alian cause. When the
order to return reached Bologna, the veteran patriot, General Pepe,
who had been summoned from exile to take the chief command, resolved
to disobey, and invited the rest to follow him. Nearly the whole of
the troops were, however, faithful to their military oath. The
situation was horrible. The choice lay between the country in danger
and the King, who, false and perjured though he might be, was still
the head of the State, to whom each soldier had sworn obedience. One
gallant officer escaped from the dilemma by shooting himself. Pepe,
with a single battalion of the line, a company of engineers, and two
battalions of volunteers, went to Venice, where they fought like
heroes to the end.

On the 27th of May, Radetsky, taking the offensive with about 40,000
men, marched towards Mantua, near which was stationed the small Tuscan
corps, whose commander only received when too late General Bava's
order to retire from an untenable position. On the 29th the Austrians,
in overwhelming numbers, bore down upon the 6000 Tuscans at Montanara
and Curtatone, and defeated them after a resistance of six hours. The
Tuscan professor, Giuseppe Montanelli, fell severely wounded while
holding the dead body of his favourite pupil, but he recovered to show
less discretion in politics than he had shown valour in the field.

Peschiera, where the supplies were exhausted, capitulated on the 30th,
and the day after found 22,000 Piedmontese ready to give Radetsky
battle at Goito, whence, after a severe contest, they drove him back
to Mantua. The Austrians lost 3000 out of 25,000 men. The honours of
the day fell to the Savoy brigade, which was worthy of its own fame
and of the future King of Italy, who was slightly wounded while
leading it. Outwardly this seemed the most fortunate period of the war
for Charles Albert, but that had already happened which was to cause
the turning of the tide. Nugent, with his 30,000 men, had joined
Radetsky. His march across Venetia was harassed by the inhabitants,
who left him no peace, especially in the mountain districts, but the
poor little force of Romans and volunteers under Durando and Ferrari
was unable to seriously check his progress in the open country, though
he failed in the attempt to take the towns of Treviso and Vicenza in
his passage. The repulse of the Austrians, 18,000 strong, from Vicenza
on the 23rd of May, did great credit to Durando, who only had 10,000
men, most of them _Cro