the first-mentioned town, a
chain of hills, called the Colli Euganei, stretches itself from the last
spur of the Julian Alps, in the vicinity of Vicenza, gently sloping down
towards the sea. As this line affords good positions for contesting the
advance of an army crossing the Po at Lago Scuro, or at any other point
not far from it, it is to be supposed that the Austrians will make a
stand there, and I should not be surprised at all that Cialdini's first
battle, if accepted by the enemy, should take place within that
comparatively narrow ground which is within Montagnana, Este, Terradura,
Abano, and Padua. It is impossible to suppose that Cialdini's corps
d'armee, being so large, is destined to cross the Po only at one point of
the river below its course: it is extremely likely that part of it should
cross it at some point above, between Revere and Stellata, where the
river is in two or three instances only 450 metres wide. Were the Italian
general to be successful--protected as he will be by the tremendous fire
of the powerful artillery he disposes of--in these twofold operations,
the Austrians defending the line of the Colli Euganei could be easily
outflanked by the Italian troops, who would have crossed the river below
Lago Scuro. Of course these are mere suppositions, for nobody, as you may
imagine, except the king, Cialdini himself, Lamarmora, Pettiti, and
Menabrea, is acquainted with the plan of the forthcoming campaign. There
was a rumour at Cialdini's headquarters to-day that the Austrians had
gathered in great numbers in the Polesine, and especially at Rovigo, a
small town which they have strongly fortified of late, with an apparent
design to oppose the crossing of the Po, were Cialdini to attempt it at
or near Lago Scuro. There are about Rovigo large tracts of marshes and
fields cut by ditches and brooks, which, though owing to the dryness of
the season [they] cannot be, as it was generally believed two weeks ago,
easily inundated, yet might well aid the operations the Austrians may
undertake in order to check the advance of the Italian fourth corps
d'armee. The resistance to the undertaking of Cialdini may be, on the
part of the Austrians, very stout, but I am almost certain that it will
be overcome by the ardour of Italian troops, and by the skill of their
illustrious leader.

As I told you above, the declaration of war was handed over to an
Austrian major for transmission to Count Stancowick, the Austrian
g