d
than the goodness which forgave them. Mazzini, among others, dissembled
for a time. It may be--it has even been suggested that he was at first
sincere, and had nobly resolved to sacrifice his favorite ideas to the
cause of Italy. This opinion, however, was destined to be soon dispelled.
It was not long till the newspaper _Italia del Popolo_, revealed the fact
that he still held to extreme and revolutionary views. The minds of the
people were poisoned by the ravings of this journal, and filled with
mistrust. It became the instrument by which sects and parties were stirred
up to work the ruin of the country. "_Unita e non unione. Assemblea del
Popolo Italiano e non dieta._" "_Unity; not union. The assembly of the
Italian people; not a federal diet._" Such was the watchword of Mazzini's
paper. And now the masses in the streets, under the guidance of the
revolutionary leader, vociferated, "Live the Constituent Assembly!" with
as much wild enthusiasm as they had formerly shouted for Pius IX. and
reform. They had no distinct idea as to the meaning of the cry, but held
it to be something extreme--a boundless measure of liberty. The populace
wanted nothing better; and so they continued to shout, as they believed,
for unity and Republican Government. Such a system was, from the very
nature and position of the States of Italy, impracticable, and without
pressure from without, foreign war--which the Mazzinians so much
deprecated--could never have been established. How bring under the yoke of
a general popular convention so many diverse peoples? They were all
Italian, no doubt, but of different races, different nationalities, and
each of them had for ages enjoyed its own national laws, customs, manners,
prejudices, predilections, and antipathies. Nor had they common interests.
What would be good and suitable in one State might, by no means, be
adapted to the requirements of another; might even in some cases prove
disastrous. The Grand Dukes had, by their mild and liberal rule, endeared
themselves to the Tuscan people. Piedmont and Naples were alike devoted to
their respective monarchies. The people of the Papal States, with the
exception of the populace of Rome, were loyal to their government. That
populace was greatly increased in 1848 by the influx of strangers--men
holding Republican opinions, who were diligently culled from foreign
nationalities. All but these abnormal masses were attached to the wise and
clement rule of their