vengeance had arisen in their might and majesty to dash for ever away the charge of cowardice on their part. Ah! brave hearts! dear brothers! true patriots! I greet that shout of yours, startling the foe-"Italy or Death!"-as the token of your glorious success! Battle on, battle on! in your perseverance is the crown of your noble victory. Oh joy! I greet the people again as a nation; for in a courage so heroic can never be found the cradle of slavery-the infamy, the brand of dishonour. Throughout that live-long day the combat still continued; and if the Milanese had not gained victory, still they had not suffered defeat, for not an inch of ground had the enemy gained which had not to be retaken over and over again. Breaking down wall after wall, the Milanese had literally made a communication from house to house, and in many parts of the city the enemy were surrounded on every side; desperate combatants piling on their heads every missile their hands could seize upon. It was absolutely necessary, however, in order to insure success, that a Government should be immediately proclaimed, to whom full power should be delegated to carry on the desperate struggle; to provide for the wants of the combatants, the care of the prisoners, of the wounded, of the public finances. And on the afternoon of the 20th of March, a Provisional Government was proclaimed, amid a tumult of ap. plause.* Instantly a proclamation was issued for the enrolment of a civic guard; and thousands of citizens, amidst the tumult, crowded to the parochial list to have themselves enrolled. Old men of seventy, and even boys of twelve years of age, vied in their eagerness to serve their country. Arms taken from the enemy were furnished them, and proper directions issued for the continuance of the combat. The Provisional Government, sitting both night and day, gave a direction to the struggle which astonished the enemy, and made him believe that officers of great experience directed the Milanese and their movements. Desperate attacks were made by the people on the Duomo, guarded by the Tyrolese infantry, on the Criminal Court, on the Viceregal Palace, on the station of the engineers, on several police barracks, and on the Piazza de Mercanti, defended by a powerful body of the Austrian army and a park of artillery, and everywhere with success. The police barrack of the third division, defended by above 750 men, was next attacked, and after a combat that lasted an entire night and day without ceasing, the enemy was forced to succumb, and submit to a courage and desperation nothing could quell, nothing could dismay. The attack, headed by the Marchese Trivulzio, on the barracks of the cadets of St. Celso, was equally successful, although its brave leader was severely wounded. On the morning of the 21st, the whole city presented a series of battles, scarcely possible to describe within the compass of a tale. The fire of the musketry, of the cannons, the discharge of shells, the fall of large pieces of walls, the ringing of the bells, kept up without a moment's intermission both night and day, spread the news of the struggle throughout the entire country, and presented a spectacle, especially at night, terrific to hear and to behold. This frightful struggle, however momentarily successful, could not possibly last without assistance from without, and every hour showed the necessity of at once opening a communication with the country. How to effect this was a matter of the utmost difficulty, for the walls and gates of Milan were guarded by a powerful enemy, armed with a splendid field of artillery. Necessity lent the Milanese the power of invention, and large balloons were immediately set afloat, containing messages entreating the people to rise immediately, and march to the succour of their brothers, combatting for their freedom as well as their own. Well and nobly was the call * The names of the members of the Provisional Government were as follows:-Count Casati, President; Secretary, Cesare Correnti; Members of Government, Pompeo Litta, Vitaliano Borromeo, Giuseppe Durini, Cesare Giúlini, Gaetano Strigelli, Marco Greppi, Antonio Beretta, and Alessandro Porro. † See the reports of Marshal Radetzky, where he distinctly states, "the insurgents were commanded by officers of great experience and valour." "Some of these balloons fell beyond the Swiss confines, others on the Sardinian ter responded to; and from far and wide large bodies of the peasantry, headed by leaders of every description priests, friars, ecclesiastics of different kinds, with large crucifixes and symbols of the Church-hastened towards Milan. From Varese, from the Lago Maggiore, the princely summer residence of the Borromeo family, famed in story for its beauty and magnificence, from the banks of the Po, from the Italian Switzerland, from Comasia, from the mountains of Como, from Monza, and elsewhere, large bodies put themselves on the route, armed with every kind of weapon, fighting the enemy continually on the road, and soon, in masses, gathered like clouds around Milan. The brave Borgazzi, amidst a thousand difficulties, the leader of a body of some 2000 men, penetrated into the city, and concerted with the War Committee a double attack on the Porta Tosa. Unfortunately for his country and for his family, to whom he was a good husband and a good father, on returning he was mortally wounded by a bullet, and fell, lamented by all who ever knew his noble and kind heart, a martyr to his country's liberties! A tear to his memory was all time would allow, and onwards, like a mighty avalanche, pour the Milanese to the attack. Who is that brave and glorious youth who, with hand extended, and voice exhorting his countrymen to remember their duty, dashes on the enemy, regardless of shot, of danger of every kind; his shout, "Italy for me"? It is Luciano Manara,† a fit patriot to lead on a brave people. See how the enemy and the Milanese meet hand to hand in deadly combat! See how these shrink before the fierce and wild exultation of a people battling for their freedom! See how little those care for the terrible prowess of that foe, so much boasted of, so much vaunted! Is it not the struggle for life, ay, more than life-the struggle for their children's emancipation? Would not the coward fight, ay, gladly, for such a glorious cause, making the heart beat, the blood flow to the heart, in joyful gladness? Yield not an inch of ground, true hearts! brave patriots! Rush on again, again! Break asunder the ranks of the enemy. Laugh at the terrible storm of missiles flying around you in every direction. Ay, see you are approaching nearer to your heart's desire-one effort more, the gate will be yours, the battle will be won. Hearken, too, to your countrymen from without; the battle is raging there also. In confused lines, but yet with what is of equal, if not of more value, the spirit of patriotism, do the bold peasantry, the mountaineers, combat for your assistance. Ay, what does that wild cry proclaim? You have succeeded in setting the gate on fire. See how it burns how the flames spread-how that massive wood consumes before an enemy none can resist! — its fiery beams aiding your struggle. Yes, Milanese; brave hearts! true patriots! again, again, I say, the communication between you and your countrymen is open. The battle is well nigh over, and Milan soon, before your valour and faithfulness, will proclaim her own freedom from the dreaded foe. Brave hearts! true patriots! With renewed courage and untiring energy, the Milanese did not pause a ritory, and in those of Piacenza. . . . . One of these balloons contained the following :— 'Brothers! Fortune smiles on us. Austria vanquished, still maintains her footing only in the castle and from the bastions. Hasten hither! Let a gate of the city be taken between two fires; united we shall conquer.'"-See General Pepe, * Never were a people more in error than the Roman Catholics of Ireland in imagining the revolutions of Italy were the emanation of a spirit of Protestantism. Such an idea is foolish in the extreme; some of the principal conspirators of the revolution were dignitaries of the Catholic Church, and the revolution was openly advocated from many an altar. Let their clergy inform them, if their press refuses to do so, that the Austrians, during the whole period of the revolutions, openly insulted the Catholic religion, burnt the effigy of the Pope wherever they could, violated the churches and even the nunneries, and committed every species of sacrilege. Yet, if a Catholic exile stands on a public platform to advocate the liberties of his country, he is immediately denounced as an enemy of the Pope. † Luciano Manara afterwards commanded a Lombard Legion that greatly distinguished itself throughout the whole period of the Italian revolutions of 1848 and 1849. He fell at Rome, nobly fighting for a cause ever dear to a heart like his, full of the loftiest inspirations. moment to give the enemy rest. The palace of Marshal Radetzky,* the barracks of St. Vittor Grande, St. Francesco, the principal military post, the Austrian Hospital, the gates of Ticinese, of Comasina, all were successfully attacked with the same desperate perseverance, and on the morning of the 22nd the whole city was in the hands of the people, the castle alone remaining in the possession of the enemy. It was then that Marshal Radetzky-confused at the defeat of his soldiers on every side, dismayed at the fearful loss of life his army had sustained, fearful of being surrounded by the numerous bodies of peasantry that almost hourly were increasing the force of the Milanese, alarmed lest the King of Sardinia might march to the succour of the insurgents, and his army become entirely annihilated-determined on retreating while yet in his power, and thus save the remnant of his army. To prevent this movement from being noticed, he ordered his still powerful park of artillery, consisting of some seventy pieces of large calibre, to move about from spot to spot: the consequence was, that the castle and several houses at the extremities of the city were set on fire by this terrible cannonade. A large fire also was lit to burn the dead bodies, and thus prevent the loss of the Austrians being known: Amidst this fearful glare of light, the vigilance of the Milanese only increased, and soon the movement of the old Marshal was surmised. Instant arrangements were made to give the enemy no respite, and, assisted by the bodies of peasantry, the citizens issued from the walls, and followed the enemy with an incessant discharge of musketry. Incommoded as the Austrians were by the number of families who accompanied them in their flight, the wives and children of the officers of the army, by numerous Italian prisoners, on whom the rage of the old Marshal heaped unheard of cruelties, their retreat was a frightful one indeed. Through every small town, every village they had to pass, they had to fight their way onward; through every kind of obstruction-barricades suddenly raised, large piles of wood fastened across the streets, missiles of every kind greeting their appearance, bridges broken down, the very elements of heaven deluging the earth with water, and rendering the roads like swamps. The sufferings of the Austrians were terrific-foodall was wanting-not a moment's rest was allowed them. It took the Marshal several hours alone before he could even disengage his army from the environs of the city of Milan. The hatred of the Milanese was excited to a frightful extent, owing to the numerous atrocitiest committed by the * A laughable farce took place at the taking of the Marshal's palace. An old uniform was found belonging to the Marshal, and was instantly fixed on a pole, with a fool's cap hoisted on the top, and was carried to the Piazza Borroméo amidst the jeers and laughter of the people. The Austrians made frantic efforts to obtain possession of it, and in a few hours it was pierced by no less than seventy-two bullets. †The frightful atrocities of the enemy cannot be denied, when a whole city was a spectator of the facts. General Count Walmoden, an Austrian, admitted the atrocities recorded by the English consul at Milan, where whole families of women and children were mutilated. A record of a few of these will suffice: “A group of eight children were found who had been crushed against the walls, thrown on the ground, and trodden under foot! Two were found shut up in a chest, two burned with aquafortis; another, spiked on a bayonet, was fastened to a tree, where the poor child struggled in agonies before the eyes of its mother! A suckling babe (by a jest worthy of a cannibal) was thrown on the breasts of its mother's corpse! another was cut in two, and the halves tied together with its own bowels! Five heads, cut from their tender trunks, were placed under the eyes of the innocent parents! An unborn child was torn from the maternal womb by these vile wretches! In the pocket of a Croat prisoner was found two female hands, loaded with rings, and many women were deprived of their eyes, tongues, hands, and feet! The monsters first violated them, and then killed them with their bayonets! Some were burnt alive! others buried alive in ditches and wells! others covered with pitch and tortured by fire! Eight bodies were found burned in an inn at the Porta Tosa l-as many in another inn at the Porta Vercellina! Ten were seen in a small room at the Porta Ticinese, horribly mutilated and mangled-the great efforts made by one poor woman to save herself through the chimney still appeared! I pass over the assassinations in houses, in beds, in hiding-places. One man was compelled to kneel on the bloody corpse of his brother, and there stabbed! Two unfortunate men, father and son, were spiked together to a tree on the ramparts! A child of Mario Belloni was burnt! a son and brother of Giovanni Piotti killed!" See General Pepe, Canta, &c. &c. enemy, and which, the instant they were discovered, called forth the most fearful anger. Ankle-deep in mud, with not a dry rag to their backs, they still continued pursuing the enemy, harassing him on every side, cutting off every straggler, and making their very vengeance the path to their freedom. In a few days more the Austrians were driven from Lombardy in shame and in disgrace, leaving behind them, to attest the murderous struggle, no less than five thousand killed. The Lombards were triumphant their freedom won by their own glorious efforts. How was it those efforts, so pure, so bright, so heavenly, won at such a sacrifice of blood, died away in disunion, in the clandestine haunts of vain conspiracies, in the factious efforts of a few leaders, mad with ambition, wild with theories of loose and impracticable principles ! Oh, Italy! beautiful land of sorrow! why didst thou hearken to their voices of deceit? Would that thy ear had been deaf to aught else than thy country's honour and dignity! SCARCELY had the first shot been fired in the streets of Milan, when the Piedmontese forces commenced to muster in large and imposing numbers on the frontiers. The arming of Sardinia had commenced, however, at a far earlier period, when the Austrians quartered fifteen thousand men on the river Ticino. From one end of Piedmont to the other, the agitation of the public mind had become excessive, and it was easy to foretell that the storm of war was gathering on the horizon. Amidst intense anxiety was the news from Lombardy listened to by thousands of the Turinese, and hundreds of young men loudly demanded from Government arms and ammunition, to enable them to march immediately to the succour of their brothers, combating for their freedom. Their demands were refused by Government in almost dignified silence; but this seeming apathy to the strug gle carried on in Lombardy was soon explained, when, on the 23rd of March, the following declaration of war, signed by Carlo Alberto, was made publicly known, amid the continual cheers of the people, and shouts of "Viva Carlo Alberto !" "Viva il Rè!" "Charles Albert, by the grace of God King of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, &c. People of Lombardy -ITALIAN SONG OF FREEDOM. and of Venice! the destinies of Italy are maturing. Happier fortunes smile on the intrepid defenders of the trampled rights of their country. By love of race by appreciation of the spirit of our times by community of desires we have been the first to associate ourselves in that unanimous tribute of admiration which all Italy unites to pay you! People of Lombardy and of Venice! our arms, which were already concentrating on your frontier when you anticipated the liberation of glorious Milan, now come to give you the last proofs of that aid which a brother may expect from a brother-a friend from a friend. will second your just desires, trusting in the aid of that God who is visibly with us of that God who has given to Italy a Pio IX.-of that God, who, with such wonderful impulses, has now placed our beloved country in a position to do for itself. And the better to demonstrate with outward signs the sentiment of Italian union, we desire that our troops, entering on the territory of Lombardy and Venice, should carry the shield of Savoy placed upon the Italian tri-colour flag. "CARLO ALBERTO. "Torino, 23d March, 1848," We That brave people so eager for war— so desirous of hastening to assist the cause of the oppressed-listening only to the impulse of their generous sentiments, little imagined the dismal end of their nobleness and generosity! Patriotism, humanity, the alpha-treachery, despotism, its omega! Yet how beautiful were those feelings that countenanced that war- how in all spoke the feelings of country, of dear Italy! Dismal the end, but glorious the beginning! On the 26th of March, the advancedguard of the Sardinian army, under the command of General Pasalacqua, entered Milan, and three days later, with an army of 25,000 men, Carlo Alberto, with his gallant sons, held their head-quarters at Pavia, where they were greeted by the deputies of the Provisional Government of Milan, the Count Borromèo and Signor Beretta. On the 30th, Carlo Alberto arrived at Lodi, and congratulated his army on the expedition they had made in marching over the space of 110 miles in seventy-two hours, and from thence pursued his march through Crema, Cremona, Bozzolo, Aosta, to Castiglione delle Stiviere, where he established his head-quarters, deficient in all that was requisite to carry on a campaign with success and energy. On the 8th of April, the Piedmontese and the Austrians first met in serious combat, by the former making an attack upon Gioto, a small town situated on the right bank of the river Mincio. Despite a terrific fire from the Austrian sharp-shooters, and the efforts of the Wohlgemuth brigade, who had barricaded the streets and fortified the houses, the gallant Bersaglieri and the Griffini company drove the enemy from street to street, and after a combat of more than four hours, forced the Austrians towards Mantua. the next day, and the day after, they attacked with equal success Borghetto and Monzanbano, and thus secured their passage over the Mincio. After occupying Valleggio, Carlo Alberto advanced his head-quarters towards Volta, and a few days after attacked the enemy at their advanced posts, near Mantua, with signal success. The king resolved then on the blockade of Peschiera, a strong and powerful fortress, lying on both sides of the Mincio. Crossing the Mincio with 25,000 men, the king occupied the heights of Custoza, and made a desperate attack on the hills of Sandrà, St. Giustina, and Cola, fortified by VOL. XLVI.NO. CCLXXIV. On the enemy, who held here a force of over 20,000 troops. After severe contests they were driven away by the gallantry of the Italians, with a terrible loss of life, and then ensued the battle of Pastrengo, which will for ever shed immortal glory on the Sar dinian army. After a combat that lasted a period of over five hours, the Austrians fled in precipitate flight over the bridges of the Adige, leaving behind them a loss of 1,700 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. This was one of the most glorious days of that unfortunate campaign, as Charles Albert obtained in a few hours what had cost the greatest general of modern history, the Emperor Napoleon, an entire campaign to obtain possession of. Marshal Radetzky in vain endeavoured to effect a diversion, by the garrison of Peschiera sallying out on the rere of the Piedmontese, but they were driven back in gallant style, and the Sardinians remained masters of that gory field, strewed with the dead and the wounded. It was during this struggle the gallant young Marquis Bevilacqua rushed on alone upon a column of the retreating enemy, to seize a standard from a Croatian, and fell pierced by fifty bayonets-his daring valour forming the theme of universal comment his loss regretted with tears by his countrymen. It was at this period, when victory seemed to be crowning the arms of the brave king and his sons with success, when by their means the sunshine seemed again to be filling the horizon with the bright rays of hope, upon other sides it commenced to darken with clouds of ominous import. The ambassadors of Prussia and Russia had quitted Turin, and the agents of these two courts were busily at work everywhere, to arrest the work of freedom, and to assist the cause of dissension amongst those who declared themselves the friends of Italy. Unfortunately they met with easy success, and mad theorists, and wild demagogues, full of ambition and selfish motives, hastened to retard the necessary supplies for the army, to denounce the King of Sardinia and his gallant army as traitors; while they, the infamous, with loud words, with swaggering gait, stalked along the streets of Milan, concocting conspiracies against the Provisional Government, and selling their native land to the hirelings of a foreign 2 K |