And yet I must admit, with a certain shame, that the conduct of the
Austrians is more logical than ours. They entered the Pope's
dominions, meaning to stay there; they spare no pains to assure their
conquest in them. They decimate the population, in order that they may
be feared. They perpetuate disorder, in order that their permanent
presence may be required. Disorder and terror are Austria's best arms.

As for us, let us see what we have done. In the interest of France,
nothing; and I am glad of it. In the interest of the Pope, very
little. In the interest of the Italian nation, still less.

The Pope promised us the reform of some abuses, in his _Motu Proprio_
of Portici. It was not quite what we demanded of him; still his
promises afforded us some gratification. He returned to his capital,
to elude their fulfilment at his ease. Our soldiers awaited him with
arms in their hands. They fell at his feet as he passed them.

During nine consecutive years, the pontifical government has been
retreating step by step,--France, all the while, politely entreating
it to move on a little. Why should it follow our advice? What
necessity was there for yielding to our arguments? Our soldiers
continued to mount guard, to present arms, to fall down on one knee,
and patrol regularly round all the old abuses.

In the end, the pertinacity with which we urged our good counsels
became disagreeable to his Holiness. His retrograde court has a horror
of us; it prefers the Austrians, who crush the people, but who never
talk of liberty. The Cardinals say, sometimes in a whisper, sometimes
even aloud, that they don't want our army, that we are very much in
their way, and that they could protect themselves--with the assistance
of a few Austrian regiments.

The nation, that is the middle class, says, our good-will, of which it
has no doubt, is of little use to it; and declares it would undertake
to obtain all its rights, to secularize the government, to proclaim
the amnesty, to introduce the Code Napoleon, and to establish liberal
institutions, if we would but withdraw our soldiers. This is what it
says at Rome. At Bologna, Ferrara, and Ancona, it believes that, in
spite of everything, the Romans are glad to have us, because, although
we let evil be done, we never do it ourselves. In this we are admitted
to be better than the Austrians.

Our soldiers say nothing. Troops don't argue under arms. Let me speak
for them.

"We are not here