above upon the stairs; they came down, and formed
a ring about the unhappy man; and when they saw him shedding blood and
half lifeless, they all turned and rejoined their companions. He was
borne, amid his death-struggle, into the apartments of Cardinal Gazzoli,
at the head of the stairs on the left side; and there, after a few
moments, he breathed his last.

"In leaving the palace of the Cancellaria, one met some faces gleaming
with a hellish joy, others pallid with alarm; many townspeople standing
as if petrified; agitators, running this way and that, carbineers the
same; one kind of men might be heard muttering imprecations on the
assassin, but the generality faltered in broken and doubtful accents;
some, horrible to relate, cursed the murdered man. Yes, I have still
before my eyes the livid countenance of one who, as he saw me, shouted,
'So fare the betrayers of the people!' But the city was in the depths of
gloom, as under the hand of calamity and the scourge of God; and
wherever there were respectable persons, though of liberal and Italian
principles, they were horror-struck, and called for the resolute
exertions of the authorities."

When the terrible news came to the Pope, he was struck with horror and
dismay, but yet strove to rally the other members of the Government
around him and preserve the State from anarchy. But his efforts were
miserably seconded; one person after another declined taking office or
continuing in it; and even when the presidents of the two Councils were
summoned, they had little advice to give. On the morrow the tidings came
that a mob was on its way toward the Quirinal, some of the carbineers
having fraternized with them, to enforce the appointment of a democratic
ministry, and a declaration in favor of a constituent assembly for all
Italy. Only a few Swiss, the ordinary guard of honor, were on duty; but
they shut the gates of the palace, and nobly declared that their own
bodies should be piled up behind them before the rioters should enter.
Galletti, the former minister of police, acted as spokesman of the mob,
and when admitted to an audience he stated their demands. The Pope
indignantly declared that he would not yield to violence, but must
deliberate in freedom. This answer only inspired the insurgents with
fresh fury, so that they pressed forward to the gates, set one of them
on fire, and, mounting upon the roofs of the neighboring houses, opened
a fire upon the walls and windows