e blow. They had been
told again and again that till the seat of government was established
on the Tiber, it should abide under the shadow of the Alps--white
guardian angels of Italy--in the custody of the hardy population which
had shown itself so well worthy of the trust. The ministry foresaw the
effect which the convention would have on the minds of the Turinese,
and they resorted to the weak subterfuge of keeping its terms secret
as long as they could. Rumours, however, leaked out, and these, as
usual, exaggerated the evil. It was said that Rome was categorically
abandoned. On the 20th of September crowds began to fill the streets,
crying: 'Rome or Turin!' and on the two following days there were
encounters between the populace and the military, in which the latter
resorted to unnecessary and almost provocative violence. Amidst the
chorus of censure aroused by these events, the Minghetti cabinet
resigned, and General La Marmora, who, as a Piedmontese, was fitted to
soothe the excited feelings of his fellow-citizens, was called upon to
form a ministry.

The change of capital received the sanction of Parliament on the 19th
of November. Outside Piedmont it was not unpopular; people felt that,
after all, it rested with themselves to make Florence no final
halting-place, but a step towards Rome. The Papal Government, which
had been a stranger to the late negotiations, expressed a supreme
indifference to the whole affair, even to the contemplated departure
of the French troops, 'which concerned the Imperial Government, not
the Pope,' said Cardinal Antonelli, 'since the occupation had been
determined by French interests.' It cannot be asserted that the Pope
ever assumed a gratitude which he did not feel towards the monarch who
kept him on his throne for twenty years.

This year, 1864, was marked by an incident which, though not a
political event, should never be forgotten in the history of Italian
liberation--Garibaldi's visit to England. He came, the prisoner of
Aspromonte, not the conqueror of Sicily: a distinction that might have
made a difference elsewhere, but the English sometimes worship
misfortune as other peoples worship success. No sovereign from oversea
was ever received by them as they received the Italian hero; a
reception showing the sympathies of a century rather than the caprice
or curiosity of an hour. Half a million throats shouted London's
welcome; the soldier of two worlds knew the roar of battle, and