony overlooking the square.
A young Italian officer, who had been a lawyer before the war and had
lost both his eyes, went on to the balcony and made a most impassioned
appeal to his countrymen. The crowd in the square was now very dense,
and received his speech with great enthusiasm. When it was over, one
of the officers of "The society for finishing the war," came and urged
me to address the crowd. I was so pleased to find that my French was
better understood in Italy than in any place except England, that I
asked my friend if I should speak to them in French. He looked at me
very sourly, for he had not quite got back his equanimity, and said
curtly, "You had better not." Then I said, "I will talk to them in
Italian." I shall never forget the look of dismay which passed over
his countenance, but I told him it was helping on the cause of the
Allies. I went out on the balcony, and the people seeing the British
uniform and probably mistaking me for a general, at once began to
cheer. I took off my cap, waved it in the air and shouted at the top
of my voice "Viva l'Italia." It was the only speech they wanted. It
was neither too long nor too short. The crowd repeated the words, and
then shouted, "Viva l'Inghilterra!" and the band actually struck up
"God save the King" and followed it by "Rule Britannia, Britannia
rules the waves" (I wished at the time she had ruled under the waves
as well.) I went back to the room and the Italians were so delighted
with my short and pithy speech, that they invited me to dine with them
that ni