nemy was in dangerous
proximity, and every one realised that the quick presence of mind of
this Giuseppe Mansana alone had saved the whole vanguard from the trap
prepared for them.

I have many more anecdotes to tell of him, but in order that they shall
be properly appreciated, I must mention that he was universally
considered the best fencer and gymnast in the army; on this point, I
never, then or afterwards, heard more than one opinion.

Soon after the close of the war, while Mansana was quartered in
Florence, a story was told, in one of the military _cafes_, of a
certain Belgian officer, who, a couple of weeks previously, had been a
frequent visitor to the place. It had been discovered that this officer
was, in reality, in the Papal service, and that, on his return to Rome,
he had amused himself and his comrades by giving insulting accounts of
the Italian officers, whom, with few exceptions, he described as
ignorant parade-puppets, chiefly distinguished for their childish
vanity. This aroused great indignation amongst the officers of the
garrison in Florence, and no sooner did young Mansana hear the tale
than he straightway left the _cafe_, and applied to his colonel for
leave of absence for six days. This being granted him, he went home,
bought himself a suit of plain clothes, and started away, then and
there, by the shortest route for Rome. Crossing the frontier where the
woods were thickest, he found himself three days afterwards in the
Papal capital, where, in the officers' _cafe_ on the Piazza Colonna, he
quickly perceived his Belgian officer. He went up to him, and quietly
asked him to come outside. He then gave him his name, and requested him
to bring a friend, and follow to some place beyond the city gates, in
order that the reputation of the Italian officers might be vindicated
by a duel. Mansana's reliance on the honour of the Belgian left the
latter no alternative; without delay he found a friend, and within
three hours he was a dead man.

Young Mansana promptly set off on his return journey, through the
forests, to Florence. He was careful not to mention where he had spent
his period of leave; but the news travelled to Florence from Rome, and
he was put under arrest for having left the town, and for having,
besides, crossed the frontier without special permission. His brother
officers celebrated his release by giving a banquet in his honour, and
the king conferred on him a decoration.

Shortly after