a monstrous
thing that Italy should be expected to observe this instrument. So let
the town be freed, let Zanella be expelled. And as he only had at his
disposal a force of about three hundred local gendarmes, with rifles but
without munition, it was not particularly difficult for the fascisti
heroes to accomplish their task. Zanella had to fly once more.

"If Italy were to offend against the freedom and independence of the
State of Rieka she would deprive herself," said Signor Schanzer, the
Italian Foreign Secretary "she would deprive herself of the name of a
Great Power and in the Society of Nations she would retain no
authority." Thus did the successor of the relentless but unavailing
della Torretta try, with eloquent and noble words, to wipe the blot from
Italy's scutcheon. She could scarcely have the nations coming to the
Congress of Genoa, there to debate with regard to the economic
re-establishment of Europe, while her own conduct was so very much under
suspicion. It would have been rather curious, so the _Zagreber
Tagblatt_[67] pointed out, for a robber to invite you to his house with
a view to taking steps against robbery. Something drastic had to be
done, so that Europe would not look askance at the Italian Government.
Zanella, it was true, had been thrown out--but why should not the world
be told that this had been effected by the people of the town? A very
excellent idea! And so a certain Lieut. Cabruna of the _gendarmerie_
made a plan to get together the Constituent Assembly and then--well,
there are always methods by which resolutions can be passed. Perhaps it
would not even be necessary for a single rifle to be fired at the
deputies from the Distinguished Strangers' Gallery. But most of the
deputies succeeded in escaping from the town, although frantic efforts
were made to prevent them. Out of the threescore only thirteen poor
devils were held fast and came to the futile meeting. The others, with
Zanella, assembled on Yugoslav territory at a place called Saint Anna.

And Signor Schanzer went on talking. Officers and men of the Italian
army and navy, said he, had shown perfect discipline. Signor Schanzer
may not be an expert on discipline, but as a humorist he wins applause.
One's ordinary notions of discipline do not include the seizure of a
warship by a handful of bandits, the cannons of the vessel being
afterwards directed against the Government palace of a neutral State.
The fascisti, with the help of